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Artist Interviews
Q&A: Super Furry Animals
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 3 November 2009
Since arriving on the scene way back in 1993, Super Furry Animals have released no fewer than nine studio albums in a career that has seen them attached to several peaks in the Welsh music scene. One of the best bands to come out of Alan McGee’s Creation Records, they have worked with both Sony Music and Rough Trade since that label’s demise, while also occasionally running their own label venture Placid Casual, which released their 2000 Welsh language masterpiece ‘Mwng’. Their most recent album, ‘Dark Days/Light Years’, was unleashed earlier this year. We’re talking to frontman Gruff Rhys this week, though, because they are one of the headline acts at the inaugural Dubai SoundCity, which kicks off on Thursday. They play the city’s Irish Village venue on Saturday night. Before that, we got Gruff to answer our Same Six Questions…
Q1 How did you start out making music?
Just messing around on my big sister’s guitar.
Q2 What inspired your latest single?
Our most recent single was inspired by lo emission transport infrastructure and electric trams.
Q3 How do you go about creating a track?
Usually an idea strikes whilst taking a long walk.
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
The biggest influence in terms of songwriting are writers like Lou Reed and John Cale.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
That’s a good question. Firstly I’d say ‘hello there’ followed by ‘do you fancy a cup of tea there pal?’ Then something like ‘why don’t you sit down on the couch over there in front of the speakers, have a long cup of tea and suspend any musical preconceptions and just you enjoy the sonic textures and melodies…and don’t forget to put your cup in the sink on the way out, I’m off to the shops’.
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
It’s always been an ambition to play as many places as we possibly can, so it’s great coming to play Dubai for the first time.
MORE>> www.superfurry.com
