Kizzy Meriel Crawford, known as Kizzy, is a Bajan-Welsh singer songwriter from Merthyr Tydfil, who sings in both English and Welsh, using traditional and modern sources.
Cultural heritage
In a 2013 press interview she explained:
2012 – present
Crawford won the Arts Connect Original Singer-Songwriter prize in 2012 resulting in work with Amy Wadge including recording her first single Starling and its video with Arts Connect's Sonig - youth music industry initiative. She performed her song "The Starling" live on BBC Radio Wales's Bethan Elfyn Show in August 2013. This was then released as her debut single in November 2013 followed by her EP Temporary Zone in December, released by Cardiffrecord label See Monkey Do Monkey. Together with many radio and TV appearances in Wales during 2013, she has also performed live at various venues including FOCUS Wales Festival, the Sŵn festival, the Green Man Festival, Caerphilly Castle and Maes B at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. Kizzy also performed at Festival No 6. In 2014, Kizzy signed to publishing companyBDi Music. Crawford appeared on the BBC Wales6 nations 2014 promotions singing Calon Lân, and in April 2014 was named as one of twelve BBC Horizons acts for 2014-15. She performed her new single "Golden Brown", and also Calon Lân, live on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live programme on 20 September 2014 Later that year she performed at Glastonbury on the BBC Introducing stage and has since performed at several other high-profile festivals including Womex Blissfields, Hay Festival and Cheltenham Jazz. In 2015, she released the single 'Shout Out / Yr Alwad', a co-write with Owen Powell, the track was selected as the soundtrack to the Visit Wales 2015 National TV & Online Campaign. Crawford performed at the Euro 16 Welsh team homecoming gig at Cardiff City Football Stadium alongside the Manic Street Preachers. In 2016, several of Kizzy’s compositions were selected as part of the WJEC A Level Music Syllabus - her music sat in the contemporary section alongside The Manics, Gruff Rhys & The Super Furry Animals. Later Kizzy was invited to perform & discuss that accolade live on Woman’s Hour for BBC Radio 4. Later in 2016, Kizzy collaborated with Jazz pianist and composer Gwilym Simcock on a new collaboration ‘Birdsong - Can Yr Adar’, based on the Welsh rainforest within Carngafallt. They co-wrote new music and performed and toured it live with Sinfonia Cymru across Wales and culminating in a performance at London Jazz Festival. In 2018, the Birdsong-Can Yr Adar CD was released via Basho Records to coincide with a second UK tour. The recording was listed as a Top 100 2018 album by renowned jazz journalist Ted Gioia. In 2017, Kizzy performed live with BBC National Orchestra of Wales and at Cambridge Folk Festival. She played a supporting role as PC Emma Jones in the award winning BBC drama Keeping Faith. In 2018, Kizzy signed to record label Freestyle and will release her debut album in 2019.
Personal life
In September 2019, Crawford sang Calon Lân with her sister, Eady, at a rally in Merthyr Tydfil expressing her support for Welsh independence by YesCymru.
