Photo by: Gareth Rhys
Rona Mac provides grass-roots, independent and emotionally generous tracks from the westerly tip of Wales. Her alt-folk sound brings together a feeling of nature and honesty, her melodies and harmonies blending with an authentic pull of humanity. Making radio appearances, and supporting the likes of Willy Mason and Billie Marten, Rona’s music is unfiltered, and captivating because of it.
Unfiltered is a perfect way to describe ‘Buttercup’, the gentle ebb and flow of life’s fragility hitting close to home. The graceful simplicity of a vocal and acoustic guitar allows Rona’s melodies to travel gently through the mist of plucky accompaniment.
Rona explains the thoughts behind ‘Buttercup’, adding “There’s some simple beauty in a buttercup. A fleeting, yellow joy reflected onto chins, old and young, as you conclude that yes, indeed, we do like butter. This song was written during a time when I was simultaneously reeling from grief and giddy from falling in love. In my experience, when people die life gets crisper, more tangible and valuable and fragile. I was holding a new love in my arms with the fresh re-acknowledgement that everything is temporary. Amongst the turmoil of emotion, it made simple things, like buttercups, all the more special.”
Each moment feels innately special, the genuineness serving to spellbind, as the lyricism brings observational wisdom. Rona’s feelings of both grief and love burst out, shining through the cloud, trying to find a balance of emotion and finding it easier to accept the contradiction.
The track is the last from Rona’s upcoming album Honeymilk and Heavy Weather, a project filled with thoughtfulness, and tenderly written for a lost friend. Three years in the making, it’s her most ambitious to date.
Listen to ‘Buttercup’ here…
