RISING Cornish music star ‘Mantaraybryn’ of Saltash pulls no punches in his brilliant and best single yet – ‘No Economy’ an angry and darkly witty synth-pop rage at second homes and locals being priced out of Cornwall.

It’s no coincidence that the single was released on St Piran’s Day, the national day of Cornwall.

With 2,000 empty homes across Cornwall – many of them second homes and holiday properties – and 800 families in emergency and temporary accommodation, No Economy is a timely reminder that many Cornish folk, particularly young people, can no longer afford to live here.

Mantaraybryn – real name Bryn Evans – was born and raised in Saltash, but moved to Cardiff to study journalism before finding his true path as a musician. He’d love to come back to Cornwall but can’t afford to, as the biting lyrics of ‘No Economy’ attest.

“I want to go home, can’t afford a property, I want to go home, but someone bought the sea / I met the devil, he’s so thrifty. He put this whole town on Airbnb.”

Taking inspiration from Mark Jenkin’s critically acclaimed 2019 film Bait, Mantaraybryn’s latest offering joins the growing wave against second home culture.

He said: “Of course I’m angry, so the song has this very obvious fury and pain to it. There are whole villages that are dead throughout winter with the only economy being so seasonal. It’s an incredibly niche topic I know. Pop music is often seen as being vapid or lacking substance, but I wanted this to be an anthem for people while this discussion is getting oxygen.”

Mantaraybryn started writing and recording his striking songs in the family home in Cornwall from the age of 14.

Bryn said: “The first album was recorded in Plymouth and self-funded. I literally just made it as a passion project and put it on Spotify and YouTube, and then I went away to uni and things gathered speed.”

He added: “I was lucky to have a teacher at Brunel Primary School in Saltash who was very much into Cornish heritage, language and mythology which has informed a lot of what I still write about. Some of my songs touch on that folklore and use those stories to navigate modern problems. I’m very humbled and inspired by my own county.”

The singer says he was particularly inspired by Livewire, the Saltash-based youth music project.

“The most important thing for me being in Cornwall was Livewire. Even as an audience member watching my friends’ bands before I had the confidence to perform. You could go down there and it would be 30p to hire a rehearsal room, watch a gig, have a drum lesson, there was so much down there.”