“DIOLCH YN FAWR!!!!” screams Bagillt born Owens as she takes to Twitter after her win. “I am absolutely over the moon to have won the 2021 Welsh Music Prize! Being recognised by my homeland in this way is so so special!”, she continues, “Wales has shaped me as an artist & continues to be a place of inspiration to me. My nana Jeannette would be so proud.”.” Diolch yn fawr” means “Thank you very much” by the way.

DIOLCH YN FAWR!!!! I am absolutely over the moon to have won the 2021 @welshmusicprize ! Being recognised by my homeland in this way is so so special! Wales has shaped me as an artist & continues to be a place of inspiration to me. My nana Jeannette would be so proud pic.twitter.com/2rtkoo7uHd

— Kelly Lee Owens (@kellyleeowens) November 23, 2021

2020’s Inner Song is an incredible piece of art from front to back, allowing for some moments of her Welsh heritage to shine, like on single “Corner of My Sky” featuring John Cale, has passages sung in Welsh by Cale himself. Sections of thumping techno beats blend into sweet effervescent instrumentals that feel no way out of place. The LP even opens with a cover of Radiohead’s 2007 classic “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” from In Rainbows. As if there wasn’t already enough going on.

“Inner Song” has been described as: “a tribute to the loner in everyone. Through a batch of loop-heavy tracks, Owens conveys an overarching sense of solitude and allows the listener to explore that feeling in each song. She guides the listener through each song with ease, throwing out the conventions of electronic music in favour of a cerebral journey through a computerized stew of glitchy, elegant beats”. You can read the full review of the album here.

As the winner of the prize, Owens is also awarded £10,000, some of which she has pledged to donate to welsh charities.

Owens is also currently touring the UK. After already completing dates in Belfast, Dublin, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, and Birmingham; you can still get tickets to a few of the remaining shows here. There were a host of European tour dates also set for 2021 that have all been cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions in Europe.

See below the remaining dates on Owens UK Tour.

 25/11/2021 – Y Plas – Cardiff
27/11 – Patterns – Brighton
30/11 – The Ritz – Manchester
02/12 – Earth – London

The winner of the Welsh Music Prize 2020 is…

Care City by @iamdeyah #WMP2020 pic.twitter.com/a6VTv99oYn

— Welsh Music Prize (@welshmusicprize) November 19, 2020

Deyah saw off stern competition from 14 other artists for the prize, which celebrates the best album released by a Welsh performer or group as adjudged by a panel of industry professionals. Among the other contenders for the award this year were Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys – a previous Welsh Music Prize winner with his 2011 solo album Hotel Shampoo – and Aberystwyth’s Georgia Ruth, who had previously collaborated with the Manic Street Preachers on their 2014 album Futurology.

Judges on the panel for the 2020 award – which was established by BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens and music promoter John Rostron in 2011 – included BBC Wales’ Sian Eleri Evans, Radio X’s Polly James, author and BBC DJ Gemma Cairney, and Music Week‘s Mark Sutherland. Speaking about this year’s winner with BBC Wales, Huw Stephens said “Deyah’s ‘Care City’ impressed the judges immensely with her personal, poetic and intricately produced album. She’s a young Welsh artist who is really making her mark on the music scene, and we’re thrilled for her to be the 10th recipient of the Welsh Music Prize. ‘Care City’ is a phenomenal listen, her words and flow are outstanding.”

Formerly known as NoNameDisciple, Deyah has already attracted a growing band of high-profile fans, with the likes of Lily Allen, JME, Jessie J and Wiley voicing their appreciation for her intensely personal work. Care City has also a host of glowing reviews from critics. Fortitude magazine described the LP as “raw and confessional”, adding it “puts Deyah on the map as emerging new talent”; whilst Hip Hop Magazine called it “conceptual masterpiece“.

Speaking in an emotional acceptance video on the Welsh Music Prize Twitter feed, Deyah said that she felt ‘speechless‘ on picking up the accolade. She said “I was only saying to my manager the other day that I don’t think I’m going to stand a chance at all…Care City is a documentation of the hardest time I’ve ever had to go through, so for it to be listened to is incredible in itself but to win the Welsh Music Prize is insane. Being Welsh I’m so proud.”

Among the attendees at the online awards ceremony last night was Hollywood star Michael Sheen. The actor, renowned for his chameleonic turns in The Damned United, The Queen and Frost/Nixon, is no stranger to the Welsh music scene. The Newport-born, Port Talbot-raised actor has previously appeared in music videos for the Manics (on 2010’s (It’s Not War) Just The End Of Love) and for this year’s Kelly Lee Owens and John Cale collaboration Corner of My Sky.

Sheen told BBC Wales he had been hugely impressed by the Welsh talent on the display this year. He said “The incredible richness, the imagination, the creativity that is represented by all the nominees this year is extraordinary. I’ve been blown away by it. It makes me feel incredibly proud to know that people across the world are able to get a window into who we are in Wales through this music, because you are our voice internationally.“

Music promoter John Rostron, who co-founded the Welsh Music Prize with Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens, told BBC Wales that the award feels more relevant than ever in a year when the music industry has been jolted by the pandemic. He said “Covid-19 hasn’t quashed our appetite for listening to and discovering new music. Streaming and buying new records has been a lifeline for performers to reach audiences, and for us all to stay in good health with a daily dose of great new songs.”

