Welsh multi‑instrumentalist and producer Huw Marc Bennett steps in for our latest guest playlist, arriving just ahead of the release of his new album Heol Las this Friday.

Rooted in the landscapes and lore of South Wales, the record reimagines traditional melodies from the Morgannwg/Glamorgan region through an earth‑rich blend of folk, jazz, and psychedelic textures. Bennett digs into the soil of home and pulls up something vivid, hypnotic, and deeply contemporary.

Bennett says, “On this record there are versions, interpretations and tunes influenced by cerddoriaeth werin, the folk music of Morgannwg; The place I was born, I was raised in and revisit to feel grounded. The melodies you hear were given, found and invented.”

His playlist traces some of the influences and resonances behind the project, featuring music by Nansi Richards, Gábor Szabó, Jorge Ben Jor, Steeleye Span, and more. Press play and slip into the mood.

I have always been drawn to music that is rooted to place. It could be multiple different geographical influences, abstract interpretations of a landscape or literal sounds from that area. But I enjoy travelling through music, hearing what the world sounds like.

I also love hearing history in music. The ordinary folk of the world and the people who went before us, their voices and feelings are carried through their cultural songs.

We must remember to use and love our songs and stories. Keep them alive anyway we know how, and take ownership.

Meredydd Evans once said:
‘We must struggle consciously for our culture.
Not because it’s better than anyone else’s,
but because it is ours and we make sense of our life in terms of this culture.

Through this, hopefully, people will realise that we are all the same at the end of the day.
But that our ancestors just played slightly different stringed instruments… Huw Marc Bennett