9Bach stands as one of Wales’ most visionary bands, establishing themselves as a unique creative force on the music scene. Led by Lisa Jên Brown, they have broken new ground by combining Welsh musical heritage with contemporary sounds.
In 2025, the band reached a completely new stage in their musical journey through collaboration with Andy Gangadeen, an artist with extensive experience working with leading bands, among them Chase & Status and Lava La Rue. This marks the first opportunity to hear their exciting musical partnership, bringing “powerful big beats and up-tempo grooves” to 9Bach’s unique sound. This new material draws deeply from Lisa and Martin’s personal roots in the acid house movement of the ’80s and ’90s. It was an amazing time of togetherness.
Although Martin and Lisa didn’t know each other then, they both connected on a level where those powerful beats of a London warehouse party or rave in a North Wales quarry put them both back in that joyful place of freedom and euphoric pulse to move your body. It’s a powerful energy they crave to relive through their own music. The recording process has been different for this new collaboration. 9Bach’s last studio album Anian was recorded live in Real World Studios, but the new material has been recorded by Lisa, Martin & Andy in different cottages around North Wales, with Andy’s mobile 101 Studio, Studio 9Bach in Bethesda and Andy’s 101 Studio’s in Bow, with Mirain & Dan adding sparkle from their home studios in London and Cardiff.
Lisa: “This time round I’ve composed songs whilst listening to Andy’s drum sequences as inspiration. It’s good to mix things up with a different approach to tease something new out of me. Songs for me have always started by the piano, but I’ve loved having a dance beat to vibe me up as I stare at the blank page!”
9Bach was formed by Lisa Jen and Martin Hoyland in 2005. The name is a play on numbers and words.
Lisa: “9 is as in Nain, (pronounced nine), which means grandmother in the North of Wales; Bach means little and is also a term of endearment in Welsh. In one language 9 is something so mundane as a number, but in Welsh Nain is a cozy, family-orientated, lovely thing. Your grandmother is a person we can relate to and visualise.”
The band comprises:
Lisa Jen Brown: Vocals
Martin Hoyland: Guitars
Dan Swain: Bass Guitar
Mirain Haf Roberts: Vocals, Piano
Andy Gangadeen: Drums
Talulah
From North Wales, Talulah creates bilingual blends of acoustic and electronic textures, shaped by soul and jazz influences. Her debut EP ‘Solas’ explores identity and minority language revival, introducing a voice rooted in Welsh language culture yet unmistakably future-facing.
Winner of the Triskel Award at the 2023 Welsh Music Prize, her music has been championed across the UK, with support from Sian Eleri on Selector Radio and Huw Stephens on BBC Radio Wales.
From the immersive stages of Green Man Festival and FOCUS Wales to an international spotlight at Fifty Lab Festival in Brussels, Talulah’s live performances bring her music vividly to life. She has also performed at Brecon International Jazz Festival, Yardbird Jazz, and the Endangered Languages Festival at the Barbican Centre.
With new material on the horizon, Talulah stands at the forefront of a bold new wave of alternative, soulful bilingual music emerging from Wales.
