Ar Log

Ar Log are a well-established folk band in Wales who have performed since the 1970s. They perform both instrumental music and songs in Welsh. Their name in Welsh means For Hire.

The original 1976 members were Dave Burns (guitar), Dafydd Roberts (triple harp, flute), Gwyndaf Roberts (knee harp and bass) and Iolo Jones (fiddle). The four individuals were brought together by the Welsh Committee of the Lorient Festival who were eager that a Welsh traditional group should represent the nation at that year's Interceltique festival in Lorient. Here they met The Dubliners, who suggested that they should stay together and turn professional. When they arrived in Brittany they had to think of a name and to reflect their status they called themselves Ar Log which means 'For Hire'. During this period, the group released the first of several eponymous albums: Ar Log.

In 1978 Iolo Jones left and then in 1979 Dave Burns left. This could have led to the break-up of the group but the group successfully advertised for a new guitarist (Geraint Glynne Davies) and fiddler (Graham Pritchard).

It is notable that Ar Log's members are drawn from across the diverse geographic and cultural regions of Wales - and from differing musical backgrounds. Dafydd and Gwyndaf were brought up in Llwyngwril, Merionethshire in the northwestern heartland of the Welsh language. They were immersed in the tradition of Welsh folk harping by their tutor, Nansi Richards ("Telynores Maldwyn", the harpist of Maldwyn). Nansi subsequently endorsed Ar Log's first album. Iolo Jones is originally from Caerphilly, a former coal mining town in south Wales. Iolo was originally a classically trained fiddler but succeeded in crossing over to the folk genre. Graham Pritchard was also successful in combining, throughout his career, the complex harmonies of Ar Log with the lighter fiddle style employed by Mynediad am Ddim of which he was also a member.

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