I am not keen on breaking the 4th wall, but sometimes it is necessary. So, dear readers and strangers that wandered onto our little blog, a bit of a plea. Does anyone out there have any contacts with a person high up the ladder at NETFLIX? If you do, then please share! I have an excellent idea for a new superhero flick. With a twist.
“l o w e r c a s e” single cover, picture by Lou Sinner
Official bio: CELΛVI are a Welsh fierce duo called Gwion and Sarah from Bangor in North Wales, armed with their genre-exploding take on nu-metal, fuelled by their anthemic nu-sound of metal, goth, industrial, electro and rock. Always staying in their own lane, CELAVI thrive on their unique fresh sound, supported by BBC Introducing Rock with Alyx Holcombe on BBC Radio 1 and Future Alternative with Nels Hylton on BBC Radio 1. With intoxicating vocals and brutal riffs, Wales’ first bilingual nu-metal released their new EP in October 2024 (supported by Help Musicians), produced by Romesh Dodangoda (Bring Me The Horizon, Motörhead, Nova Twins) with supporting videos by Shaun Hudson (Sleep Token, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit).
Imagine a pair of avengers, who under the cover of darkness fight for justice, well being and equality. But not just that of individual folks, but of a whole country! If Sarah Wynn Griffiths and Gwion Griffiths were in possession of superhuman abilities and gifts, their hands would be full when protecting their homeland of Wales. They`d have to face criminals and villains, fight corruption extraordinaire and prevent acts of cultural vandalism on a large scale.
If you think all the above can`t happen in Wales, then have a look at the following stories. Hand on the heart, it`s just last week: disgraced Reform MP Ruper Lowe publicly called for all languages except English to be removed from public spaces in the UK, including languages of Devolved Nations (ie. Scottish, Welsh and Irish), Cardiff University plans to axe 400 jobs and close the entire School of Music while the Welsh public purse lost £400 million due to various scams in the past year.
Sarah Wynn as a superheroine pictured by Lou Sinner
Sarah and Gwion may not be new recruits in the Justice League anytime soon but they represent the Welsh music scene in almost heroic ways. Last month we have reviewed their new EP “ANIMA”, but today we want to draw your attention to their magnificent single and video – “l o w e r c a s e”. In case you haven’t heard about “the loudest band in the Land of the Song”, then let`s bring you up to date. We are choosing 7th February on purpose as it is Dydd Miwsig Cymru (Welsh Language Music Day).
“l o w e r c a s e” is the opening track on “ANIMA” and you cannot wish for a better entrance into the world of CELAVI. The duo carved themselves a niche mixing several genres of metal music into a fail proof recipe. Cyber metal beats, industrial metal double bass drums and nu metal speed and wit become a sensationational success with critics and audiences. Sarah doesn’t need to hit operatic registers or growl – her natural voice, quite radio friendly and warm fits perfectly with the music. There is a bit of 90s nostalgia in there as well. A nod to Tracy Lords’ “Control”, KMFDM’s “Ultra” and Gravity Kills’ “Enough” may be obvious but if you listen closer, you can hear influences from emo elders Stabbing Westward and Atari Teenage Riot. “l o w e r c a s e” could have been on the Mortal Kombat soundtrack and it wouldn’t be out of place (yours truly considers both MK and MK Annihilation to be some of the best film soundtracks ever made).
Add singing in Welsh and English and you may understand the appeal of the band. When I say that CELAVI has been universally praised by the leading voices in the industry, I am not exaggerating. A small sample if you please:
“CELAVI – Remember that name” – Nels Hylton, Future Alternative on BBC Radio 1
“Speaking of moshy, this riff, gorgeous!”- Alyx Holcombe, BBC Introducing Rock with Alyx Holcombe, BBC Radio 1
“Possibly should have played that with a public health warning at the beginning” – Bethan Elfyn, BBC Radio Wales
Gwion Griffiths as a gothic hero picture by Lou Sinner
The band is one of the few Welsh artists to hit a million streams on Spotify, and as far as I checked the only one unsigned. They appeared seven consecutive times on BBC Radio 1, having no plugger or management to represent them. Their song “COFIA’R ENW” reached the top of the alternative charts on BBC Radio Cymru, while their composition “DYMA FI” appeared on the show “Backstage” on ITV Wales. They have received funding from Help Musicians, PYST (music distribution and label services for artists in Wales) and LŴP (Welsh language music videos reflecting the diverse Welsh music scene on S4C TV channel). Every single song they released was given the title of “Tracboeth” (Hottest Track) on BBC Radio Cymru.
