Mae gen i duo newydd gyda fy mrawd, Sion. Naethom ni creu y video yma yn ystod y lockdown cyntaf. Ond naethom ni ei gorfen a rhyddau yn mis medi. Can hen yr ysgrifenyd gan Sion a Rob, nol yn ein dyddiau ysgol.
It's a song that Sion and Rob (our best friend) wrote back in our school days. He was in Cardiff, I was in Betws-Y-Coed. A few months later I was in Ljubljana with my band "Worldwide Welshman & The Floating Castles". We were staying in Anca's place after performing in Floating Castle festival and Tivoli Park (there were bandmates in every room, and in tents in the garden). I recorded Sami on the pandero. I went back to Tubingen with them (staying in our bubble) and there I recorded Nabil on the bongo.

After our little Slovenian tour as "Worldwide Welshman & The Floating Castles" (a tour which was much reduced due to the pandemic, but still a lot of fun), I came back in the car with my German-based bandmates to Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg. As you're probably aware, I love it here! Cedric was applying to live in Lichti, so I applied too. There were a lot of people wanting a room, so I hinted that they shouldn't take me, seeing as my studies will be in Wales. So he got the room, and I became a "friend of the house."

Here's a little clip from our rehearsal in the garden of Lichti, playing a Bulgarian folk song called "Майка Калина Думаше" which I learnd from Vladamir Vladimirov in 2017.
Cristóbal, Cedric and I were joined by Cedric's new housemate, Ivo, on tapan.

One day out busking in the old town, I bumped into Bayram Agushev and his band, and we jammed together. Bayram invited me to join them for a concert in a Stuttgart beer garden the following day.
So I joined Bayram's Balkan/Macedonian/Roma band!!! That was fun (photos to follow)

I've got this very special cream... it comes from a river near Truške.
Here's a clip from our concert in that aforementioned village

This summer, just after the lockdown eased and the borders opened, I snuck off to Slovenia for a secret summer mini-tour, where I joined the Etno Histeria World Orchestra, along with my specially created summer tour band - "Worldwide Welshman & The Floating Castles":- Jonas, Lotte, Cedric, Angelika, Gaja, Vilma & Sami. We got on Slovenian National TV!

The next morning, we gave "Goldfish" is first radio airing, performing it live on Slovenian National Radio!! The WWW tour band were joined by Toby, Matija, and Ajda, the Etno Histeria Orchestra leaders (no clip of this, sorry).

A few days later, the Histeria team organised a variety-show style concert for us in the local village. I was honoured to accompany my dear friends Vilma & Sami AND the phenomenal musical sensation that is CLAUDIA SCHWAB as a guest guitarist in their sets. All in a days work for Worldwide Welshman! (I felt like I was going up in the world :D)
Video by Ajda Zupan:

I was invited to perform in the Treehouse Festival online edition. So I decided to make it extra special by reuniting the Treehouse Band for a few lockdown videos.

The Treehouse band came together in an epic fashion for one night only in the Treehouse Festival of summer 2019. I arrived in the festival alone, somewhere in the countryside between Oxford and Bristol, with no bandmates. So I was very happy when my friends Ernie and Luke showed up! I know these two from gigging at Biddle Bros in London. I asked if they'd like to accompany me for my set, and they agreed. I said, "we still need to find a drummer". The band on before us where a jazz-rock trio fro Newcastle called A Horse Named Gring0. I asked them if they'd like to stay on for one more set, and so the Worldwide Welshman Treehouse Band was born! (or we could be called Worldwide Welshman & The Limited-Edition Treehouse??)

The first lockdown single features the additional voices of Hannah Boer (from the Red Transit Van) in Amsterdam, Alice Morita & Sam Pascall in London, and my sister, Ciara, who's locked down with her boyfriend at the other side of our village. It's a crowd favourite, and I changed the words a bit to fit the situation ;)

Here's a song I've been working on... I think it's perfect for lockdown!

It's based on an idea that came about over a year ago on the Red Transit Van trip to Porto. Jonas Malfliet added a cool riff on the piano, and my brother, Sion, and I co-wrote the lyrics.

Remember when we used to go on roadtrips, and have dance festivals?
Red Transit Van, where are you now?

New Year Orchestra
Worldwide Welshman's soundtrack to the end of civilization
OUT NOW!

To celebrate the start of the new decade, I returned to Folk Marathon which this year took place in one of my favourite cities, Ghent. To make it extra special, I put together a band over twenty musicians from all over Europe for the New Year's Eve slot.
We dream of a world without borders!

Its a truly international affair, performed in Gent with a pan-European jam-band during an international folk festival, and produced in Germany by the patient and talented Max Christensen Music.

I hope you will find it both enertaining and relevant.

Enjoy!

Liam, 20/5/2020

Worldwide Welshman's New Year Orchestra are:
Liam Rickard - guitar & vocals
Jonas Malfliet – accordion
Cédric Avelon – bass
Joachim Thys – saxophone
Ana María Bautista – clarinet
Ray Riveros Valenzuela - trumpet
Bernahrd Vanecek - trombone
Antoon Kindekens – drums, (Perc. on Sofia & Boyfriend)
Jonas El Leuther – cowbell (drums on Sofia & Boyfriend)
Ammar Hanoon Alkhalidi – darbuka
Maya McCourt – cello, guest lead vocals
Mart Flecijn – violin
Angelika Hudler – violn
Lotte Remmen – violin
Lauren Spiceley – violin
Hannah Boer – percussion, backing vocals
Michael Ekeghasi – percussion, backing vocals
Moa Papillon – Mandolin, backing vocals
Mira Heller– flute, backing vocals
Jilly Lukkesen– backing vocals, guest lead vocals
Marek Matas– backing vocals
Sion Rickard – harmonica, backing vocals
Helen Scott – backing vocals & penny whistle
Linde Janssens – Backing vocals
Luna Ersahin – backing vocals
Yolanda Bautista Daza– backing vocals

Just before lockdown, my sister and I went to Belgium and made this video for my recently recorded song, Goldfish, which was written this time last year, in Robinialand, with Belgian actress, singer & psychologist, Jilly Lukkesen (from the Red Transit Van).

Starring Jilly, Liam, Cathia, Ana-Maria & friends. Filmed & edited by Ciara Rickard with additional footage from Hannelore Karmel. Graphics by Liam.

These last few years have been incredible. With the help of my friends around the world, I've taken Worldwide Welshman to Ghent, Amsterdam, L'Ardennes, Algiers (Ethno Algeria), Portugal (Ethno Portugal & Folk Marathon Porto), Catalonia (Ethno Catalonia), Ljublijana (Kavc Festival), Tubingen (Klangfolk & more), Castle Lichtenstein in Germany (Ethno Germany), Koper (Floating Castle festival), Italy (Folktrepo), Berlin (Karneval Der Kulturen)...

I just came back from Ghent, Belgium, where welcomed in the new decade with the biggest Worldwide Welshman band so far, of over 20 people!
This was a follow up of last year when we played in Porto with ten people.
On the way to Porto we went in  Red Transit Van, and so the Red Transit Van crew where born, aboud half of whome were onstage with me, of course.
And there were even more friends in the audience
My bandmates in the Belgian lineup of Worldwide Welshman were the organisers of the festival, and they did a great job.

In September 2019 I moved to Cardiff, where I've been working on a brand new band with my brother and collaborator, Sion Rickard. More on that very soon.
Lots of new releases planned this year, so stay tuned!