“I just want to live where I’m from.” After hearing a friend say those words about their second-home ravished homeland of Cornwall, Cornish/Welsh artist has poured all his rage into his biggest curveball yet, his latest single, ‘No Economy. Merging infectious tribal rhythms with buoyant vocals, pulsating synths and driving drumbeats, setting torches ablaze. As Gwenno said, “It’s Catchy, it’s snappy, it’s utterly brilliant”
‘No Economy’ is a battle cry against the hyper rich properties and second homes on Cornwall’s ancient clifftops. Taking the perspective of the desperate Cornish native, doesn’t hold back, laying all the problems of London Money with clarity and strength.
“I want to go home, can’t afford a property, I want to go home, but someone bought the sea.
I met the devil, he’s so thrifty. He put this whole town on Air B&B.“
Taking inspiration from Mark Jenkin’s critically acclaimed 2019 film Bait, Mantaraybryn’s latest offering joins the growing wave against second home culture. On this he comments:
“Of course I’m angry, so the song has this very obvious fury and pain to it. There are whole villages that are dead throughout winter with the only economy being so seasonal. It’s an incredibly niche topic I know. Pop music is often seen as being vapid or lacking substance, but I wanted this to be an anthem for people while this discussion is getting oxygen.”
The hard-hitting accompanying video for this new Cornish anthem shows Mantaraybryn as a destructive homeowner, literally taking a bat to a model of the iconic tin mine, flattening it to dust. On a bleak coastline, he’s also a lonely fisherman, brooding and pacing. Possibly plotting revenge of some sort.
Mantaraybryn has been releasing music and performing live since his 2016 debut album Dark Shapes in the Water. His later EPs Black Kemble and Year of the Heron have built an impressive catalogue, amassing over 26 million streams on Spotify. He has since performed at festivals, sold-out UK tours, and played Birmingham Pride’s Mainstage slot.
Originally from Cornwall, and now living between there and Wales, the sea air is in Mantaraybryn‘s blood. He draws lyrical inspiration from the natural world, folklore, and romance around him, twisted with the modern pressure of being a fearful queer in an ever- daunting world. Excerpts from his diary and iPhone notes become poetry, and then driving bangers and ballads.
