No comments just links

Interview with Gruff and Guto (well...) in Brazil

Interview with Gruff about Seperado from the Guardian

Interview with Gruff

Interview with Gruff for Rizla (notice a pattern here?)

Very short interview with Gruff at Blissfields (fast forward 'till about 04:05)

Interview with... wait for it... Neon Neon!

And this glorious quote from BBC 6 Music's Twitter;

"Gruff Rhys says Super Furry's have started writing new material on the road. Drummer Dafydd's new band The Peth have finished another record"

Ah!

Gigs, gigs, gigs...

I'm losing track of the amount of gigs the Furries have announced. I can't afford to go to any more this year so I'm not even sure what's already happened and what's still to come. They haven't been to Dubai yet, I know that much. I'll be waiting for the scandal after that one...!

They're turning into a right bunch of jet-setters this year, a couple of new ones;

November 10, São Paulo, Brazil
November 13, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

and

'Recreation'
Imagine my surprise when the NME reported a couple of days ago about 'Recreation'... which is just the fancy title of SFAs Cardiff Soundtrack gig on November 20. They're as good as me at breaking old news; the 'Recreation' gig is now sold out as it's been on sale for about a month. BUT Gruff is definitely premiering 'Seperado!' at the Soundtrack festival, on November 19, for which tickets are still available. Plus it will be followed by 'a Q&A session with pop legend GRUFF RHYS (Super Furry Animals), Director Dyl 'Goch' Jones and Guardian journalist and author Will Hodgkinson.' All for £6.90. You lucky lucky Cardiff people.

And still they come nowhere near Norfolk. In fact, they seem to be travelling further and further away. My mind control techniques must not be working.

Oh, and Gruff talks a bit more about 'Seperado!' in Buzz Magazine (pages 10-11). Sounding good, sounding good. Sounds like a film for Cinema City in Norwich, to me. Or the Picturehouse in Cambridge. Either would be good.

And another

December 18, Manchester Central, Manchester
Another gig has been announced, this time as support (...!) to the Doves.

I can't believe the Furries are back to a support slot after 15 years. And not only support but supporting the Doves with another band (Delphic)! When did the Doves become bigger than SFA? And who was the jammy git who approached the Furries to see if they'd support?

As I cough and splutter, trying to swallow my indignation, here's the link for tickets;

Super Furry Animals supporting the Doves with Delphic

¡Seperado!

Only the other day I was wondering about Gruff's Patagonian documentary Seperado and now he has talked about the film in an interview with Agit Reader. Here's what he said about Seperado;

'We’re going to show the film for the first time in November and hopefully someone will help me put out a DVD for release sometime next year. The film’s going to be called “Seperado.” I also did a soundtrack for it, so that will be my next solo album by default.'

News on Seperado and news on a solo album?!

There's been speculation on the SFA list that he might be showing the film at the Soundtrack Festival in November, where the Furries are also playing. As the festival is celebrating the relationship between film and music that would make complete sense - but I also hope there is some form of general release for the film. Even just a limited release in art house cinemas would be very appreciated. Fingers crossed he'll be able to release it on DVD, too (packed full of extras, eh? ...I don't want much).

I'd recommend reading the rest of the interview as Gruff also talks about the fabled Furries instrumental/soundtrack album (looks like it's been put on the back-burner)!

Reading between the lines a couple of cool points; Gruff infers the Furries will still be together in ten years and he also seems to suggest that there is a good chance of even more solo work from him ('...my next solo album.' not just 'a solo album.') But then maybe I'm reading too much into his words. As usual.

For some reason I'm even more excited about Seperado and it's soundtrack than I was about the new Furries album.

And so my Gruff obsession continues.

Huw Stephens' Introducing

Thanks to the list, info on a Gruff Rhys DJ set in October;

October 13, 7pm-12am, FREE, The Social, London
Also with Yr Ods, Lousie Golbey + guests.

Huw Stephens' Introducing at The Social

Soundtrack Festival 09

November 20, Coal Exchange, Cardiff
The Furries are playing another gig in Cardiff, for the Soundtrack Festival. It's part of the 25th anniversary celebration of their old record label Creation.

Tickets cost £20 and go on sale from 029 2023 0130 on September 24.

I dunno, all these gigs I can't go to...

Edit: The link for the actual Soundtrack website might be useful;
Soundtrack Film Festival

Go West…

Another gig over that side of the country;

November 5, Nation, Liverpool
Not sure how much the tickets are. Part of Liverpool Music Week and they're the best of the line-up if you ask me. But then I'm biased. Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning, apparently.

Super Furry Animals here
Liverpool Music Week here

A few gigs here and there. Well, mostly there...

