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.