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The Gentle Good is the moniker of Cardiff-based musician and songwriter Gareth Bonello. Gareth is known for his enchanting melodies, intricate guitar style and beautiful acoustic arrangements. As a former winner of both the Welsh Language Album of the Year and the Welsh Music Prize, Gareth has long been a prominent musician on the Welsh music scene.

The Gentle Good’s new album ‘Elan’ is a psychedelic portrait of the Elan Valley in Powys, Wales. It was written during a year-long residency in the Cambrian Mountains and explores the landscape, history and politics of the valley, which was flooded at the end of the Victorian era to create a series of reservoirs for drinking water. The album features a full band, synths and strings and draws on folk-rock, psych and pop influences to invoke the dramatic landscapes of Elan.

A captivating performer, Gareth has performed all over the world, from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC to the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. He has toured extensively in the UK, performing at prominent festivals such as Glastonbury, The Green Man, Latitude and Cambridge Folk. His recent works include the solo guitar and vocal album Galargan, a stripped-back exploration of Welsh folk song that garnered a rare 5* review in the Guardian.

In recent years Gareth has become a highly regarded musical collaborator, having worked extensively with artists from China and India. His award winning album Y Bardd Anfarwol (2013) broke new ground with its unique combination of Welsh-language storyteling and Chinese traditional music. He is a founder member of the acclaimed Khasi-Cymru Collective with artists from the indigenous Khasi communities of Northeast India. Closer to home, in 2025 Gareth worked with the Welsh National Opera and the UK fishing community to compose new classical pieces for the Sea Interludes project.

Elan Reviews

“Elan is an admirable piece of work; a broad and generous soundscape for a beloved area of Wales, containing both music and singing that is diverse, adventurous and rich in character.”

KLOF

“Gareth Bonello has not only created possibly his greatest album to date but has firmly established himself as one of Wales’ most gifted, unique and thoughtful artists.”

Joyzine

“Elan feels like his most accomplished record; a bilingual epic as spacious and pretty as the valley from which it takes its name.”

Clash

“For fans of Welsh folk, global fusion, and ambient psychedelia, this is an album not to be missed.”

Psychedelic Scene

“A quite remarkable record.”

folking.com

“Gareth Bonello’s most ambitious album so far, this bumper collection is a veritable triumph.”

KLOF

“Elan deserves to be hailed as not only a Welsh, but  a worldwide folk classic.”

Joyzine

“Very highly recommended indeed.”

Clash

Galargan Reviews

“Mesmerising”

The Guardian

“It’s just so amazing”

Folk Wales

“Pretty much perfect”

God is in the TV

 “Beautifully accomplished and irresistibly engaging”

Folk Radio UK

“…a warm wash of aural sunlight…a fresh lungful of pure mountain air”

fRoots 

“…as delicate as a watercolour yet with the energy of a master calligrapher’s work”

Folk Radio UK

“a beautiful piece of work, serene, thoughtful and engaging.”

Bright Young Folk

“…a truly singular recording”

Drowned in Sound

“…pure and beautiful, soaring and verdant”

Americana UK

“Mae’r record fel petai’n gam uwchben unrhyw record Gymraeg arall, a’r Bardd Anfarwol fydd y llinyn mesur i mi o hyn ymlaen”

Golwg 360

“an international masterpiece”

St Pauls Lifestyle

“stunningly beautiful”

Pennyblack Music