October 9, HMV Forum, London
Looks like there's going to be another London gig for the Furries in October. It's at the HMV Forum in Kentish Town at 7pm. Tickets are available from Stargreen at a pricey £25.25.

November 7, Dubai Sound City, Dubai
That London gig isn't on the Furry MySpace page but this one is. I don't know if you can buy tickets yet but here's Sound City's facebook page anyway.

November, Tokyo and Osaka, Japan
According to the Citizen Board they are playing (I think) two gigs in Japan - Tokyo and Osaka - in late November. I have no clue where you can buy tickets for those gigs as the links don't work (plus, I can't read Japanese).

EDIT: There's a last.fm event page now for the Tokyo gig, you might get more helpful information from there (more helpful than me); Super Furry Animals at Shibuya-Ax

And still no gigs for the East of England...

As ever, be wary about sites that you're buying tickets from.

Beachdown cancelled

What more can I say? Bummer. Seems to me they should have got their act together and sorted this out before now. And only on Monday they said on their Twitter site that the festival, being held this weekend, was NOT cancelled. No, of course not. They wanted a few more people to buy tickets before they cancelled...

Beachdown cancelled

Possible Furry tour!

SFA have announced two new dates (so say Artrocker), tickets for which go on sale on Friday (August 7);

October 15, Glasgow, O2 ABC
Not sure where you can buy these, the ABC website doesn't have it up yet. But if you're on 02 (which I am), you should be able to already buy priority tickets. If you can find it. I can't. Maybe it doesn't actually exist...

October 16, Manchester, The Ritz
Click the date. G'wan!

Artrocker seem to think that these are the 'first dates of a soon to be expanded UK tour set to kick off in October'. Just a rumour at the minute as I've only seen it on the Artrocker website so far. But I do love a good rumour and I love spreading them even more. So here's the link. Which has no more information than in this post but, y'know, proof that I'm not just living in a daydream. Not this time, anyway.

I knew they were just teasing when they said they wouldn't tour. The little flirts.

I think maybe I should sign back up to that UEA newsletter...

Somerset House and Ben & Jerry's

I'm a bit late in posting about these, but, y'know... I needed time to recover.

Somerset House
Somerset House last Saturday was absolutely ELECTRIC. The best live performance I've seen of the Furries. They played a nice mix of old and new songs;

1. Slow Life
2. (Drawing) Rings Around The World
3. Juxtapozed With U
4. Golden Retriever
5. Hello Sunshine
6. Mt.
7. Moped Eyes
8. Demons
9. Inaugural Trams
10. The Very Best Of Neil Diamond
11. White Socks/Flip Flops
12. Pric
13. Earth
14. Blerwytirhwng?
15. The International Language Of Screaming
16. If You Don't Want Me To Destroy You
17. Neo-Consumer
18. God! Show Me Magic
19. Crazy Naked Girls
20. The Man Don't Give A Fuck
21. Keep The Cosmic Trigger Happy

An almost perfect set-list! Just written down it looks bloody fantastic, doesn't it? If they'd played Ice Hockey Hair and Gwreiddiau Dwfn/Mawrth Oer Ar y Blaned Neifion I think my life would have been complete. But they didn't. So I live another day.

Strangely, one of the highlights of this set for me is a song that just seems to pass me by on the album; Crazy Naked Girls. It is really amazing live when they throw their whole behind it. Bunf, in particular, really rocks this song. It's turning into a great part of their set, I wonder if it might even start to threaten the mighty The Man Don't Give a Fuck in the classic live track stakes? And Blerwytirhwng? was a nice surprise! I wish they'd play some of their more obscure tracks more often. I don't think I've ever heard them play that song before... Thinking about it, there's probably a lot of their songs I've never heard live - but this one I think my life is actually better now I've heard it. Hmm, yeah...

Couldn't make it to the warehouse party in the end, which I was really disappointed about as it sounded groovy. Ah well. The gig was fantastic, anyways.

Ben & Jerry's Sundae on the Common
Shorter set list for this one as it was kind of a mini-festival;

1. Slow Life
2. Rings Around the World
3. Juxtapozed with U
4. Golden Retriever
5. Hello Sunshine
6. Mt.
7. Demons
8. If You Don't Want Me to Destroy You
9. Inaugural Trams
10. God! Show Me Magic
11. Crazy Naked Girls
12. The Man Don't Give a Fuck
13. Keep the Cosmic Trigger Happy

Again, Crazy Naked Girls was phenomenal. I am missing some of the new tracks, though. Where's Moped Eyes? The Very Best of Neil Diamond? (there was no saz!) Cardiff in the Sun? I think Cardiff in the Sun would have been fantastic as the weather was so great.

