Gruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys
(; born 18 July 1970 in Haverfordwest) [1] is a Welsh musician, performing solo and with several bands, including the Super Furry Animals who obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He also most recently formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with DJ Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style
was nominated for the 2008 Nationwide Mercury Prize.
He was educated at Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen, Bethesda, Gwynedd, North Wales and was awarded a degree in art at Manchester Metropolitan University.
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GRUFF RHYS TICKETS
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Musical career
Ffa Coffi Pawb
After playing drums for the band Emily, Gruff Rhys found fame in Wales as the front man of Ffa Coffi Pawb. Translated, the name means 'everyone's coffee beans', though if said quickly in Welsh, it can sound like 'Fuck off everyone'.
On signing to
Ankstmusik, Ffa Coffi Pawb became one of the leading bands on the Welsh music scene, and released three albums -
Clymhalio
,
Dalec Peilon
and ''Hei Vidal!'.
Rhys plays the guitar in an unusual style. He is left-handed and learnt to play on his brothers right-handed guitar. Rather than invert the nut and re-string it he taught himself to play a right-handed guitar upside down so the bass strings are on the bottom.
Super Furry Animals
When Ffa Coffi Pawb disbanded in 1993, Rhys and drummer
Dafydd Ieuan, of Rhoscefnhir,
Anglesey, who had played for
Catatonia,
Anhrefn, Hanner Pei and many other Welsh language bands, formed the basis of the Super Furry Animals. They soon settled on a line-up consisting of Rhys on vocals and guitar, Ieuan on drums, his brother
Cian Ciaran (formerly of WWZZ) on keyboards,
Huw Bunford (formerly of U-Thant) on guitar and
Guto Pryce on bass. This line-up has remained constant to the present day, although the role of each member has become more flexible, particularly in the studio.
In 1995, following a couple of largely Welsh-language EPs on the
Ankst label, they signed to
Creation Records. Apparently, when offering them the deal after a gig,
Alan McGee, head of Creation, asked that they sing more songs in English. Rhys pointed out that all the songs that night had been in English. The Super Furries went on to release of their critically-acclaimed first album,
Fuzzy Logic
, in 1996 - the first time Rhys had recorded in English. He later observed that his singing sounded like a random collection of accents - but it was nevertheless very successful.
Follow-up albums included
Radiator
in 1997,
Guerrilla
in 1999 and
Mwng
in 2000. They also became particularly famous for their 40-foot inflatable bears and the SFA blue tank, which toured summer festivals playing techno music at high volume. The Super Furries made a further mark on history in July 2001, when they released their first album for the Sony label,
Rings Around the World
, on CD and DVD simultaneously: they repeated this for 2003's
Phantom Power
. Unfortunately 2005's
Love Kraft
performed poorly commercially and SFA agreed to leave Sony. They are presently signed to
Rough Trade and released
Hey Venus!
in 2007 in the UK.
Solo
On
24 January 2005, Gruff Rhys released his first solo album,
Yr Atal Genhedlaeth
on the Placid Casual label. This was a loose, sketchy, all-Welsh-language record, with most of the instruments played by Rhys. A tour of Wales and several festival appearances followed. After SFA signed to Rough Trade, the new label agreed to take on his solo work as well and on
8 January 2007 they released
Candylion
, a batch of acoustic pop songs in English, Spanish and Welsh, which Rhys wrote whilst touring
Love Kraft
but which didn't fit with the direction of the new SFA album. (It came out on
Team Love in the United States.)
Neon Neon
In 2007 Rhys launched a new electro-pop collaborative project with
Boom Bip under the collective monicker
Neon Neon.
[2] Their album, titled
Stainless Style
, is a loose concept album based on the tumultuous life of
De Lorean Motor Company founder
John De Lorean,
[3] and was released on 18 March 2008 via
Lex Records. The album includes a number of high-profile guest appearances from
Fab Moretti of
The Strokes,
Har Mar Superstar,
Yo Majesty,
Spank Rock,
Cate Le Bon and
The Magic Numbers. The first single, "Raquel", was released on 26 November 2007.
[4] The follow-up single "I Lust U", featured fellow Welsh artist Cate Le Bon on vocals. The album has been nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize.
Collaborations with other artists
Rhys has occasionally collaborated with other artists, providing vocals for the track "Dial: Revenge" on the
Mogwai album
Rock Action
as well as guesting on the songs "Fear of Guitars" (from the album
Machine Says Yes
by
FC Kahuna) and "Do's and Don'ts" (by
Boom Bip) as well as "Just War" from
Danger Mouse and
Sparklehorse's album
Dark Night of the Soul
. He has also featured on the
myspace remix track "I'm Not Lying" by
Goldie Lookin' Chain. He will also appear on a track on the upcoming
Simian Mobile Disco album
[5] And eats carrots on the
Misty's Big Adventure album
Television's People
, continuing the vegetable relay started by
Brian Wilson on
Smile
.
[6] Miles Kane has also called for him to produce the next album by his band the Rascals.
Trivia
Gruff supports
Bangor City F.C. of the
League of Wales
Discography
Ffa Coffi Pawb
Year
| Title
| Label
|
1988
| Dalec Peilon
| Ankst
|
1991
| Clymhalio
| Ankst
|
1992
| Hei Vidal!
| Ankst
|
2004
| Am Byth
(Compilation)
| Placid Casual
|
Super Furry Animals
Year
| Title
| Label
|
1996
| Fuzzy Logic
| Creation Records
|
1997
| Radiator
| Creation Records
|
1998
| Out Spaced
| Creation Records
|
1999
| Guerrilla
| Creation Records
|
2000
| Mwng
| Placid Casual
|
2001
| Rings Around the World
| Epic Records
|
2003
| Phantom Power
| Epic Records
|
2005
| Love Kraft
| Sony BMG
|
2007
| Hey Venus!
| Rough Trade Records
|
2009
| Dark Days/Light Years
| Rough Trade Records
|
Gruff Rhys
Albums
Year
| Title
| Label
|
2005
| Yr Atal Genhedlaeth
| Placid Casual
|
2007
| Candylion
| Rough Trade Records
|
Singles
Year
| Title
| Label
|
2005
| Gwn Mi Wn / Ni Yw Y Byd
| Placid Casual
|
2006
| Candylion
(b/w Colossal Smile
)
| Rough Trade Records
|
Neon Neon
Year
| Title
| Label
|
2008
| Stainless Style
| Lex Records
|
References
- Gruff Rhys biography
- Beck to the Future? Neon Neon hit 88MPH!
- Super Furry Animals Frontman, Boom Bip Join Forces
- Super Furry Animals man to release brand new album in February
- Klaxons' record producer says new album will be 'melodic'
- http://www.nme.com/news/mistys-big-adventure/40250