The Scottish group Cwfen (pronounced “coven”) step into this week’s Meet The Band spotlight. Their debut album is Sorrows. Vocalist Agnes Alder introduces us to her band.
Chad Bowar: Give us a brief history of Cwfen.
Agnes Alder: We’re all old friends, some of us going back decades. Guy, Mary, and Rös have played together before in various bands and configurations. I’d been making music most of my life too, in various bands over the years. After Covid I started playing around with some darkwave stuff, but it never quite scratched the itch for what I was feeling at the time. After that period of upheaval, and thinking about the things that really mattered to me, I knew I needed to write something different.
I’d always been a listener and lover of very heavy music, but it was the first time I found myself compelled to write heavier material. After deciding I was brave enough to share it, I sent some demos to Guy. Something clicked. We decided to explore it properly, pulled Rös in on drums, and when Mary joined on bass, the circle was complete. That was the start of Cwfen. It came together quickly but felt inevitable, like something we’d all been circling for years without knowing it.
Describe the songwriting process for Sorrows.
The core writing partnership is between me and Guy. We both write constantly and collect bits of songs like magpies. A riff here, a lyric there, the bared bones of something. There’s this really lovely chemistry where we bring something rough, and the other can immediately hear where it wants to go. It’s a sort of musical equivalent finishing-each-other’s-sentences dynamic, and it’s still a bit magic to us. We’re both extremely stubborn (sorry, Guy!) and opinionated about what we do in our own way, but when we write together there is a bit of vulnerability and creative trust that just makes it all feel quite natural and easy. We’ve never had writing relationships like this before, and it’s made the whole thing feel instinctive and generous. Once something’s solid, we bring it into the room and the rest of the band shape the dynamics and textures. Playing it live is the final test. Often that’s when we realise how heavy or tender something really wants to be.
What will be your strongest memory of the recording of the album?
All of us being sequestered in the countryside at Kev Hare’s beautiful studio, Deep Storm. We’d cook together, stay up late with music, beers and whisky, and talk for hours, each taking turns to play tunes through the bluetooth speaker. It felt like being teenagers again. One night Mary and I decided to just go for a wander into a meadow outside just to hear the wind in the trees and feel the dark fully. Mary recorded it and that became part of Fragments. That sense of immersion,not just in music, but in each other’s company and in place, was a rare gift. It shaped everything. I hope you can hear that in the music.
What was the biggest challenge in its creation?
Time. We’re all adults with lives and day jobs, and once the initial recording was done, it took real effort to coordinate the diaries and to get everyone back into the studio to finish what we’d started. But creatively it flowed from day one. Everyone showed up with purpose and care. There was no ego, just contribution. Everyone brought their A-game which made the process surprisingly smooth. The challenge wasn’t the work. It was finding the time to do it, and do it enough to do the songs justice.
How would you describe its sound/style?
That really is the million dollar question! We have had so many interesting and surprising and deeply flattering comparisons, and I am enjoying what other people hear in the music. People call us doomgaze, and that fits to a point, but it’s broader than that I think, as that’s a very broad church itself anyway. I always describe our music as emotionally heavy as well as sonically heavy. Expansive, cinematic, sometimes feral, sometimes still and spare. It’s tender and brutal in equal measure, I think.
We went hard on production choices too, and were more playful and experimental than I think we would have been when we were younger. More reverb, more air, more room mics, a lot of live takes, and layering vocals like a choir rather than the traditional lead/backing split. Our sound is about atmosphere and force, shadow and shimmer. Definitely want it to hit you in the heart. Not in a schmaltzy way, but we want people to feel something when they listen.
What lyrical topics do you cover?
I rarely write from my own life directly. I’m more interested (and less self-conscious!) when I’m telling other people’s stories and or creating worlds. Some songs are inspired by books, history, myth, or works of art. There are lyrics about crumbling belief systems, queer love, righteous rage, poison and penitence. Often the emotional core reveals itself as I go, and it’s a bit of a back and forth. I follow the thread wherever it leads, trying to give the song what it’s asking for. It’s always rooted in feeling I think the song is evoking.
How did you come to sign with New Heavy Sounds?
They reached out to us after following our progress online, and we’re so very glad they did! Ged and Paul were just lovely to speak with. Curious, kind, and deeply into what we were making. We spoke to other labels, but NHS just got it straight away. They saw potential and treated us with real care and belief. It felt right, and it’s stayed that way. We’re really proud to be releasing Sorrows with them.
What are your goals and expectations for the album?