King Creosote was on earlier in the day, and he was really good. I'm not really all that acquainted with his stuff but he really won me over. Another band that were terrific; I Am Kloot. I know their songs better than I know King Creosote's but I've never heard them live before. Will definitely make a point of seeing them again. To You was transcendental...

I have photos! You can see them all at Flickr but here's my favourites;

SFA and Flaming Lips at ATP

I've just seen on the ATP website that the Super Furries have now been added to Sunday's line-up. So, it's confirmed then. Plus, it promises that they will perform an exclusive, special, one-in-a-million, bespoke, fantabulous set.

Man, Flaming Lips and the Furries on the same day? I really wish I was going. But, y'know, I'm a few thousand miles away.

You can buy tickets on ATP's website. If you want to make me jealous.

Ho-hum.

BBC 6 Music

Thanks again are due to the list, I don't know where I'd be without it;

SFA might be playing live on Cerys Matthews' lunchtime show on BBC 6 Music, Thursday 16th July, 1-4pm (I think they're playing sometime between 1 and 4pm. Not for 3 hours. Although that would be ace.)

Then, Radiator is being discussed on Liz Kershaw's show on Saturday 18th July, 12-2pm

BBC 6 Music is a great radio station, the only one I regularly listen to. Adam and Joe are a staple of my Saturday morning (Unfortunately, though, they're currently off on a far-too-long holiday...)

Just make sure you don't listen to that other DJ on 6 Music. You know the one.

You snoozed, you... er, losed?

All the cheaper tickets for the Corsica Studios warehouse party have now gone. And, yes, I did buy a pair while they were still cheap! But, you can now buy the £3 more expensive ones online.

I promise I won't spend my £6 frivolously. I'll put it towards something Furry related...

SFA head to the USA

It was posted up on the list and the board last night that the Furries are doing a few gigs in New York, of all places (now that really is miles from my home), in September. Including, ATP, apparently. I'm insanely jealous, but here's the dates anyway;

Fri 11.09.09 New York, NY Highline Ballroom
Concert starts @ 9PM
Doors open @ 7 PM
Tickets $22.00 in advance
$25.00 day of show
On sale on Friday, July 10th at noon

Sat 12.09.09 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's
9.30pm
On sale on Friday, July 10th at noon

Sun 13.09.09 Monticello, NY ATP-NY
They're not on the line-up on the ATP website yet, so I don't know if it's a definite. Here's the link, anyway; All Tomorrow's Parties

I've never bought from any of these sites before so no idea if they're any good or how safe they are to buy from...

I'm sure anyone who goes will have a great time. Wish I had the money to go to ATP on the Sunday, it sounds great! Do you think maybe the Flaming Lips (curating ATP) convinced the Furries when they were at Rockness to perform?

More videos? More videos!

Some more Dutch interviews for your delectation. Look, I embedded a video! It's not from YouTube so I don't mind embedding it. This first video with Gruff is nice and easy-going.

Actually... Well... he does start talking about politics and war. So I suppose it's not really easy-going at all is it...? But Gruff himself seems very easy-going. I think if the world was going to end in the next 5 minutes, I'd want Gruff to break the news to me. There's something relaxing about him. Better relaxation than abject terror, hmm?



This interview is from 2005, but there's also a 6-part interview with Gruff around the time Hey Venus! was released. I prefer this one from 2005, though, as he seems a bit more coherent and relaxed. And the cameraman isn't quite so damn close as in the 2007 interview - that video makes me feel claustrophobic! There's also two live performances. Which are great. As usual.

Ohio Heat
Runaway

I like the fact that within 5 seconds of Gruff announcing they're going to play Runaway, he has to ask Bunf 'What shall I do?'. Bunf replies 'Runaway?' and Gruff responds, 'Yeah?'. That's a good suggestion, Bunf... There's also a sweet moment at the end when they both look overhead when they hear a bird. I love it when Gruff is interviewed, he's really sweet and funny. And judging by the smile on Bunf's face, I think Gruff cracks him up, too.

Enjoy.

SFA in innovative video shocker!

Well, OK. The Mt video has been unleashed upon the world. And as promised, you can view it here;

Super Furry Animals - Mt.

And yes, it does just look like footage from their gigcast way back in March. Hardly heart-stopping stuff.

I really would like to see the Furries find a director who really gets them and their music. Their songs are just crying out for an ace video. If SFA produced the perfect video to go with their perfect songs I think I'd die and go to audio-visual heaven. I mean, there's been a few flirts with excellent videos; Golden Retriever was fun and a lot of stuff from RATW was good, but I'm still waiting for an SFA video that makes me go 'Wow!'. Like their music does.

