When David Lambert hit a brick wall with his second novel—a complex tale of post-war Cardiff, polyamory, and identity—he didn’t just walk away from the keyboard; he changed the medium entirely. The Cardiff, Wales-born writer embarked on an intense period of "literary research," reading fourteen novels in fourteen weeks. Using the "cut-up" technique pioneered by the likes of William S. Burroughs and David Bowie, Lambert transformed over a million words of prose into fourteen unique spoken texts, creating a hauntingly cinematic foundation for his latest musical venture.
The resulting album, ‘… all her geese are swans’, is a sprawling, collaborative triumph released under the moniker Wenallt Star. Recorded over 14 months with a collective of musicians including Sean South and Stephen Hudson, the project defies easy categorisation. From the punk-infused energy of "Restlessness" to the 1980s synth-pop echoes of "ALL GONE / THAT TIME / THOSE PEOPLE - PAWB WEDI MYND / YR AMSER HYNNW / Y BOBL HYNNY," the record acts as a "song-cycle" for the 21st century. It is an immersive, kaleidoscopic experience that weaves together foley, electronics, and Welsh heritage into a "balm for writer’s block" that has already captured the imagination of BBC Radio Wales.
We sat down with David recently to discuss the influence of Marc Bolan, the thrill of collaboration, and why he might never actually finish that novel.
Thanks very much for joining us today, and congratulations on the release! When did you first start making music and what inspired you to start?
“Marc Bolan and Bowie... it was their words rather than the music that interested me first, to be honest. Bolan as his lyrics read as poems; a mix of British folklore, romanticism, and mystical imagery, often likened to the work of Blake, Tolkien and Byron. His writing had this magical sensibility, featuring woodland creatures, Arthurian legend and a pagan, pastoral world. Whilst with Bowie each line of his words seemed to have a life of its own, almost impressionistic. His writing had this urban sensibility. He frequently utilised the "cut-up" technique, made popular by William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin to break down linear narratives and create fragmented, evocative imagery. Both created an other-worldly vibe that allowed me to travel wherever I wanted to go. So for me, the music followed the lyrics.”
Can you tell us a bit about the new record and what it means to you?
“The album is called ‘…all her geese are swans’ and has 14 tracks. I was attempting to complete my second novel – a story of a mixed race, polyamorous relationship in a post-WWII Cardiff, Wales – and I found myself at an impasse, so I put the novel to one side. Seeking inspiration, I read fourteen novels in fourteen weeks that addressed some of the themes and issues of my novel, engaging, as I read, the cut-up technique made popular by Burroughs and Bowie, ending up with something completely new.”
“I read 1,052,211 words, using 4,126 to create 14 spoken texts. Then I knew that the texts should be set to music, so I reached out to my friend Stephen Hudson from Bridgend, Wales. I recorded the spoken text cut up from the novel ‘The Wren, The Wren’ by Anne Enright, and sent him the file. A week later Stephen sent me the bones of a track that would become ‘Thirst’ on the album. And so began the process over the next 14 months of me collaborating with the musicians Sean South, Stephen, Dave King, Liz Lenten, Duncan Chapman, Natalie Roe and Lucy Leland on the creation of 14 spoken texts to a range of diverse musical settings.”
“The project/band’s name is Wenallt Star. Wenallt is Welsh for ‘white wooded slope’ or ‘white cliff’. There’s a hill outside Cardiff my parents would take me for picnics and flying the kite when I was a child. Truth be told, the 14 texts abstractly tell part of my mother’s short journey on this earth.”
Were there any artists, moments, or experiences that influenced you when creating the release?
“This album exists today because I stopped doing something. Stopping created space. Space led to an introduction to Sean South, the album’s Producer. It was Sean’s ability to synthesise my vision sonically that the album exists. My motivation for this ‘detour’ from the novel was two-fold; to enter into research on novels with similar themes and issues, and two, to remove myself from the isolation the writing of a novel creates by entering into a period of collaboration, something I’ve now become addicted to, which doesn’t bode well for the completion of the novel.”
“I was committed to creating a suite of spoken texts set to music, not spoken word, which has its own genre and vibe. As the collaborations became more confident, stronger, it became clear how the 14 spoken texts would respond to the music being explored, and vice versa, creating unique compositions that connected and related to each other. I think of the album as a 21st-century song-cycle. A ‘conversation’ between my cut-up spoken texts and the music.”
How would you describe the sound on your latest release?
“Velvet Underground meets Rex Harrison via Hans Christian Andersen who has just read ‘The Mabinogion’. Fourteen tracks that take the listener on a journey to the corner of an unknown city, onto a barren, apocalyptic landscape, before depositing you back at that unknown city’s craziest bar.”
Was there a central message or theme you were trying to convey in your latest release?
“Love is blind.”
What’s the most important thing when you’re writing a song?
“The most important thing when writing this album was having trust in my songwriting collaborators; good, honest communication is key… and having fun.”
Do you have any advice for bands and artists who are just starting out and trying to make their mark?
“Trust your gut and collaborators and have fun.”
What has the reception to your latest release been like so far?
“It’s been positive and supportive. I was prepared for whatever came our way, what with the spoken text and diverse musical genres. As a Welshman it’s wonderful BBC Wales are being supportive, as have the UK indie radio stations. It’s early days and we’re happy and grateful. What we like reading or hearing about is people saying they’ve never heard anything quite like it... that works for us.”
Is there anything you would like to say to our audience? How can they connect with and support you?
“Sure. It’s wonderful there’s such a global audience out there. We’d like you all to check out the album, so please go to the Wenallt Star website for a free download of the whole album ‘…all her geese are swans’. But don’t take too long downloading it. You’re welcome!”
With ‘… all her geese are swans’, David Lambert has managed to turn a creative impasse into a monumental feat of artistic collaboration. By dismantling the works of others to find his own voice, he has produced a record that feels both deeply personal and wonderfully universal. Whether or not he ever returns to that unfinished novel, Wenallt Star has already told a story worth hearing.
You can stream the new album above, and for more, be sure to join Wenallt Star on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.