Our main goal was to make something beautiful and honest that we could be proud of. That’s still the anchor. We didn’t expect anything beyond that! But the response has been far more than we imagined, and we’re so grateful to see what people have been saying about it so far. If Sorrows helps us get in front of new people and play more shows, that’s the dream. We give it absolutely everything on stage, and we think that’s where these songs truly come alive. So if we get to do that, we will be four very happy people!
How was the video shoot for “Wolfsbane?”
It was absolutely bloody freezing! To the point that I had to go and hide in the car for a bit to warm up again. We shot it guerrilla-style in a Scottish castle with our friend Richie, who’s a brilliant filmmaker and just the calmest presence to have on set. We had to pull the concept together quickly, raiding cupboards for costumes, visuals, the whole thing, and then throw ourselves into it. It was intense but joyful. One of those shoots where everyone’s shivering between takes but also laughing and loving every second. It was fast and DIY, but made with a lot of love.
What has been your most memorable Cwfen live show?
The Halloween single launch last year will always be really special. It was our first headline show in our hometown, and we played with Druidess and Mountain Fog. Seeing people sing our lyrics back to us with their eyes closed was absolutely surreal. It’s the first time I remember realising that people were really into what we were doing. And recently, our two sold-out shows with Castle Rat in Edinburgh and Glasgow were incredible. They brought so much energy, camaraderie and joy to things, and their fans were out in force and were all so kind to us. Made us feel exceptionally lucky to be there, and to be having this experience.
What are your upcoming show/tour plans?
We’re heading out with Faetooth across the UK in June, which we’re wildly excited about. We adore their music, and it’s going to be a brilliant run. Some shows are already sold out, which is bonkers. After that, we’ve got a few festival appearances and are hoping to get out further afield later this year. We’ve just started working with a great booking agent, so we’re hoping this is just the beginning of some good things to come.
How did you get started in music?
I grew up in a house full of music, as I said. I could definitely soundtrack my entire childhood in a heartbeat. But the moment that really lit the fuse was weirdly specific: I was seven years old, playing Ultima II: Runes of Virtue on my Gameboy, and there was this incredible 8-bit guitar solo in the theme music. I didn’t really understand what it was, but I knew I felt it. I asked what the sound was, and was told ‘that’s guitar music’. So I asked for a guitar.
A full-size acoustic arrived soon after as a gift from my grandparents. I started writing songs straight away, no clue what I was doing. At twelve, I discovered grunge and riot grrrl, begged for an electric, and started spending a lot of time indoors, and probably driving my neighbours mad. I joined a youth music club, learned how to string a guitar, borrowed pedals, got handed burned CDs of cool bands and the chance to play shows pretty much straight away. So it’s been a part of me for a very long time. But being a frontperson, standing at the edge of the stage and screaming. That’s new. Very new. But loving it so far.
Who were your early influences and inspirations?
My musical upbringing was eclectic, and thanks to my mum’s incredible record and CD collection. She had so many amazing vinyls and was gracious enough to let us have at them and touch the record player! Bowie, T. Rex, The Smiths, goth, glam, punk, new romantic. Then someone gave me Nevermind, and that was the start of this whole thing. Hole, PJ Harvey, The Birthday Party and Nick Cave followed soon after. Those four shaped me. Their rawness, presence, theatricality. They lit that touch paper in my brain that made me absolutely music obsessed. I wanted to do what they did. Be loud and vulnerable and unafraid. And look cool doing it. There’s a bit of a way to go there!
What was the first heavy music concert you attended?
First big one solo was Foo Fighters at the SECC in 2002, but the one that truly blew me away was seeing Yeah Yeah Yeahs supported by The Locust at the Barrowlands in 2004. That show was a revelation. Karen O redefined what it meant to front a band, and I still carry that with me.
What are some of your non-musical interests and hobbies?
Softball is a big one for us. Three out of four of us play, which means rehearsals have to work around game nights! Mary is big into Muay Thai. Beyond that, cooking, writing, reading, collecting weird art books, taking long walks with music in my ears. We all have our odd passions. It’s a good mix.
What’s currently in your musical heavy rotation?
At the moment, it’s these three on repeat: Modern Mirror – Drab Majesty, Black Earth – Bohren & der Club of Gore and Perverts – Ethel Cain. Dark, gorgeous, cinematic stuff that takes its time. Definitely a bit of a theme for me. Oh, and the new Chat Pile album. That’s been a real gem.
Anything else you’d like to mention or promote?
Yes! Keep an eye out for Mrs Frighthouse. They’re releasing their debut album in September, and they’re making something truly unique. Atmospheric, beautiful, haunting and intense work. They’re also playing Lay Bare Festival in London, so go see them live if you can. They’re our friends, but they’re also artists we deeply admire. They deserve all the love.
(interview published May 31, 2025)
