The History of Nails

Last Summer, in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum and it's resultant power vacuum I began meditating on the power and pitfalls of combining pop, politics and art.
I started reading about the Russian Futurists as a case study; their Agitprop train journeys, their role in the Russian revolution, the promise of the long lost Far Eastern Republic and ultimately the collapse of the movement under the Bolsheviks' cultural stranglehold - as participants were either co-opted or destroyed by the regime.
Unbelievably a few weeks later I received an invitation to take part in an artistic residency aboard the Trans Siberian railway. Trans Sib Lit was organised by The British Council and bought together a group of poets and writers to respond to the journey. We performed in 5 cities from Moscow to Krasnoyarsk in November 2016. I wrote a bunch of songs and shot this short film.

Director: Gruff Rhys.
Editor: Dylan Goch
Audio Dub & Drones: Simon Jones @cymrubeats

Dyma ffilm fer a saethwyd yn 2016 wedi gwahoddiad annisgwyl gan y cyngor Prydeinig yn fy ngwadd ar daith o Moscow i Krosnayarsk yn Siberia. Cyn derbyn y gwahoddiad, trwy gyd-ddigwyddiad bum yn darllen yn helaeth am ddyfodolwyr Rwsia yn nghyfnod chwyldro 1917 a sut y bu bron iddynt sefydlu gwladfa mewn clymblaid a'r Anarchiaid a'r Comiwnyddion yn Siberia.
Dyna gyd-destun y ffilm - beth oedd yn wefreiddiol am y daith hefyd oedd y wledd o ddiwyllianau a ieithoedd oddi fewn i'r ffederasiwn.

Saethwyd gan Gruff Rhys,
Golygu a graffeg: Dylan Goch
Sain a synths: Simon Jones @Cymrubeats

Thanks to genius poet Joe Dunthorne for pointing the VHS camera at the live gig.

Comisiynwyd gan y British Council / Commissioned by the British Council