There are other members, dammit!

I'm not oblivious to the fact that this blog is turning into a bit of a Gruff love-in. Which isn't a bad thing, of course, but it wasn't what I intended it to be. There are four other members of the Super Furry Animals and I'm well aware that the Furries wouldn't be the same without all them. So I thought I'd dedicate a few posts to somebody not Gruff-shaped (shock! horror!)

Now as SFA have been off doing their own things for a little while, there have been quite a few side projects popping up. There's Gruff's solo work and Neon Neon, Cian's been doing work with Acid Casuals and Daf, of course, is touring with The Peth. Each member brings something different to the Furries so even avid Furry fans are not going to find something that turns them on in all the side projects. Personally I've always been attracted to SFA because of their lyrical inventiveness and their musical experimentation. Gruff was always key to me because I love his lyrics, the way his mind works, and that's why I love his solo work and work with Neon Neon. He also, I think, writes great hooks and melodies absorbing influences from all over (I say that like I know what it means). That's why he's important to me... and straight away I'm talking about Gruff again...

The other member of the Furries that I identify with is Bunf (you thought I'd forgotten him didn't you?). Now, Bunf has always come across to me as a very serious-minded musician and I admire him for that. When he released his free to download Soundscapes on superfurry.com I thought "this is a man I can relate to". He has very artistic, experimental sensibilities. I'm a sucker for Brian Eno and, in particular, the work of Luc Ferrari. 'Ambient music', for want of a better term, appeals a lot to me. And I adore Bunf's Soundscapes and the atmospheric quality of them. They're very DIY, very organic, with Bunf using field recordings of airports, cities, backstage areas etc during his time on tour with SFA. They're like an aural artists bookwork. And I love them! Before I explode in a shower of buzz words I better tell you where you can download them;

You can, of course, download them for free from superfurry.com but I would suggest you go to This Winki's blog (great name, great blog) as the author has combined them into one downloadable album complete with artwork for you to enjoy.

Groovy.

Howdy

This blog is a gateway blog into the glorious world of the Super Furry Animals. (Expecting something else? Maybe you're a Furry fan not a Furries fan...) If you like the Furries, or are intrigued by them then hopefully you'll find something here to fill your Super Furry needs.

Why, why, why?
OK, I've been a fan of SFA since their debut release Llanfairpwllgwyngyllllantysiliogogogoch(In Space) (Doesn't that title just tell you everything you need to know about SFA?) in 1995. Which would mean I've been a fan for 13 years, now. I've no idea where the hell I found out about a little-known Welsh band when I was ten, but there you go. They popped into my life from somewhere, made a nest in my brain and have been making weird noises in there ever since.

But I got a little complacent. It was probably that awkward teen phase where you start getting in to Radiohead because they're "deep". Where you think the whole world's against you. And, well, I became a bit of a fairweather fan. I still bought all their albums, I went to their gigs but I wasn't hungry for them anymore. I don't blame the Furries. Looking back now it was just me and my existential angst. SFA were just too darn fun. They still made great music, but I just didn't pay enough attention.

When I started life in the real world, I loaded up my ipod for the bus journey and all of a sudden, wham! There they were again. Ferreting around in my head. Finding my Radiohead CDs and shredding them up to make a lining for their nest. Settling back into my brainwaves when I'd left 'em out in the cold. Poor little Furries...

So this is my way of an apology. For all the gigs I missed (New Years, London, 2007), for all the singles I didn't buy, for the solo career of Gruff that passed me by. And which I'm now catching up on. God dammit how could I come in late to the Grufftastic party? I missed the screening of Seperado! (when is that film getting a "general" release??), I missed two whole albums. I missed weird and wonderful toy-led gigs. I missed festival appearances. I even just missed seeing Neon Neon live (I think they've just stopped gigging). The more I see and hear of Gruff the more I fall for him. He is just astounding. Imagine what I felt like when I heard he played a gig only 15 miles away from me, last year? And in the arts centre? That would have been such a intimate performance.

Christ, I feel like screaming!

So...
To make sure I don't miss anything SFA-related again I'm dedicating this blog to them. It'll mainly be notes to myself, links to cool images, interviews, tour dates etc. Stuff that I find intriguing (whether Furry related or not). But if you've stumbled across this blog, I hope you'll find something stimulating. If you're not too familiar with SFA then maybe something you find here will turn you on to them (they are, after all, this generation's Beatles... Apparently.)

Cheers
Bame
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