Release Date: Jul 1, 2022
Genre(s): Pop/Rock
Record label: Heavenly
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This enchanting and deeply felt piece of work looks set to give Cornish culture another shot in the arm, showcasing as it does the language's attractive contours Before techno fans get too excited, Gwenno Saunders' third album is emphatically not a concept work around a legendary Berlin nightclub. Instead, the title 'tresor' represents the Cornish word for 'treasure', and accurately reflects the music found within. Her second album to be sung almost entirely in Cornish, it is an exploration of the female perspective, inspired by women writers and in particular the Cornish language poet Phoebe Proctor.
Very few albums have a legitimate claim for inspiring a resurge of interest in a marginalized language. Le Kov, the second album by Cardiff-based songwriter Gwenno Saunders, managed just that, boosting the profile of Cornish, the old but very much alive language of Cornwall taught to Saunders by her father. Sung again almost entirely in Cornish, Tresor is more than likely to continue that trend.
Tresor by Gwenno Tresor is the third album by Welsh artist Gwenno, sung mostly in Cornish. It feels like a natural continuation of the sound of 2018's excellent Le Kov, while also reflecting a more subdued and insular palette of sounds that's in-keeping with the realities of living through a pandemic. Not that Tresor is your typical lockdown record; its title translates to "treasure," which is acknowledgment of the fact that Gwenno became a mother during its creation.
Following on from 2018's bewitching 'Le Kov' , Welsh songwriter Gwenno has returned with her third solo album and second predominantly in Cornish. Once more marrying aspects of psychedelic, baroque pop, and the ethereal, 'Tresor' on the whole takes the listener on an entirely personal journey, a nearly lost language leading us on a journey of self. Except for two electronic led numbers that become more of a slog than a celebration, Gwenno has once again married the otherworldly with the primal with supreme effect.
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