The story of Owain "Oz" Wright is one of a remarkable talent whose life was cut short just as he had become a cornerstone of the North Wales cultural landscape. Born in 1970, Oz was a gifted carpenter by trade, but it was his haunting, deep tenor voice—often compared to the likes of Scott Walker or Johnny Cash—that earned him a legendary status in the Welsh music scene.
As the frontman for the duo Rheinallt H Rowlands, formed in 1991 alongside orchestrator Dewi Evans, Oz helped create some of the most atmospheric and cinematic music to emerge from the Ankst record label. The band was famously shrouded in a fictional backstory, presenting "Rheinallt" as a former quarry worker who found his calling through the influence of post-punk. In reality, the project was a sophisticated exploration of baroque pop and chamber pop, reaching its zenith with the 1996 album Bukowski. The record was a critical triumph, blending lush arrangements with Oz’s resonant vocals, and it remains a landmark of 1990s Welsh-language music.
Beyond his main project, Oz was a prolific collaborator, lending his talents to acts like Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, The Serpents, and Llwybr Llaethog. He was a central figure in the Bethesda community, known for organizing sessions at local venues like The Fic and the King’s Head. Friends and fellow musicians remembered him as a man of immense warmth and technical skill, both as a craftsman and a songwriter.
Tragedy struck in the early hours of December 23, 2005. After attending a festive BBC Radio 1 session at Hendre Hall near Bangor, Oz was walking home to Bethesda when he was struck by a car on a narrow mountain road. He was just 35 years old. His death sent shockwaves through the tight-knit musical communities of North Wales and the Isle of Anglesey, leading to numerous tributes and a conviction that the Welsh scene had lost one of its most unique and soulful voices. Even years later, his influence persists, remembered through the timeless, melancholic beauty of the music he left behind.
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