Celavi takes representing Wales on the domestic and international scenes very seriously. And using their native language is a huge part of it. “Our aim is to be the Welsh language metal band that we wanted to listen to and relate to growing up” – explains Gwion Griffiths – “It’s so important for us to be performing in the Welsh language and waving the flag for Welsh language nu-metal music”.
Sarah Wynn Griffiths agrees with the sentiment: “We perform bilingually, outside of Wales too. There’s so much respect for the language outside of Wales. We’re proud to be encouraging more people to listen to Welsh language music, to learn more about Wales and our language, and to be learning our language as well.”
Another aspect of how much time, effort and talent the band is investing to bring Wales to the front are CELAVI`s videos, many of them showcase strange or unique locations, with incredible histories. Their video to “BITE MY TONGUE” was set in The Coal Exchange in Cardiff, a former trading post and one time music venue, now returned to former glory as a boutique hotel serving local community and tourists. “IODINE” and “l o w e r c a s e” both take place in a Victorian hospital in Ysbyty Bron y Garth.
Sarah on the set of “l o w e r c a s e” video
CELAVI may be user friendly and genuinely nice people (we can attest, we have known them for years!) but in their videos, they can be properly scary. One of the journalists at Wales Online described Sarah in “IODINE” as “Usagi Tsukino if she was the main character in Silent Hill”. If you have ever played Silent Hill, you know to stay miles away from any abandoned hospital, less alone venture into one.
“l o w e r c a s e” is not that scary, but equally atmospheric. It shows the band as a group of, you guessed, avengers hanging out in their secret base. They plot their victory over bullies and those who steal creativity from others (AI we are looking at you). As the video progresses, the band members begin to morph into their super alter-egos, glowing in the dark with unknown, potentially lethal energy. Eagle eyed fans will spot an easter egg, like in every good Marvel movie. There is a cut out of Sailor Moon on the mirror, a small nod to Wales Online review of “IODINE”.
How can you not love this band?
As I said, a TV series based on a group of superhuman avengers posing as a metal band from a small nation is a great idea. Just imagine how badass it would be. To those who sneer at the suggestion that you can have Welsh speaking superheroes – a bit of history. Ever heard of Welsh Not – a tactic that was used on children in schools to stop them from speaking their own language? Before forced assimilation of Native children at the boarding schools and before Okinawan dialect cards, it was Welsh who were sent home beaten and starved for daring to be themselves. If you think Welsh language is not an international subject or not political, then you are hugely mistaken.
And this is precisely why we need Dydd Miwsig Cymru and why CELAVI are a powerful force.
You can follow CELAVI online:
https://www.wearecelavi.com
https://www.facebook.com/WEARECELAVI
https://www.instagram.com/WEARECELAVI
https://x.com/WEARECELAVI
https://www.tiktok.com/@WEARECELAVI
https://soundcloud.com/wearecelavi
https://www.youtube.com/@WEARECELAVI
https://celavimusic.bandcamp.com/music
https://www.threads.net/@wearecelavi
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4OEzNJIkgsH8PTw0y86ATx
Our coverage so far:
https://vanadianavenue.co.uk/tag/celavi
Additional reading:
https://nation.cymru/culture/welsh-nu-metal-band-celavi-share-new-video-for-hit-single-l-o-w-e-r-c-a-s-e/
https://www.ever-metal.com/2025/01/14/celavi-anima-ep
https://nation.cymru/culture/wales-first-nu-metal-band-celavi-top-acclaimed-year-end-chart
https://www.onrepeatmusicreviews.com/interview-with-celavi-18-12-24
https://www.thebangoraye.com/bangors-nu-metal-band-c-e-l-a-v-i-on-bbc-radio-1-for-the-fifth-consecutive-time
Malicia Dabrowicz
Indieterria 