God, I sound sarky.

Oh well. I'll regret it in the morning.

After all that bitching this might sound insincere but it's not; Well done Skybaby, SFA's most rabid fan!

And Mt. is an excellent song.

Did that sound insincere? Have I redeemed myself?

If not, I'll just have to sacrifice something at the altar of SFA and plea for forgiveness from the Furry gods. Yeah.

Corsica à gogo

That after-show Warehouse Party that I mentioned earlier looks like it is definitely going ahead now. Well, they're selling tickets and Pete Fowler's done a fancy poster so I'm guessing it's pretty much set in stone. It is being held at Corsica studios (Corsica, France, à gogo? See what I did there? Hmm...? Ah, to hell with ya...) from 10pm - 6am after the Somerset House gig. Gruff will be anti-DJing along with Guto and Acid Casuals will be doing their thing. Dunno what Bunf and Daf will do... get drunk?

I'm um-ing and ah-ing about whether or not to go. It does sound groovy but... hmm. Well, I better make my mind up pretty soon or all the early bird tickets will be gone. And I'll have to pay an extra £3. Which, y'know, could bankrupt me.

Half of the cheap tickets are sold already. Ak! Can I let a bargain slip away before my very eyes?? If I get around to it, I'll buy them from here. And you could too. Or not. Whatever. I'm easy.

Wasn't looking for a mountain

It looks like there is going to be a video for Dark Days/Light Years by this Friday! Ooh, I'm excited. Mt is going to be the track to get the video treatment and I'm really looking forward to it as I'm very much an audio-visual girl. But what I want to know is, does this mean Mt is a single? With b-sides?? Or will it be a frustrating non-single like Inaugural Trams was? Are they even releasing singles anymore? Good, old-fashioned, physical copies? Is anyone???

Enough from me, there's a swanky competition coinciding with the video's release. Over to SFA;

SUPER FURRY ANIMALS TAKE THE 'MOUNTAIN' TO YOU
Here at Super Furry HQ, we've just finished up the new video for "Mt." from Dark Days/Light Years. This time, instead of offering the WORLD PREMIERE of the video to one of our usual TV, web or blog outlets, we want YOU to premiere the new video for "Mt" on YOUR website/blog/Facebook/MySpace/YouTube channel (or any other platform of your choice).

In 150 words or less tell us why you are the world's most rabidly committed SFA fan, and include a picture to help make your case. The most convincing entry wins, and Rough Trade and the Super Furries will use our well defined promo-muscle to bring the eyes of the World Wide Web to your Furry den for the video's premiere - next Friday, June 26th.

To enter, please send your words and pictures here: competitions@roughtraderecords.com with the subject 'Take The Mountain To Me!'

All entries due by Wednesday June 24th, 4PM UK time.

Now, it would seem that I have one of those website/blog/Facebook/MySpace/YouTube channel things... but, y'know, I kinda don't want them to use their "well defined promo-muscle to bring the eyes of the World Wide Web" to this Furry den. I quite like being a little hermit in my cave, talking to myself and the two(?) other people who read this blog. Plus, to back up my case I'd really need to take a photo of the inside of my Furry head. And, as far as I know, that technology isn't available yet. Whatever The Science of Sleep says. But, whoever wins, I'll post the link here. Like a good little Furry fan.

Didn't we have a lovely time- OK, I'll stop there...

Forgot to say as well, they are playing a gig at Bangor University for their 125th Anniversary (the uni's not SFA's). Here's a handy little sound bite from SFA;

"It's a great celebration, a great line-up and we're looking forward to playing some of our latest album 'Dark Days / Light Years' for Bangor and it's students. The historical venue will make it a real intimate gig. Penblwydd hapus Bangor University!"

The gig will be on October 17th in Bangor, North Wales (strangely enough). And if I keep singing that song you have my permission to shoot me.

More live news

No, they haven't announced a 6-month world tour, more's the pity. There are, however, a few more gigs/live appearances due in the summer from the wonderful SFA.

Warehouse party at Corsica Studios
I haven't heard anything in an official sense but someone posted this on last.fm. Apparently, possibly, maybe, there is going to be an after-show party on 18th July, after the Somerset House gig in London. I'll keep an eye out but here's the bumf from last.fm;

"After the success of their last sell out after-show warehouse bash SFA have decide to do it all over again. Gruff, Guto and The Acid Casuals will all be playing and they’ll be joined by Cherrystones, Andy Votel, Pete Fowler, Allez Allez and many more to throw the mother of all freakbeat, psych fuzz happenings. Full line-up and early-bird tickets to be released very soon!!"

