For me, the notion of a compilation album falls into three distinct categories. One – ‘Pile it high sell it cheap’: gather up the biggest hits of the day on one album such as the hugely successful series Now That’s What I Call Music… series (now in its 42nd year). Two – ‘Milk it for all it’s worth’: gather up the biggest hits of a single act and set the money hoover to full suck; see ABBA Gold, Queen’s Greatest Hits, Madonna’s Immaculate Collection, and so on. But it’s the third category I am interested in here, the compilation unicorns, if you will. These are albums that stick in the mind and shape musical tastes such as Cherry Red Records’ Pillows & Prayers (1982) which included tracks by The Monochrome Set, Tracey Thorn, Kevin Coyne, and Quentin Crisp, NME’s C86 (2006) cassette releases which featured Primal Scream, The Soup Dragons, Half Man Half Biscuit, and We’ve Got a Fuzzbox and We’re Gonna Use It. See also Nuggets (Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968) (1972), the Dynamite series of ska, rocksteady and Jamaican funk music (started in 1998), and all the good work labels like Analog Africa, Mr Bongo and Africa Seven do in crate-digging for African music treasure.
SWIGOD! is a category three compilation, a 29-track selection of just truly how amazing the Libertino Record label is. Run by the remarkable Gruffydd (Gruff) Owen, they are proudly Welsh – “fearlessly independent, bilingual, alternative and progressive” – and admirably loyal to their artists. Above everything is Gruff’s magpie ability to pick out diamonds sparkling in the sprawling indie landfill. The press release sums up why they have released a compilation album now,
“As a label, we’ve never been ones to look back. We’ve always been chasing the dreams of our artists, celebrating the now, and carving out space for the futures they’re building. After Covid, we thought briefly about releasing a compilation—but there was so much new music, so much to say in the moment, that the idea was quietly set aside. Until now. WHY NOW? Maybe because it finally felt right to stop for a moment, breathe, and take in what’s been built. Nearly a decade of storytelling through song, of standing by our artists through every high and low, of staying true to something bigger than ourselves. This is a moment of change—an end of a chapter, and the beginning of something new.”
That new chapter may in some small part be down the long overdue success of Adwaith whose star is in the ascendant after their recent Solas double album which Joyzine reviewer Simon Tucker hailed as “their OK Computer, their Hounds of Love, their classic”. It was an Adwaith live show in London that was my first ever review on Joyzine back in 2019 (it was first ever review anywhere), and I’ve been celebrating Libertino bands such as Accü, Sister Wives, Chroma, MÊL, N’famady Kouyaté and YNYS ever since.
There’s no way to dive into all 29-tracks without turning a 5-minute read into a 90-minute lecture, so I have picked out some songs I have loved since I first heard them alongside tracks that resonated with me as I listened to SWIGOD! on repeat.
Accü – ‘Am Sêr’. A bubbling dreamlike song that’s an intoxicating mix of psychedelic folk and nursery rhyme charm.
Sister Wives – ‘Graffiti Hen Ewrop’. A swirling midnight ride on pulsing bass and edgy organ sounds with a top line melody that floats between sleep and consciousness.
Adwaith – ‘ETO’ . An immense track from their Bato Mato album with killer chords and a killer tune that adds some ethereal sweetness to the gritty backing.
N’famady Kouyaté – ‘Aros I fi Yna’. A tune that flows like honey over the frenetic highlife backing that quickens the pulse and compels hands to play air congas.
Chroma – ‘Weithiau’. In the same postcode as Adwaith with all the grit and glory of fuzzed up backing combined with a leaping tune and wonderful light and dark sections.
Hotel Et Al – ‘Heneb Yfory’. Could easily have been used in a dream sequence from The Wicker Man. A rotational and hypnotic kaleidoscope of twinkling keyboards and spongy bass. When you search for the word Zen this should be the top result.
KEYS – ‘You Wear the Loveliest Gowns’. It starts as pure 80s new wave, slows down into Syd Barrett’s pastoral psych before skirting round the edge of flamenco before settling into a gentle lighters-in-the-air sway.
SWIGOD! is all your favourite chocolates in one lush selection box with no orange creams or apple crunches. When the plans to tear down Carmarthen’s monument to General Sir Thomas Picton (the “Blood-Stained Governor”) come to pass then I would lobby for a statue of Gruff Owen to stand in its place (the ‘Colossus of Carmarthen’ anyone?).
Libertino’s motto is “achub y byd un cân ar y tro” (saving the world one song at a time) and SWIGOD! stands as a testament to the sterling work of one small but perfectly formed label. Joyzine was founded on a principle of avoiding negativity and bringing the best music to people’s ears by writers who, as our original slogan said, are “doing it for the love since 2003” and Libertino have been keeping our dopamine levels up since they started releasing music. If Joyzine could be twinned with a label in the way that towns do, then on the outskirts of our website would be the sign that proudly proclaims “Welcome to Joyzine – twinned with Libertino”.
SWIGOD! Is also available as a limited edition double coloured vinyl, buy it here.
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Review by Paul F Cook
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