Welsh singer stars in lighthouse video for BBC Radio 3
Rising artist Mari Mathias performs inside Strumble Head Lighthouse, joining harpist Claire Jones in a new “Where the Light Sings” feature.
A new music video filmed inside the lantern of Strumble Head Lighthouse has thrust emerging Welsh singer Mari Mathias into the national spotlight.
The striking visual forms part of BBC Radio 3’s full‑day “Where the Light Sings” broadcast, a programme that pairs musicians with the Welsh landscapes that inspire them.
Perched on the rugged Pembrokeshire coast, Strumble Head Lighthouse offers a dramatic backdrop of sea and sky, a setting Mathias says “evokes a wildness inside of me”.
“The wildness of the waves of not knowing what the weather’s going to do from one day to another,” she explains, “I think it puts me on edge but in a great way.”
Mathias adds that the natural world is a constant collaborator, “there’s a discussion between myself and the land and the sky and the sea and it’s where I go all the time to write music.”
She stresses that creating in nature feels essential, “I couldn’t imagine not doing it in nature and being surrounded by this magic here in Wales.”
The video also captures Mathias’s first on‑stage duet with acclaimed harpist Claire Jones, known as the Golden Harp Girl, delivering an intimate musical moment within the lighthouse’s glass‑encased tower.
Both artists perform a new composition that weaves Mathias’s lyrical sensibility with Jones’s resonant harp, underscoring the project’s aim to showcase how place shapes sound.
“Where the Light Sings” is supported by Horizons Cymru, a partnership between Celf Cymru Arts and BBC Cymru Wales, alongside BBC Radio 3, highlighting the collaborative effort behind the feature.
The initiative forms part of a broader celebration of Wales’s distinctive scenery, positioning the country’s coastlines, mountains and valleys at the heart of contemporary music creation.
Strumble Head Lighthouse, built in 1906, has long served as a navigational aid for vessels braving the Irish Sea, its lantern now repurposed as a stage for artistic expression.
Local residents have noted the lighthouse’s renewed cultural relevance, with the video drawing attention to Pembrokeshire’s tourism appeal beyond its beaches and walking trails.
Mathias, whose recent releases draw on Welsh language and folklore, has been gaining momentum on streaming platforms and festival line‑ups across the nation.
Her collaboration with Jones marks a notable milestone, merging vocal storytelling with traditional harp music, a pairing that reflects Wales’s rich musical heritage.
The full feature is available on BBC Sounds, allowing listeners to experience the blend of music and place that the programme champions.
By foregrounding the interplay between artist and environment, the video underscores a growing trend among Welsh musicians to root their work in the country’s natural beauty.
As the lighthouse’s beam sweeps over the sea, Mathias and Jones demonstrate how Wales’s landscapes continue to inspire fresh creative voices.