Which does a grand job of getting you excited while at the same time telling you nothing.

Ben & Jerry's Sundae on the Common
Sundae on the Common is being held on Clapham Common Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th July 12 noon 'til 8pm. The Furries are headlining on Saturday and the rest of the line-up on that day is also ace; Teenage Fanclub, I Am Kloot and King Creosote are the three I'm particularly excited about. (With that line-up on Saturday, if you're going on Sunday instead - with the Human League headlining - then you must be nuts.) Plus there's free ice cream. Which swung it for me. It's a quiet, cheap, family-friendly mini-festival. Tickets are all sold out, now, but I bought mine as soon as they went on sale and I've sorted my train tickets etc. London, twice in one week... I'm a glutton for punishment. You can still win free tickets, though.

Rizla Invisible Players
Gruff is part of the touring Rizla Invisible Players, DJ-ing at various festivals over the summer (it's a safe bet that if the Furries are playing at a festival Gruff'll probably be doing his anti-DJ thing there as well). You should definitely check out the Rizla website, there's quite a lot on there about the Invisible Players; a tour map, videos/pics/audio from the various gigs, the chance to win tickets and mini-bios of all the Invisible Players. There's also a video on there introducing you to them all, where Gruff just reinforces my opinion that he is the goddamn coolest man alive, make sure you check it out. I would absolutely love to see Gruff DJ (DJ Gruff? ...no, that's someone else...), the man has a ridiculously broad and obscure music taste, so I reckon it'd be a blast to listen to his record collection. It's unlikely I'll ever make it to any of the Rizla shows, though. As, again, they are giving where I live a wide berth. Ho-hum. Maybe they've heard of my insane Furry-devotion..?

Psychedelic Jamboree

Keep checking out Pete Fowler's blog, he occasionally has some Furry news on there. Just had a look today and apparently Gruff is DJ-ing at the Psychedelic Jamboree on June 10th in The Big Chill Bar, London. Sounds cool and it's free. So check it out if you happen to be in London around the 10th.

SFA @ Sub29

I just realised I never actually posted about the three gigs the Super Furries played at sub29 in Cardiff. Originally billed to play just Thursday's gig, they added Tuesday and Wednesday due to the ridiculous demand for tickets. I hesitated and missed out on a ticket for Thursday but managed to get hold of a couple for Wednesday's gig.

It was a 550-mile round trip for me with an overnight stay in Cardiff but it was well worth the time and money. Didn't have much time to sight-see in Cardiff, which was a shame but, on the plus side, I did see both Bunf and Gruff in the street prior to the gig (Gruff in a fetching orange boiler suit). My boyfriend went all fan-girl at the sight of Gruff (the only Furry he'd actually recognise) and seemed more excited than even I was...

The gig was fantastic, although I don't think the venue was that good. The UEA LCR in Norwich is just as small, if not smaller, and the sound quality there is much better. Despite a few sound issues, they were good-humoured and energetic and whipped the crowd into a bit of a frenzy. It wasn't the greatest gig in SFA-history but it was intimate and they were obviously happy to be playing to their home town.

Other people have complained that they just played DD/LY all the way through and didn't have a very varied set. I didn't think that was a bad thing. They were there to promote the album after all and they're warm up gigs for their festival dates later in the year, so they have to practice the new material as much as possible. Plus, the encore that everyone in the front row knew was coming, as we could see the setlist, was absolutely fantastic. Slow Life, RATW, Juxtaposed with U, TMDGAF and, my personal favourite, Keep the Cosmic Trigger Happy. Great way to end the gig and everyone was singing along at the top of their voices.

As for DD/LY, I think a few of those songs could become staples of the Furry live gig. The Very Best of Neil Diamond, Where Do You Wanna Go?, Moped Eyes and Inconvenience all stomped along and show just how raw and rocky this album is compared to their earlier albums. Cardiff in the Sun I think suffered the most from the venue's hit-and-miss sound but come the summer time, at outdoor gigs (Somerset House!), I think it will really come into it's own. Would be fab to hear it actually played in the sun...

Overall, well, it was groovy. What more can I say.

Oh yeah, and I took some pictures. Yes, they are all Gruff but he was the only one I could see to get a good picture of. Honest.











See more here

Gruff on (Behind) Closed Doors

Just stumbled on this on YouTube, perfection in two parts;

Gruff in a lift part 1
Gruff in a lift part 2

It's the same show that Gruff and Bunf were on, the link to which you can find elsewhere on this blog.

