NEWS - Debut album "Coming Swn" by Welsh band Lo-fi Jones

Recorded primarily at Our Lady Studio in Borth with producer and engineer Mike West, the album is an eclectic, defiantly original debut — rooted in Welsh folk and indie, but defying easy categorisation. Additional tracks were recorded and produced in Oxford by Nikò O'Brien and Hannah Jacobs of pecq, in Cardiff by Mei Gwynedd, and in frontman Siôn Rickard's bedroom.

The album opens with a rhythmic, syncopated thrum of nylon strings as fiddle and harmonica glide the listener into an upbeat rendition of the Welsh traditional 'Diofal yw'r Aderyn'. From there, the band veer off the beaten track, moving between genres and moods — playful, lyrical, reflective, and subversive. Original songs tackle topics ranging from broken toasters to refugees, climate change, and the language, landscapes and communities of Wales. Lo-fi Jones weave seamlessly between Welsh and English, with a smattering of Spanish and French.

The band is fronted by North Walian brothers Siôn and Liam Rickard — Siôn on lead vocals, harmonica, accordion and saxophone; Liam on vocals, guitar, piano and synth. They are joined by Rolando Bertrand Ruiz from Nicaragua on bass and drums (often simultaneously), and the enigmatic Badger Brown from Pembrokeshire on fiddle and bass.

Founded in 2020, Lo-fi Jones were awarded Best Folk Band at the National Eisteddfod 2023, and took first place in the traditional group singing category at the Pan-Celtic Festival, Ireland, the same year. They were shortlisted for Best English Language Folk Song at the Welsh Folk Awards 2023, and in 2024 received the Horizons/Gorwelion artist fund, releasing their EP Bad Technology later that year. Recent live highlights include Between the Trees Festival, the National Eisteddfod, and Gŵyl Sain.