The nominees for the 2020 prize showcase a diverse range of genres, including rap; indie; electropop and folk in both the Welsh and English languages. The 15 nominated acts will hope to succeed Camarthen post-punk outfit Adwaith, who secured the honours in 2019 with their debut album Melyn.

Here’s this years Welsh Music Prize short list. Congratulations to everyone nominated. What a list!#WMP2020 pic.twitter.com/rTjWo1KIOx

— Welsh Music Prize (@welshmusicprize) October 29, 2020

The nominees for the prize this year are as follows:

Ani Glass, Mirores – Ani Saunders (aka Ani Glass) will aim follow in the footsteps of her sister Gwenno, who won the prize in 2015. Like her sibling, the Cardiff electro artist performs in Welsh and Cornish. A win here would cap a successful year for the singer-songwriter, who has already scooped the album of the year award at the National Eisteddfod.

Colorama, Chaos Wonderland – The 10th album released by Colorama; the psychedelic indie-folk project initiated by Anglesey product Carwyn Ellis. The prolific Ellis, who has previously worked with Nicky Wire, The Pretenders, Saint Etienne, and Orange Juice’s Edwyn Collins, was pipped to the prize last year with his album Joia!, recorded under the moniker Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18.

Cotton Wolf, Ofni – Electronic duo Cotton Wolf fuse the production credentials of Llion Robertson and classically-trained composer Seb Goldfinch. The Cardiff-based two-piece were also nominated in 2017 for their debut album Life In Analogue.

Deyah, Care City – Deyah’s latest album, which features elements of soul, rap and spoken word, was hailed as a ‘conceptual masterpiece‘ by I Am Hip Hop magazine. This will be the second year running the Welsh-born, Berkshire-based performer has nominated for the Welsh Music Prize, with her acclaimed Lover Loner EP featuring on the 2019 shortlist.

Don Leisure, Steel Zakuski – Cardiff producer Don Leisure, formerly known as Jamal during his early days on the Welsh noughties drum ‘n’ bass scene, is up for the Prize with his latest album. The Wales Arts Review described Steel Zakuski “as a delicate collage of musical moments and samples from a discovered series of rock, pop, rare groove and disco records from the U.S.S.R.”

Georgia Ruth, Mai - Georgia Ruth Williams (aka Georgia Ruth) told her Twitter followers that she was “chuffed” to receive a nomination for her third album Mai, which has been praised for its personal focus on the theme of new motherhood. The Aberystwyth product, a distinguished singer-songwriter and harpist, previously featured as a guest on Divine Youth, a hidden gem on Manic Street Preachers’ 2014 album Futurology.

Gruff Rhys, Pang! - Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys, a previous Welsh Music Prize winner with his 2011 solo album Hotel Shampoo, is back on the shortlist for his Welsh language album Pang!, which he described in NME as “a pop album with a couple of verses of Zulu and an English title.” Rhys is set to release his musical memoirs next year.

Islet, Eyelet – Experimental pop trio Islet get the nod for their third studio album Eyelet. The eccentric Powys outfit, who are described by their label Fire Records as “hypnotic, exhilarating and defiantly unique“, were previously nominated for the prize in 2012 for Illuminated People.

Keys, Bring Me The Head of Jerry Garcia – Cardiff-based group Keys’ latest album, Bring Me The Head of Jerry Garcia, has been described by Wales Arts Review as “40 odd minute wild ride“. This LP represents a comeback release after a five year hiatus for the band, who were formerly known as Murry The Hump after Al Capone’s Welsh sidekick Morris “Murray The Hump” Humphries.

Kidsmoke, A Vision In The Dark – The debut album from Wrexham indie fourpiece Kidsmoke, who first rose to prominence when their song Take Me To The River featured in 2017 Black Mirror episode Arkangel, directed by Hollywood legend Jodie Foster. On Twitter the band said they were “overwhelmed” with the Welsh Music Prize nomination.

Los Blancos, Sbwriel Gwyn – Carmarthen rockers Los Blancos are shortlisted for their album Sbwriel Gwyn, which translates as ‘White Trash’ in English. Louder Than War describe the record as “…an album that manages to eschew boorish lad culture and lazy tropes and instead convey the complexities of life when you are a young man in a country that happens to be one of the poorest in Europe.”

Luke RV, Valley Boy – Rapper Luke RV is shortlisted for his deeply personal album Valley Boy, which focuses on the challenging themes of drug addiction and mental health. The Neath product first emerged on the scene with 2o18 single Lost.

Right Hand Left Hand, Zone Rouge – Right Hand Left Hand (along with Georgia Ruth and Cotton Wolf) are one of three acts signed under the Bubblewrap Collective label to earn a nomination for the 2020 prize. Bubblewrap describe the Cardiff duo’s latest environmentally-conscious release Zone Rouge as a “story of humanity’s contempt for the earth beneath us, the air above us and the people around us.”

Silent Forum, Everything Solved At Once – South Walian ‘indie-noir’ act Silent Forum receive a nomination for their debut Everything Solved At Once, described by Wales Arts Review as “a black-comedy concept album about life on the fringes of the Welsh music industry.” The band told Twitter followers this week that they are currently at work on a second album.

Yr Ods, Iaith y Nefoedd - North Walian band Yr Ods’ receive a first Welsh Music Prize nomination for their fifth album Iaith y Nefoedd, which translates in English as ‘Language of Heaven’. This concept album from the five-piece, created in partnership with Rhiwbina author Llywd Owen, centres around a dystopian vision of Wales.