Y Dydd Olaf
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Y Dydd Olaf
| type = studio
| artist = Gwenno
| cover = 200x200px
| alt = Y Dydd Olaf album cover
| released = 27 October 2014 (Peski)
24 July 2015 (Heavenly)
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Electropop, dream pop
| length = 43:12
| label = Peski Records (limited release)
Heavenly Recordings
| producer = Rhys Edwards
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Le Kov
| next_year = 2018
| misc = {{Singles
| name =
| type = studio
| single1 = Fratolish Hiang Perpeshki (Tim Gane Remix)
| single1date =
}}
}}
Y Dydd Olaf (meaning "the last day") is the first solo album by Welsh singer-songwriter Gwenno. It was her fifth solo release after four previous EPs.
Background
The album was initially released on a small scale by the independent Peski Records label in October 2014 and sold out completely. It was re-released worldwide in 2015 by Heavenly Recordings.{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-pipettes-1220871|title= Gwenno|date=10 May 2015|publisher= Time (Inc.) U.K. |website=nme.com}} The album was an attempt by Gwenno to combine her political views with sounds she loves and was inspired in part by a dystopian science fiction book of the same name by Owain Owain which was released in 1976. Since the album was released, permission for an English translation of Owain's book was granted, 40 years after it was first published in Welsh. The album is sung predominantly in Welsh with the final track, Amser, being a musical rendition of a Cornish poem by her father, Tim Saunders. Gwenno has said she used the book's title as it had inspired her to return to singing in her first language.{{cite web|url=http://www.tyci.org.uk/wordpress/gwenno/|title=Interview: Gwenno |website=www.tyci.org.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206073556/http://www.tyci.org.uk/wordpress/gwenno/|archive-date=2018-02-06}}
The album began as a collection of recordings of everyday sounds Gwenno had collected over a number of years, including field recordings in Cardiff Bay. She sampled these sounds to create rhythm tracks and built the songs up from there, saying she "really wanted to get to the bottom of the idea of creating a soundscape before coming up with any sort of song" and has said she aims to use "less music to make more".{{cite web|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/16576-gwenno-interview|title=Escape Velocity - Sense Of Emergency: Gwenno Interviewed|publisher=The Quietus}}
Reception
{{Album ratings
| MC = 83/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/y-dydd-olaf/gwenno|title=Reviews for Y Dydd Olaf by Gwenno|publisher=Metacritic|access-date=9 May 2019}}
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/y-dydd-olaf-mw0002847285/|title=Y Dydd Olaf – Gwenno|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=9 May 2019|last=Sendra|first=Tim}}
| rev2 = Clash
| rev2Score = 8/10{{cite web|url=http://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/gwenno-y-dydd-olaf|title=Gwenno – Y Dydd Olaf|work=Clash|date=4 August 2015|access-date=9 May 2019|last=Salmon|first=Will}}
| rev3 = Drowned in Sound
| rev3Score = 8/10{{cite web|url=http://drownedinsound.com/releases/18912/reviews/4149214|title=Album Review: Gwenno – Y Dydd Olaf|work=Drowned in Sound|date=22 July 2015|access-date=9 May 2019|last=Clarke|first=Jude}}
| rev4 = Financial Times
| rev4Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/72ec3d04-2aa3-11e5-8613-e7aedbb7bdb7|title=Gwenno: Y Dydd Olaf — review|work=Financial Times|date=17 July 2015|access-date=9 May 2019|last=Hunter-Tilney|first=Ludovic|url-access=subscription}}
| rev5 = Mojo
| rev5Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite journal|title=Gwenno: Y Dydd Olaf|work=Mojo|issue=262|date=September 2015|page=89}}
| rev6 = Now
| rev6Score = 4/5{{cite web|url=https://nowtoronto.com/music/album-reviews/gwenno/|title=Gwenno|work=Now|date=5 August 2015|access-date=9 May 2019|last=Ritchie|first=Kevin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206002647/https://nowtoronto.com/music/album-reviews/gwenno/|archive-date=6 February 2018}}
| rev7 = Pitchfork
| rev7Score = 8.0/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/20765-y-dydd-olaf/|title=Gwenno: Y Dydd Olaf|work=Pitchfork|date=24 July 2015|access-date=9 May 2019|last=Snapes|first=Laura}}
| rev8 = Q
| rev8Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite journal|title=Gwenno: Y Dydd Olaf|work=Q|issue=349|date=August 2015|page=107}}
| rev9 = Record Collector
| rev9Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite journal|url=https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/y-dydd-olaf|title=Gwenno – Y Dydd Olaf|work=Record Collector|issue=443|date=August 2015|access-date=9 May 2019|last=Kennedy|first=Jake}}
| rev10 = Uncut
| rev10Score = 8/10{{cite journal|title=Gwenno: Y Dydd Olaf|work=Uncut|issue=219|date=August 2015|page=75}}
}}
The album received critical acclaim and won the Welsh Music Prize and the Welsh-language album of the Year in 2015. It was also chosen by readers of Y Selar, a Welsh music magazine, as the 4th best album of 2014,{{cite web|url=https://issuu.com/y_selar/docs/yselar_mawrth15|title=Y Selar Mawrth15|website=issuu.com}} and by Allmusic as one of the best Indie Records of 2015.{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/year-in-review/2015/favorite-indie-pop-and-indie-rock-albums|title=Favorite Indie Pop and Indie Rock Albums - AllMusic 2015 in Review|website=AllMusic}} London's Loud and Quiet called it the second best album of 2015.{{cite web|url=https://www.albumoftheyear.org/ratings/40-loud-and-quiet-highest-rated/2015/1|title=Loud and Quiet's Best Albums of 2015}}
Track listing
All tracks written by Gwenno.
{{Track listing
| extra_column = English Translation
|title1 =Chwyldro
|extra1 = Revolution
|length1 = 5:18
|title2 =Patriarchaeth
|extra2 = Patriarchy
|length2 =3:29
|title3 =Calon Peiriant
|extra3 = Heart of the machine
|length3 =5:08
|title4 =Sisial y Môr
|extra4 = The whispering sea
|length4 =5:41
|title5 =Dawns y Blaned Dirion
|extra5 = Dance of the True Planet
|length5 =1:30
|title6 =Golau Arall
|extra6 = Another Light
|length6 =3:31
|title7 =Stwff
|extra7 = Stuff
|length7 =4:59
|title8 =Y Dydd Olaf
|extra8 =The Last Day
|length8 =4:15
|title9 =Fratolish Hiang Perpeshki
|extra9 = Fratolish Hiang Perpeshki
|length9 =4:37
|title10 = Amser
|extra10 = Time
|length10 = 4:44
}}
Release history
| class="wikitable"
! Country ! Date ! Label |
| Wales
| 27 October 2014 | Peski Records |
| Worldwide
| 24 July 2015 |
References
{{Portal|Wales}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dydd Olaf (album), Y}}
Category:Heavenly Recordings albums