When it comes to Rose and Dan Linn-Pearl, there is an innate balance between them that allows for not only their lives to work day-to-day but musically as well in the experimental Peiriant. Both armed with a stringed instrument, they balance out the violin and guitar in a way that provides an interesting take on folk on their 2024 release, ‘Dychwelyd,’ out on July 5th. We talked about their audible equilibrium, the new album, and more in this back-and-forth exchange with the Welsh duo.
Kendra: Creatives always seem to be trying to learn from what they’ve done and apply it to their next project. With that, were there any personal notes you made after ‘River Songs’ was said and done and you jotted down in the back of your mind that you felt like you executed when it came time to write and record 2024’s ‘Dychwelyd?’
Peiriant: ‘River Songs’ was less improvisational than our earlier work. We started exploring structure and arrangements and considering more meditative approaches using repetition and drone. It was a more melodious record. ‘Dychwelyd’ revisits this but also plays again with dissonance and the chaos that improvisation allows. The addition of the Moog Grandmother enables another tonal dimension.
Kendra: For two people to really work, whether it’s personally or professionally, is balance, and it feels like you two have that – especially given your instruments of choice; the more classical-sounding violin with the modern electric guitar. Other than both being stringed instruments, how and why do you feel those two complement one another so well?
Peiriant: It’s strange because in many ways they occupy the same space in terms of frequency, yet the timbre varies enough that they augment each other really well. Maybe it’s this close interplay that allows the relationship to flourish, like close friends. We’ve been playing together for many years so we’re pretty intuitive.
Kendra: Again, they come together nicely on songs like “Taflu Dŵr’” but in instances like “Cân Idris” it does seem like there are times when one of you takes the lead. Has there ever been a time when a song did have more violin or guitar and after working on it – it was agreed upon that one of you had to take a step back to let the song breathe better?
Peiriant: The violin will often take the role of “the voice” and the guitar underpins as texture. It’s a nice way to work. On our first record, we would take turns on tracks to lead the tune. There’s a piece called ‘Hiraeth’ which is a solo violin, its beauty is in its simplicity. By contrast “Chwyrnu” on ‘River Songs relies on the driving guitar to flourish.
Kendra: Because in the end, you two are creating these elaborate soundscapes with Welsh landscapes anchoring your thought process at times. So can one assume each of you spends a lot of time composing in nature?
Peiriant: It definitely informs our outlook and grounds us as people and as a family. We live in the hills of mid-Wales, a far cry from the east London warehouse where we began our journey as a musical duo. We think that both worlds collide in Peiriant. Especially as the synth gives another modern dimension. It’s nice to play with folk music within urbanized parameters.
Kendra: With Rose also doubling as a veterinary ophthalmologist, I’d love to know what animal you think would be the best companion for ‘Dychwelyd’ and why?
Peiriant: Ha! I guess an outdoors and home-loving cat…A bit wild still and not necessarily very obedient…
Kendra: Time for a side note – With it being summertime, I’d love to know what is your go-to backyard, get-together song that you feel really helps bring everyone together?
Peiriant: Saw Bwncath recently, they were great fun. Try the song “Fel hyn da ni fod.”
Kendra: Lastly, with ‘Dychwelyd’ out on July 5th, what else can fans expect as we dive deeper into the summer months?
Peiriant: We have some shows coming up. In particular Nozstock – it’s the last one, so it will be quite emotional, as we have been involved in the setup for some years. We are looking to do a short UK tour in autumn time, so watch this space.
