The American musician reclaiming his lost Welsh roots

He doesn't speak Welsh and has only visited the country once but American singer-songwriter Brian Fennel has just released his third studio album using his Welsh alias.

Fennel performs under the name SYML, which means "simple" in Welsh.

Growing up in Seattle he always knew he was adopted, but it was not until he was given his adoption records at 18 that he learnt his birth parents were Welsh.

He said his artist name was a way of honouring his heritage.

"It's saying that this is where I come from on some level," he explained.

Fennel, who was previously part of indie band Barcelona, said writing his "cinematic and melancholic" music was a way to explore his feelings over being adopted.

"It's becoming easier for me to write songs that dig deep compared to speaking about [my feelings] to even my partner or my kids," he said.

"It is therapeutic to be able to pour it out."

His latest album, Nobody Lives Here, continues his exploration of his identity as someone who has been adopted alongside other themes such as grief and mortality.

Fennel was born in the US and adopted at just three days old. His birth parents had not named him.

On receiving his adoption papers he learnt his parents - who were aged 17 and 18 when he was born - were second-generation Welsh immigrants.

He was also given a hand-written letter from his birth mother, which he described as "the most gutting" thing he had ever read.

"I think one of the most gutting things was the blank spaces where my name was meant to go," he said.

"It was a really sweet note sort of explaining why it wasn't the right time for her to be a mother and for my birth father to be a father.

"I think I've only read it twice, it's so intense to read."

From the moment he discovered his heritage Fennel embraced his Welshness.

"It was the first moment that I was like 'I have a bit of a country of origin'," he said.

"I sort of wrapped myself in it.

"I got like a Welsh flag to hang on my wall. I was Googling 'Welsh people - what do they look like? What are they?'."

He also got a Welsh tattoo that reads "echen", meaning family or tribe.

He released his eponymous debut album in 2019.

"In choosing a Welsh name - syml - that was a bit of an honouring, at least an honouring from my perspective, and saying that this is where I come from on some level," he said.

"And choosing a name like 'simple' was a bit of a reminder not to overcomplicate, whether it's art or relationships or thinking about where you're from and everything that comes out of that."

He visited Wales in October 2019 to play a gig at Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff.

"I had this comical moment when I got out of the touring van in Wales for the first time, I had this idea that I should kiss the ground or something, like I'd returned home," he laughed.

He said in reality he was met with a car park, but he loved playing to a Welsh audience.

"It was a sweet experience, the folks were welcoming of somebody with an imposter Welsh name," he laughed.

Part of his performance was a Q&A session so he got to chat to the crowd.

"I remember there being a bit of a funny moment where I just couldn't understand some of the accents," he laughed.

He was inevitably asked about his Welsh stage name.

"I was coming into it admitting, like raising a white flag 'I'm not Welsh so I'm not going to pretend to be' but also explaining why it is significant to me to have a Welsh name and it was really well-received," he said.

There are still many things Fennel does not know about his birth family and his heritage, for instance where exactly they were from in Wales.

"Back in the '80s when I was adopted, in the US many adoptions were closed and so there was very little information," he said.

"Even to this day if I wanted to learn more I would have to go and apply and get the approval of my birth parents to release that information and since I was 18 that's not sat well with me."

Also, the unknown can be scary.

The musician said all his life he has intentionally not finished TV series or books because he did not want to know the ending.

"I think I intentionally leave these big question marks," he said.

"I save myself from knowing everything because it might not be good and so I think I guard myself in ways and I'm sure it's rooted in [being adopted]."

Having his own children - aged 10, eight and three - has filled Fennel with gratitude for the parents who raised him as well as compassion for his birth parents.

"A big moment was when my son was born because that was the first person I've ever met that I'm blood-related to and that instantly filled so many voids that I knew about and didn't know about," he said.

It also gave him a new perspective on his own start in life.

"I have finally been able to get to a place after having three kids… where I am interested in digging in a bit more," he said.

"The longer I wait obviously the smaller the chances I'll get those answers."