{{Short description|Recording company in North Wales (est. 1969)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Use British English|date=August 2015}} thumb|upright=0.9|Album cover of ''Gorau Sain Cyfrol 2'' (1987) {{listen|filename=Dwr - Huw Jones.ogg|title=Extract from ''Dŵr'' by Huw Jones (1969), Sain's first release}} '''Sain''' (Welsh for ''Audio'', {{IPA|cy|saɪn}}), in full – ''Sain (Recordiau) Cyf.'' (Audio (Records) Ltd) is a Welsh record label, which took part in the Welsh folk revival.
==History== Sain was founded in Cardiff in 1969 by singers and songwriters Dafydd Iwan and {{ill|Huw Jones (broadcaster)|lt=Huw Jones|cy|Huw Jones (darlledwr)}}<ref name="Hill" /> and businessman Brian Morgan Edwards, as a home for Welsh-language rock and folk music, which was otherwise finding it difficult to 'break through' in the UK market. Sain is regarded as being the first Welsh record company to be self-sufficient in terms of independence from other British companies, and laid the foundation for subsequent Welsh labels.<ref name="Hill" />
The company released its first single in October 1969, Huw Jones' "Dŵr" (Welsh for ''Water''), a song about the drowning of the Tryweryn Valley, in the north of Wales, to form Llyn Celyn reservoir. Many of the company's early releases were recorded at the Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire. In the early 1970s Sain moved to the Caernarfon area, and opened their first recording studio in 1975 near Llandwrog. Musicians who have recorded for the label include Meic Stevens, Geraint Jarman<ref name="Hill" /> and Bryn Terfel.<ref>{{cite AV media|first1=Bryn|last1=Terfel|first2=Martin|last2=Martineau|title=Schwanengesang|format=CD|publisher=Sain|id=SCD 4035|url=http://www.sainwales.com/store/sain/sain-scd-4035}} Album cover at ''Schwanengesang, album cover.jpg''.</ref>
==Current activities== Today Sain remains the biggest producer of music of Wales, covering traditional, folk, rock, pop, hip-hop, rap, country and classical music.
The label has several subsidiaries including Crai, which was founded in 1988 and has released music by Yr Anhrefn, Mike Peters and Big Leaves, as well as a series of ''Crai Tecno'' compilations featuring Welsh dance music artists.<ref name="Hill">Hill, Sarah (2007) ''Blerwytirhwng? the Place of Welsh Pop Music'', Ashgate, {{ISBN|978-0-7546-5898-6}}, p. 63, 87, 134</ref><ref name="Parker">Parker, Mike & Whitfield, Paul (2003) ''The Rough Guide to Wales'', Rough Guides, {{ISBN|978-1-84353-120-3}}, p. 584</ref>
Rasal Cyf. is the latest label, and this signs young Welsh bands.
Maartin Allcock has produced many Sain albums. The label's Chief Executive is Dafydd Roberts, the harp and flute player of the folk band ''Ar Log''.<ref name="BBC">"[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_west/4850254.stm Nashville star records Welsh hymn]", BBC, 27 March 2006, retrieved 2011-01-22</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sain : The Company's History |url=http://www.sainwales.com/company/history/ |website=Sain |accessdate=24 July 2018 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
In 2017 Sain released over 7,000 audio clips and 498 album covers under a Creative Commons licence. These are available on Wikimedia Commons.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wikimedia Commons / Sain (Records)|url=https://www.llgc.org.uk/en/information-for/press-and-media/press-releases/2017-press-releases/wikimedia-commons-sain-records/|website=National Library of Wales|accessdate=1 July 2017}}</ref>
==Branch labels== *Sain – main label *Crai – mainstream rock label *Rasal – pop/indie label for young talents *Slic – library music label *Tryfan – dormant label
==See also== {{commons category|Sain (Records) Ltd}} * List of record labels
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.sainwales.com/ Official website] *[https://www.discogs.com/label/129127-Sain Discography on discogs.com]
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Category:Welsh record producers Category:Welsh-language music Category:Welsh-language mass media Category:British independent record labels Category:Folk record labels Category:Companies of Wales Category:Companies based in Gwynedd