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Artist
Uiscedwr
12+ albums
folkfunnyacousticindieindie folk
about
Uiscedwr (pronounced "ish-ka-dooer"; means 'water' in Irish and Welsh) is a folk band which plays British folk music influenced by world music. The group started off as a trio and was originally based in Manchester. They won the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award in 2002. Founding members Welsh fiddle player/singer Anna Esslemont and Irish bodhran virtuoso Cormac Byrne met in Manchester in 2002, and soon afterwards formed the group. Byrne invited a friend from Ireland to play the guitar, and with the lineup fleshed out by Esslemont's younger sister they entered the BBC Young Folk Awards 2002, which they won. Despite the win, the guitarist left the group, and Esslemont called upon an old acquaintance, Ben Hellings. As the trio of Esslemont, Byrne and Hellings, the group recorded Everywhere in 2003, which gained them a nomination for the Horizon Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2005. By this time, Uiscedwr was mixing British folk music with a strong Celtic bias with other influences including jazz, European folk music and world music. Shortly before the 2005 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Hellings left the group and was replaced by guitarist Kevin Dempsey who also contributed vocals. During 2005, Anna Esslemont was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia. Her illness meant the group had to reduce its touring commitments and delay work on the second album. Esslemont had a successful bone marrow transplant in December 2006 and Uiscedwr resumed touring in June 2007. Subsequently, Uiscedwr (
