The premier Welsh-language independent record company, Sain was founded in 1969 by Huw Jones and Dafydd Iwan; it carved a niche for itself and is still flourishing today. The company was originally based in Cardiff, but it moved to Llandwrog, near Caernarfon, in 1971, and then, in 1973, shifted a few miles to the industrial estate in Pen-y-groes. It established its first studio, in Llandwrog, in 1975. Sain's output covered various forms of music, from Choral and MOR through Folk to Rock. Perhaps because of the language barrier most of its artists have remained little-known outside Wales, but two of them, Aled Jones and Bryn Terfel, have achieved world-wide renown. Sain's rockier output is becoming collectable, and original LPs by such bands as Eliffant and Edward H. Dafis are beginning to command respectable prices. Sain intially concentrated on releasing EPs before moving into the areas of LPs and singles, but none of them appear to have sold in huge quantities, doubtless because of the limited market at which they were aimed.
Sain's singles and EPs shared the same SAIN-0 numbers, with EPs gaining an 'E' suffix (though not in every case) from SAIN-33 onwards and singles an 'S' suffix from around SAIN-53. The first label design was quite striking. It came in several colours: red-on-yellow until SAIN-16; purple-on-white from SAIN-17 to SAIN-22; dark-blue-on-light-blue from SAIN-23 to around SAIN-35; red-on-pink from around SAIN-37 to SAIN-64; and red-on-white for just a couple of issues, SAINs 65 and 66. Some popular records can be found in more than one colour; presumably these involved re-pressings. With SAIN-67, in 1978, a new and much simpler label was introduced (6); it lasted on into the '80s. The few examples I have been able to inspect in the vinyl have been pressed either by Pye (to 1972), EMI (from 1973 on), or Lyntone (mainly 1978-80). The EMIs have tended to have slightly pocked surfaces, which suggests that they may have been made by EMI in Ireland rather than at the Hayes plant.
Sain appears to have handled its own distribution for much of the time; 'Record Retailer' of the 21st of February 1970 said that its releases were only available direct but that it was considering making them available throughout the UK, presumably via wholesale distributors such as the BIRD group. In the event the 'wider distribution' option appears not to have been taken up, but the covers of SAINs 17 to 20 (from 1971) refer to distribution as being by another Welsh independent, Ty Ar Y Graig (q.v.) - the two companies seem to have become closely associated in 1972, and to have shared premises in Llandwrog. The 'RR' article, which seems to have been the only mention of Sain in the trade papers of the 1970s, named Brian Morgan Edwards as the person responsible for administration at that point. 'Sain', incidentally, is pronounced 'Sine', and means 'sound'. The discography below only covers the 1970s.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.