It's a very adorable and good humoured performance from Gruff, from the Yr Atal Genhedlaeth era, and is one of my favourites. Love the fact that he's really going for the one-man band thing here. I half-expected him to strap a drum to his back and some cymbals between his knees.

Great stuff.

The Music of Moondog

I think I must have a Super Furry radar.

Twice recently while watching Sky I've randomly flicked to Welsh language channel S4C (and I don't speak Welsh), just as they've started talking to the Super Furry Animals. I flicked over while Uned5 was on and saw Cian and Guto talking about some football stadium and the new album. Then I happened to switch on to Bandit just as they started talking to Cian.

Now, I had a sudden urge to check the Clinic website (I'm a bit of a Clinic fan but never actually looked to see if they have a website) and lo and behold, there's a picture of Gruff Rhys smiling at me!



He and Bunf will be performing as part of the Barbican's 'The Viking of 6th Ave - The Music of Moondog', on 30th May. I'm afraid I've no idea who Moondog is but then I'm just one of the unwashed masses, so that's not surprising. Gruff and Bunf will be part of the 'specially assembled All-star Moondog Choir'.

Clinic, Caribou and 2/5ths of SFA... I wish I was gonna be there.

He's the greatest, he's fantastic

More on that Dangermouse/Sparklehorse collaborative behemoth; Chrysalismusic are streaming tracks from the... er... album? Sounds funky, although I'm not sure that using various singers really works as an album. It's like your music library on shuffle. If you have cool taste, mind. But then who said it'll actually end up as a conventional album...? Well, ok, it probably will...

Here's the link below;

Chrysalismusic

If I'm not mistaken Gruff is singing on track 2, his voice sounds a little different but that's definitely his accent. I've lost track of what number song I'm on now, but I've heard Jason Lytle and Iggy Pop (that I can identify) so far. And now I'm feeling all nostalgic for the days of Grandaddy! I really wish Jason Lytle was doing a full UK tour, but I think he's just doing Manchester and London in May.

Anyway, it all sounds excellent! I highly recommend listening to the stream on Chrysalismusic and also visit the Dark Night of the Soul website for more info. Which is sparse at the minute. But apparently it's going to be released in the summer. Plus if you go on the website you can see some of the Lynch visuals, which I really hope there'll be more of.

From the Basement

I've just noticed that the Super Furry Animals are on From the Basement on Sky Arts 1 tonight (in the UK) at 10. Which is in... 10 minutes time. I'm guessing it's a repeat of the show they recorded a while ago but if it's new or a repeat, it's still worth me pressing record!

Non-tour news

The Furries keep saying that they won't do a conventional tour for Dark Days/Light Years, apparently as they feel the album will work better outdoors. But y'know, they always have their tongue placed firmly in their cheek and I have a feeling there's probably a more mundane reason (the expense/the boredom/homesickness) than an artistic reason there's not going to be a tour. But that's fine. I don't expect them to perform for me like dancing monkeys... well, maybe I do a little.

They will, however, be doing plenty of festival gigs if you simply have to have a Furry fix this year. I've been ignoring the fact that there are some festival dates lined up as tickets are so expensive and festivals aren't ideal places to see your favourite band. Shorter than usual set lists, surrounded by a lot of people who aren't there just for SFA? Not value-for-money from a Furry point of view... If you can afford it, however, and there are more bands there that you like, here's the list of festivals SFA are appearing at this summer, straight from their website;

29/05
Wychwood
Cheltenham

13/06
Rockness
Inverness

27/06
Sea Sessions
Donegal, Ireland

04/07
Blissfields
Hampshire

05/07
Hop Farm
Kent

11/07
Wakestock
Abersoch, North Wales

30/08
Beechdown
Brighton

All those festivals basically take the Furries on a wide berth around where I live. So, instead, I'm taking the fight to them and travelling down to London to see them at Somerset House. Which is not really a festival, more a gig... so a longer set list and lots of glorious Furry fans! Can't wait.

18/07
Somerset House
London

That's it for SFA live gigs this year. So far, anyway. I have a sneaking suspicion they will probably end up touring this album but maybe it'll be later in the year/next year. No worries, they're hardworking and deserve an easier touring schedule for this year. But after that... Y'know... I'll be cracking the whip.



As if I had that power.



...If only...

Emerging from the wilderness...

Still no internet connection at home at the minute, but here I am leeching from someone else's.

There's a couple of SFA-related newsy type things for your delectation;

Dark Days/Light Years
The album is now fully formed and available to download from SFA's official website. As a dedicated follower of the Furries I opted for the CD + mp3 bundle. No mention of the vinyl release but I assume there is one. And I'll be purchasing that too... I'm so sad.

