Cate Le Bon

Cate Le Bon, the Cardiff-based singer who popped up on Gruff Rhys’s album, "Neon Neon", before issuing her own debut album, "My Oh My", in 2010, returns with her second album, "CYRK".

“'CYRK' is like a time travel travelogue which continually returns to the sea,” says Le Bon. The album’s title comes from the Polish word for "circus" and was inspired by a trip to the Isle Of Eigg. “I mostly write about the sea, matters of the heart and animals – or a mish-mash of all three.”

Recorded with producer Krissie Jenkins in Cardiff, "CYRK" found Le Bon raiding Super Furry Animals’ collection of synths, pedals and guitars. “We spent days plugging different things into one another – it was so much fun,” she says.

Players include Le Bon’s trusty backing band (Andy Fung on drums, Steve Black on bass and Niwl’s Sion Glyn on guitar) plus H. Hawkline on synths and Meilyr and Gwion from Racehorses playing brass on "Greta". “If you listen very carefully,” says Le Bon, “you can hear Gruff Rhys wailing backing vocals on 'Falcon Eyed' too.”