Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 - Fontana Rosa (2025)

Still possibly the world’s only musical group to fuse Latin music of all kinds with the Welsh language, Fontana Rosa sees Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 this time drawing inspiration from slightly different musical corners, including Chicano Soul, Nuyorican pop, and Salsoul disco - Latin sounds filtered through the cultural spectrum of the U.S.A.
Most significantly though, the album was among the last ever to be recorded by the acclaimed producer Liam Watson at his legendary studio and shrine to all things analogue, Toerag Studios - a huge inspiration and influence on Rio 18’s head honcho Carwyn Ellis.
The album sessions saw Carwyn draw together an all-star band for this last hurrah at the fabled studio, including incredible musicians from Venezuela, Brazil, USA, Colombia & the UK.
On Liam’s last day at Toerag, he transferred the tapes to digital so Carwyn could finish the album at Sain Studio in Llandwrog, North Wales with the brilliant engineer and producer, Aled Wyn Hughes. Says Carwyn, "We’d had such a Latin-infused ball at Toerag this one last time, and we know Liam did too. The place has had such an impact on my musical life and I wanted to see it go out in a blaze of tuneful glory. Job done."

Tracklist:
01-01 Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 - Hei Ti [2:48]
01-02 Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 - Te Adoro [4:00]
01-03 Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 - Lovesick [3:41]
01-04 Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 - Impossible [3:38]
01-05 Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 - La Quichimba [2:21]
01-06 Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 - No More Secrets [5:32]
01-07 Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 - Fontana Rosa [3:15]
01-08 Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 - Heartbreaker [3:43]
01-09 Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 - Mariposa [3:41]
01-10 Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 - Deffro'r Dydd [3:25]