But, the album is, as ever, groovy. I won't do a review as I'm hardly unbiased and I border on illiterate but I have been listening to it quite a lot. And I wouldn't if it was crap... It's quite raw and has a jamming-70s-prog-rock vibe to it, a departure from the smooth poppiness of Hey Venus! (as great as that is). It's that speaker-blower that Gruff was promising us on the release of Hey Venus! Y'know, turn it up to 11. Favourite songs so far;

Moped Eyes - Gruff's voice may just be the sexiest it's ever been on this song and there's a nice driving rhythym to back it up. Cool stuff.

Cardiff in the Sun - pure bliss, especially when followed closely by the sitar-laden The Very Best of Neil Diamond. It's a toss-up which of them I like the most.

I realise now why I like SFA... everything they do is extraordinary. I mean, they've recorded nine albums and all of them I would happily listen to for years and years to come. There's no-one else that come close to them in terms of consistency. Even David Bowie, who I've loved since before the Furries, has had hits and misses. The Flaming Lips, Grandaddy, Eels... they're all bands I adore but only the Furries seem to remain so vital to me. They tip-toe on that line between seriousness and silliness but always sound the better for it. They have warmth, style and humour and I adore them. The stars must have been in a once-in-a-millennium alignment when SFA formed. Anyway, enough gushing!

Pete Fowler
I highly recommend keeping an eye on Pete's blog as not only is he a great artist in his own right, but there's bound to be some SFA goodies pop up on there from time to time. Recent posts include teasers about the Dark Days/Light Years album artwork, a collaboration with Keiichi Tanaami, some of which is included with the downloaded album. Can't wait to see the full artwork on the physical release. Which is approaching fast, just a couple of weeks away, now!

Mr Fowler has also got a compilation album out, and there is a shiny new track from Gruff Rhys on there. Although with no lyrics/vocals... and that's what I love Gruff for... but it's still nice to hear some electronic noodling from him. Have a read about it here.

Plus, some of Pete's work will be in London at the Monsters Inked exhibition, which sounds groovy. What better on an Easter weekend than to visit a gallery exhibiting hundreds of monster illustrations?

NME
In the new issue of NME there is an interview with Gruff and Bunf entitled "What Rock'n'Roll has taught us" complete with an old photo of the band. Apparently from when they liked hanging around in graveyards. Ah, the follies of youth, eh? There's some nice anecdotal-type stories from the two. Particularly liked the idea of a Philadelphia fan tattooing misspelt Welsh SFA lyrics onto himself, and Gruff not having the heart to tell him he'd spelt it wrong. I'm guessing the cat's out of the bag now...

Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse
I have images of 80s British cartoons running through my head now, but apparently Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse (I've always had a penchant for a bit of Mark Linkous...) are collaborating on some mysterious album/movie/plan-to-take-over-the world. Of which nobody knows anything apart from one poster doing the rounds that lists a load of names alongside theirs including Gruff Rhys. There's a lot of others (The Flaming Lips, Iggy Pop, Jason Lytle et al.) but I'm intrigued by the inclusion of David Lynch (I'm a Twin Peaks fan). Linkous, Rhys and Lynch? My excitement levels are rising...

My time's almost up. Back through the internet-free darkness I roam.

One hour (well 50 minutes...) to go!

www.superfurry.com

But head over there early. They're practising! Oh the excitement.

It starts at 8pm GMT and my computer seems to like it so far... Fingers crossed it will last the course. Come on little laptop, you can do it!

News explosion!

I really did pick the wrong month to move house... As I have no phone line and no internet connection at the moment, posts on here will be sporadic to say the least. Honestly, I really should have postponed everything until the new album was released but whatcha gonna do?

So! The album now has a name and, in the grand tradition of the Furries, they've given it a title that needs to be abbreviated to avoid RSI; Dark Days/Light Years. The track listing has also changed, with 'Earth', the one lyric song, being unceremoniously sacrificed and a few new titles being added. Or maybe there's some re-titling going on. Or maybe I'm mad. Here's the new tracklist, anyway;

Crazy Naked Girls
The Very Best Of Neil Diamond
Moped Eyes
Inagural Trams
Inconvenience
Cardiff In The Sun
Mountain
Helium Hearts
White Socks/Flip Flops
Where Do You Wanna Go
Lliwiau Llachar
Pric

There are a few magazines that the Furries (well, mostly Gruff) are popping up in at the minute as part of the promotional process. All of which I have bought.

