Multi-talented: Sion performs with Hud. Photo by Rhys Llwyd.<\/p><\/div>\n
If his face seems familiar, you may have seen Sion playing at Gwdih\u0175 as part of S\u0175n, the Cardiff music festival. \u201cGwdih\u0175 is a tiny tiny little place, but they managed to cram in 280 people, I think,\u201d he recalls. \u201cBlackout were playing in Clwb Ifor Bach at the same time, and they only got 100.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was sort of overflowing to the back, it was great – and it was minging! Everyone was sweaty, and it was horrible and hot. But it was definitely great fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Creation of Creision Hud<\/strong><\/p>\nAlthough the band play under the name Hud, the Welsh word for \u2018magic\u2019, old-school fans may remember the days when they were called Creision Hud. \u201cWhen we started, we actually got a gig before we had a name,\u201d explains Sion. \u201cThere was a book called Creision Hud, so we just put that name down. We just never got around to changing it until now!\u201d<\/p>\n
Sion, 24, has played with the other members of Hud (Rhydian on vocals and guitar, Ifan on lead guitar and Cai on drums) for about six years now. \u201cWe were all in the same year at Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen, apart from Cai, who\u2019s my little brother. We\u2019ve been friends since we were tiny little things. I think it was Rhyds\u2019 brother being in a band that gave us the idea of having our own band.\u201d<\/p>\n
Did he always want to play bass? \u201cBasically, how the bass came about was that at first the band was just me, Rhyds and another drummer – he had a drum kit, Rhyds had a guitar, and they needed a bass!\u201d Sion laughs. \u201cI mean, everyone wants to be the guitarist, don\u2019t they? But the bass has worked out well.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the blood<\/strong><\/p>\nHaving your baby brother in your band might be a disaster for some people, but Sion seems typically unphased by the potential for complication. The family bond is clearly strong – Sion jokes that Cai is the only one who doesn\u2019t write songs for the band. \u201cHe always complains that he plays the drums, so he can\u2019t really do it. He just provides the eye candy, basically!\u201d<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, Sion comes from a musical background, and one particularly focused on Welsh music. His father was a music teacher before he became a headmaster, and Sion\u2019s grandfather taught the Welsh opera singer Bryn Terfel. Sion says that music \u201cis in the blood, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n
More surprising is Sion\u2019s preference for what he calls \u201cdarker\u201d music. \u201cThe band are inspired by Foals, and a few Vampire Weekend songs, but for me personally Radiohead have always been a big influence,\u201d he says. \u201cThe darker sorts of music have always attracted me – although they don\u2019t have the best basslines!\u201d He thinks for a moment, before concluding: \u201cMotown definitely has the best basslines.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sion Llywd is a busy man. What with touring as part of Wales\u2019 most upcoming band and balancing an MA workload and social life, it\u2019s amazing he has time for an interview at all. If his face seems familiar, you may have seen Sion playing at Gwdih\u0175 as part of S\u0175n, the Cardiff music festival. \u201cGwdih\u0175 is a tiny tiny little place, but they managed to cram in 280 people, I think,\u201d he recalls. \u201cBlackout were playing in Clwb Ifor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":13367,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[960,2391,2392,474,2393,2394,1018],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-13365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-acoustic","tag-bass","tag-creision-hud","tag-guitar","tag-hud","tag-sion-llwyd","tag-swn"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"Sion](\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/11\/sion_pic.jpg\" "\\"Sion")