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The Gentle Good

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Gareth Bonello
Birth nameGareth Huw Bonello
Also known asThe Gentle Good
Born (1981-04-13) 13 April 1981 (age 43)
Cardiff, Wales
GenresFolk
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, musician
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, cello, piano
LabelsGwymon, Bubblewrap Records
Websitewww.thegentlegood.com

The Gentle Good is the stage name of Gareth Bonello (born 13 April 1981), a Welsh singer-songwriter and folk musician from Cardiff who performs in English and Welsh. The stage name is inspired by Bonello's, with "Gareth" traditionally meaning "Gentle" in Welsh. In addition to his own material, Bonello has had a longstanding partnership with musician Richard James and has also collaborated with other artists as a session musician.

Career

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Bonello started performing in Cardiff open mic nights in his early twenties and soon moved on to writing and performing his own material.[1]

His debut EP was self-released in 2005 and titled Find Your Way Back Home. It included two English tracks and two Welsh tracks.[2]

Bonello's first EP on a label, Dawel Disgyn, was released on Gwymon in 2007. It features Seb Goldfinch on violin, Llion Robertson on keys and Lindsey Leven (now in Gulp) on backing vocals. Robertson has also produced all of Bonello's albums to date.

Bonello's debut album While You Slept I Went Out Walking was released in 2008. Sung in both Welsh and English, it features renditions of traditional tracks and original songs. After the album's release, Bonello was invited to play at the 2008 Festival Interceltique de Lorient[3] and as part of the Wales programme at the 2009 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.[4] He has previously performed at the Glastonbury Festival, as part of the 2009 Emerging Talent Competition, and at the SXSW festival in Texas.[5]

Second album Tethered for the Storm, released in 2010, included an a cappella duet with Lisa Jên Brown of Welsh-language folk band 9Bach and backing vocals from Cate Le Bon. The album featured The Mavron Quartet with string arrangements by Seb Goldfinch.

In October 2011, Bonello travelled to Chengdu, China as part of The British Council's China Residencies, in collaboration with the PRS for Music Foundation.[6] The residency at the Chengdu Associated Theatre of Performing Arts produced Bonello's third album, Y Bardd Anfarwol (The Immortal Bard), released in 2013. It was recorded both in China with local musicians and back in the UK with The Mavron Quartet, members of the UK Chinese Ensemble and contributors such as Laura J. Martin on flute and Lisa Jên, who sang lead vocals on one track. The Welsh-language project, which combines Welsh and Chinese folk traditions, is based on the life and works of Chinese poet Li Bai. In 2014 it won Best Welsh Album at the National Eisteddfod.[7] In 2015 the play Rhith Gân by Wyn Mason, based on Y Bardd Anfarwol, won the Drama Medal at the Montgomeryshire and the Marches National Eisteddfod. The play was first staged at the 2016 Eisteddfod in Abergavenny, with Bonello serving as musical director.[8][9]

In early 2014, Bonello released on Bandcamp a new EP, Plygeiniwch!, featuring traditional acoustic fingerpicking instrumentals, with all proceeds going to Macmillan Cancer Support. In 2014 he has also appeared in Cerys Matthews's S4C documentary about the history of folk music in Wales, Y Goeden Faled (The Ballad Tree).[10]

Bonello's next album, Ruins/Adfeilion, was recorded in January 2016 and released on Bubblewrap in October 2016. Alongside regular collaborators, the album features Georgia Ruth on harp and backing vocals.[11] The album was nominated for Welsh Language Album of the Year at the 2017 National Eisteddfod[12] and in October that year won the Welsh Music Prize for 2016–2017.[13]

The Gentle Good has toured in the UK and performed solo and with a band in various festivals around Wales, including the Hay Festival, Calan Mai Folk Festival, The National Eisteddfod, Laugharne Weekend, WOMEX 2013[14] and Festival N°6; he has been a regular performer at the Green Man Festival. In 2015 Bonello returned to perform in Australia and India, and also took a further trip to China to perform music off his third album.[1][15][16]