Uncut
There's a tantalising sneek-preview review on Uncut's blog that you should definitely check out, which had the following interesting comment;

'I can’t recall an SFA album that has felt so explicitly like the work of a band; when Gruff does take the lead, his voice is often electronically altered, buried into the mix, or swamped by harmonies.'

I've always thought that the Furries were a pretty democratic band, but they do seem to be moving more and more towards there not being a clear lead singer/front man. Which is groovy. Even if I do love Gruff's voice...

The current issue of Uncut magazine has a bit of a bizarre interview with Gruff, which is almost worth buying Uncut for. But not quite. And yet still I paid £3.90-odd. For one page of Gruffalo goodness.

Q
Q magazine has an interview/feature with Gruff, which is actually quite interesting. Even if they do take the piss. It's in the style of that Guardian, 'Pieces of me' article and is almost worth buying Q for.

Artrocker
This is most definitely the pick of the bunch; there's specially-commissioned Pete Fowler artwork on the front cover, the feature is a few pages long and there are some nice, if Gruff/Bunf-heavy, photos in the studio. Worth buying, I think. Artrocker is available at Borders/WHSmiths or via their website. They'll probably have more stuff from the interview pop up online so check their website out; http://www.artrocker.tv/

Videos galore...
As part of the countdown to the digital release of the album, the Furries are posting personal videos up on their website to document the wonderfully banal process of creating an album. It's a cool idea, half-inched from that Time Code movie, but is quite tech-heavy. My computer won't play ball with the website but I'm sure other people have faster, better, stronger computers than me.

All of this is leading up to an online live performance of the album on March 16 at 8pm GMT. Which I'm giddily excited about, and which I am booking time in on my parents' computer for! The album will be released digitally on the same day and the physical release (eww...) will be April 13 in the UK, April 21 in the US. As I am quite, quite sad, I'm contemplating buying the digital release and the physical release. As I can't bear the thought of having it a month late and yet I still need a pretty CD to hold in my hand. It's sad I know, but the money will go to SFA so I don't mind. Unless you can download it for free if you pre-order the album... that'd be cool...

Anyway, times-a-wasting! I'm off to unpack some more.

Track-by-track

Haven't found this anywhere else but MusicRadar have got a track-by-track breakdown by Gruff of the new album. All sounds gooood.

Track-by-track - MusicRadar

New album announced!

Feeling slightly giddy as I've just found out that a new album is due in March! Suddenly seems such a long time to wait...

Apparently there'll be a digital release from their website 16th March and the physical release will be 13th April in the UK and 21st April in the US. There's no title as yet but you can see a tracklisting on their website, which I'm happy to see includes Earth (the song with one lyric?)! Groovy.

From the sounds of it, its going to be melodic, with no acoustic ballads and no country rock... so a bit of a harder sound but with the patented glorious SFA melodies and lyrics. I'm a bit sad that there won't be slower numbers as I do like the slow songs. That said, it's the Furries so I've no doubt it'll be a work of pure genius.

Plus, Fowler is back! Which is great news. I knew they couldn't stay away from him for long. He'll be collaborating with Tanaami, who produced the artwork for Hey Venus! The result may just be so psychedelic that my brain explodes... which wouldn't be a bad way to go out.

You can read all the glorious details on their website here;

New album announced

They're even teasing us with the idea that there will be more surprises announced closer to the release date. They tease me but I love it. Fantastic!

I'm so ridiculously excited at the prospect of a new tour to promote the album that I may just have to go and lie down.

Viva Zwei

There's a Super Furry (Gruff again, I know, I know...) interview on You Tube that I haven't seen before and it's only been up since the beginning of January so I thought I'd post the link here. It's an interview with Viva Zwei, a German music channel, and Gruff, talking about Rings Around the World in 2001. It's an in-depth, good little interview with Gruff even touching on my other obsession, films (albeit briefly!). Well worth a look. A relaxed and good-humoured interview but with depth. Although... it did leave me thinking that he must get fed-up with being asked to analyse his music all the time.

Anyway, I highly recommend it;

Viva Zwei, 2001
Part one
Part two
Part three
Part four
(NOTE:These links will take you direct to YouTube)

Gruffalo Goodness

It's the new year and I'm aching for a few more pictures. Stumbled on some great ones of Gruff. Very photogenic this man. They're from 2005, when he was playing at the Marquee Club in London.

All images are copyright to Andrew Kendall and you can see other bands (but, really, why would you want anything more than Gruff?) on his website http://www.andrewkendall.com/

It's a nice set of images with everything Gruff-like present and correct; curly hair, rough-and-ready beard, chunky rings and watch, groovy instruments (I've just noticed that one of his Fowler guitars has a Mork-style rainbow strap) and that lovely, slightly bemused expression...