-August 25/26/27/28
GRUFF RHYS, BCUC, Adwaith, Sage Todz, This Is The Kit, Ryley Walker, Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18, Troupe Djéliguinet, Ffrancon, Snapped Ankles, La Perla, Cosmic Dog Fog + More
ARA DEG
2022
Ara Deg’s central planning committee has designated the word ‘Ymgolli’ as the key word of this year’s festival. Which means ‘To lose one’s self’.
With the World waking up from the pandemic’s slumber into a new hell scape of war, debt and pestilence this series of concerts offer an opportunity to create new musical communities by bringing artists from all over the World and all over Wales to Bethesda to create a sparkling new soup of sonic possibility for us to lose –
or even find ourselves in.
WEEKEND & Day TICKETS
-AUGUST 25/26/27/28-
FFORDD BANGOR, BETHESDA GWYNEDD, LL57 3AN
THURSDAY
Neuadd Ogwen
9:30pm – BCUC
8:30pm – ADWAITH
7:30pm – SAGE TODZ
7pm – Door
6pm Early Accreditation
FRIDAY
Neuadd Ogwen
9:15pm – THIS IS THE KIT
7:45pm – RYLEY WALKER
7pm Door
SUNDAY
Neuadd Ogwen
9:30pm – SNAPPED ANKLES
8:30pm – LA PERLA
7:30pm – COSMIC DOG FOG
7pm Door
THURSDAY
25th AUGUST
EVENING SHOW - NEUADD OGWEN
BCUC
BCUC are a musically explosive political rap group from Soweto, South Africa. They are utterly unique live creating massive beats and bass that moves the mind and body, and have been tearing up stages all over the World.
ADWAITH
Straight from the stages of Glastonbury the amazing Adwaith are touring their second album Bato Mato and are bringing their uniquely powerful and radical dream pop to Bethesda for the first time.
Sage Todz
Sage Todz the drill rapper from Penygroes has had a year to remember with the huge viral success of his song Rownd â Rownd leading to the recording of the track ‘O Hyd’ for the Welsh national football team.
FRIDAY
26th AUGUST
EVENING SHOW - NEUADD OGWEN
This Is The Kit
Kate Stable’s This Is The Kit are renowned international players of groovy and sophisticated experimental acoustic songwriting – already well known to 6 Music listeners and touring her latest, 5th album Off Off On – banjo, guitars and her super-group at the ready her profound, rhythmic music will lift everyone skywards on a Friday night
Ryley Walker
Guitar hero Ryley Walker could be said to be descended from the experimental scene of 1990’s Chicago, the time of Tortoise, Jim O’Rourke and the like, but Ryley is his own beast and is planting his own prolific and fruitful furrow of unpretentious if cosmically aware American guitar music.
We’ll be sure to give him a long enough set so he (and we) can lose ourselves in his music.
SATURDAY
27th AUGUST
AFTERnoon show - CAPEL JERUSALEM
Gruff Rhys
SATURDAY
27th AUGUST
EVening show - neuadd Ogwen
Carwyn Ellis & RIO 18
Troupe Djéliguinet
It’s great to be able to collaborate with Cardiff’s Butetown Carnival – which is the same weekend – in order to bring Troupe Djéliguinet from Guinea to the hall.
They are led by Fatoumata Kouyaté a Balafon master and griot, who hails from a long line of Mandingue musical poets – she in turn has passed on her immense skills to her children – including N’famady who has played Ara Deg and visited Bethesda many times now. We look forward to welcoming more of the Kouyaté family to Bethesda.
Ffrancon
Ffrancon – for many years now Geraint Ffrancon from Bethesda has been creating his own world of electronic music. His latest album Gwalaxia bridges the conceptual link between Belleville – the origin of the original Techno movement near Detroit and Machynlleth – the Welsh capital under Owain Glyndwr.
Mr Ffrancon noticed one day that the two towns were twinned, which planted a wild idea in his head for a daring, banging and very unlikely techno album, informed by late Medieval Welsh politics. It is now available on the Ankst Musik label.
SUNDAY
28th AUGUST
EVening show - neuadd Ogwen
Snapped Ankles
Snapped Ankles are touring their latest album Forest of Your Problems which was released last year on the experimental electronics label Leaf. They are a completely unique live group – stepping into the realm of performance art in the most unpretentious way possible – they are completely anonymous in shamanic woodland overgrowth – it’s like watching a forest play a show – they are energetic like Can and scratchy like The Fall but this will be a wild night to lose yourself and dance as their projections flicker you into submission.
La Perla
The group La Perla from Bogotá, Colombia is a trio of spirited percussionist and chanters, which upend the patriarchal foundations of the Colombian traditional rhythms.
They feed on urban art, cumbia wheels, psychedelia, lysergy, graffiti, joy and chaos, that chaos that makes you “stay up all night, and fly like a trout” and to sing for the rights of those who are excluded from straight society
Cosmic Dog Fog
Cosmic Dog Fog are an underground duo from Wrexham who make raw hypnotic electronic beats & sounds on brittle synthesisers for the audience to completely lose themselves in. Like Snapped Ankles they appear in masks and are completely anonymous.
Conversely they are full of character and have amassed a keen following of hedonists in Clwyd. This will be their first gig for the mushroom heads of Gwynedd.
Made possible with support from…
ARA DEG 2022
Aritsts
BCUC
ADWAITH
SAGE TODZ
THIS IS THE KIT
RYLEY WALKER
GRUFF RHYS
CARWYN ELLIS & RIO 18
TROUPE DJÉLIGUINET
FFRANCON
SNAPPED ANKLES
LA PERLA
COSMIC DOG FOG
+ MORE
Concept
Ara Deg was created by Gruff Rhys and Neuadd Ogwen