Bonello has long collaborated with musician Richard James, performing as a duo and also as guitarist in James's accompanying band.[17][18] Bonello was also one of the musicians who appeared on James's 2015 album, All the New Highways, which was nominated for the 2014–2015 Welsh Music Prize.[19]

Personal life

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Bonello has a degree in zoology and specialised in ornithology. In 2020 he completed a PhD at the University of South Wales, "Welsh and Khasi Cultural Dialogues: Research through Creative Practice".[20][11][21] Alongside music, he worked with the British Trust for Ornithology and from 2007 until 2015 with Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales at St Fagans National History Museum, where he also conducted the yearly bird walks celebrating International Dawn Chorus Day at the museum's grounds.[22][23][24]

Bonello lives in Cardiff with his wife, Jennifer Gallichan, who is also part of The Gentle Good's live lineup.

He supports Welsh independence.[25]

Solo discography

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Albums

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  • While You Slept I Went Out Walking (2008, Gwymon)
  • Tethered for the Storm (2010, Gwymon)
  • Y Bardd Anfarwol (2013, Bubblewrap Records)
  • Ruins/Adfeilion (2016, Bubblewrap Records)

EPs

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  • Find Your Way Back Home (2005, self-released)
  • Dawel Disgyn (2007, Gwymon)
  • Plygeiniwch! (2014, via Bandcamp)
  • Y Gwyfyn (2018, Bubblewrap) release marking Welsh Language Music Day

References

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  1. ^ a b "PRS for Music – The Gentle Good interview 2015". YouTube. 28 August 2015.
  2. ^ "The Gentle Good - Find Your Way Back Home EP". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Lorient 2008 - Year of Wales | Facebook". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  4. ^ Smithsonian Folklife Festival – 2009 – Wales Music and Dance Archived 23 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Bethan Elfyn (3 February 2011). "BBC Blogs – Wales – Interview: The Gentle Good". BBC.
  6. ^ Bloomfield, Stephen (31 December 2017). "Musicians in Residence, China". British Council Music. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  7. ^ Sion Morgan (8 August 2014). "National Eisteddfod: The Gentle Good win album of the year". WalesOnline.
  8. ^ "The Drama Village - Rhith Gân". Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  9. ^ Cymru, Theatr Gen (29 July 2016). "Addysg - Rhith Gan (Wyn Mason)". Vimeo.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  10. ^ Karen Price (12 April 2014). "Cerys Matthews: Why there's nowt so dear as folk". WalesOnline.co.uk.
  11. ^ a b Noelle E.C. Evans (7 December 2016). "The Gentle Good, a Welsh musician's fight for global human rights". InterCardiff.
  12. ^ Welsh Language Album of the Year Shortlist Published. 12 July 2017.
  13. ^ David Owens (20 October 2017). "The Winner of the Welsh Music Prize 2017". WalesOnline.
  14. ^ "Gentle Good - WOMEX". Womex.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  15. ^ "The British Council Music Projects – Gareth Bonello China Tour". The British Council. February 2015.
  16. ^ "The Gentle Good". 2015.perthfestival.com.au. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  17. ^ "OUTSIDE MY HOUSE 1 – Mel Daley, Rich James + Gareth Bonello". YouTube. 28 May 2013.
  18. ^ "Richard James – Cariad y Wawr – Live at Acapela Studio". YouTube. 16 November 2013.
  19. ^ "2017 - Welsh Music Prize / Gwobr Gerddoriaeth Gymreig". Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  20. ^ "Welsh and Khasi Cultural Dialogues". Welshkhasisialogues.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  21. ^ "Dr Gareth Bonello". University of South Wales. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  22. ^ Alison Young (28 April 2012). "St Fagans National History Museum celebrates International Dawn Chorus Day". WalesOnline.
  23. ^ Gareth Bonello [@ghbonello] (15 April 2015). "I'm leaving @AmgueddfaCymru after over a decade and my final task is to lead this dawn chorus walk! It'll be magic!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ "St Fagans springs into summer – Press release". National Museum Wales. 31 May 2007.
  25. ^ "Gareth Bonello".
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