Beneath the surface: Listen to a playlist inspired by unseen worlds, dark rivers and hidden landscapes, selected by Tristwch Y Fenywod

Welcome back to Selections, a series of artist-curated playlists from those in the know.

Tristwch Y Fenywod (which means “The Sadness of Women”) are an avant-garde gothic trio forged in the shadows of Leeds’ DIY underground, featuring Gwretsien Ferch Lisbeth (voice, dual-zither), Leila Lygad (electronic drums), and Sidni Sarffwraig (bass guitar). Recording exclusively in the Welsh language, the group draws from the deep well of Welsh folklore, merging pagan mysticism and gothic rock with the textures of traditional folk and digital electronics. Their acclaimed, self-titled debut album – sung entirely in Cymraeg – spins fables of sapphic love and desire, existential darkness, and political and environmental unrest.

Here, they curate a playlist inspired by the obscure depths of dark rivers and hidden landscapes. “As a band, we all form deep relationships with landscapes,” the group says, explaining that they’re “drawn to other musicians interacting with place, evoking genius loci and communicating psychedelic, often gnostic experiences that you can have chasing this sense of presence.”

“Finding collaboration in wild places, urban liminal spaces, industrial ghosts of the past and future, seeking out portals and passageways to dreams and dreamlike experiences in the waking world… This playlist features our fellow travellers in the wyrd.” Listen below.