This is Video of the Week from Wales Arts Review. We’ll be showcasing some of the best art in Wales with a new video shared every week. From music to drama and everything in between, videos will not be limited by medium. Today’s video is ‘Englynion Angylion’ from Rogue Jones.
Welcome back to another video of the week! This week we’re taking a look at Cardiff band Rogue Jones’ new music video for their single ‘Englynion Angylion’, which translates to ‘Englynion Angels’, or ‘The Poetry of Angels’.
The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Bethan Mai, who plays piano, dums, accordion, autoharp, glockenspiel and trumpet, and her husband Ynyr Ifan, who plays guitar, percussion, bass and trumpet. Bethan’s sister Mari Morgan is also in the band, and she plays violin, bass, drums and synths.
In The Guardian back in 2016, Robin Denselow described the band as “a charmingly quirky band” who play “oddball songs in Welsh and English”, and their new single is no exception. ‘Englynion Angylion’ provides a message of power and rebellion, and the music video speaks to nature, accompanied by a lively chorus and the haunting voice of Bethan Mai. The band said this song shows them “getting in touch with their inner witch and embracing nature”.
The film that accompanies the song was directed by Ynyr Ifan himself. Commenting on the visuals, Rogue Jones said: “The song mentions angels so I decided to pay tribute to my favourite depiction of angels in film, Wings of Desire. But if Wim Wenders had made it in Carmarthenshire instead of pre-unification Berlin […] In the lyrics we sing about the angels ‘calling you to dance’ but it felt more appropriate and interesting to have us (the angels in the video) being inspired to dance by the deeds of the mortal.”
You can watch the music video for Rogue Jones’ new single ‘Englynion Angylion’ below.
