Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band formed in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

in 1993. For the duration of their professional career, the band consisted of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw Bunford (lead guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass guitar), Cian Ciaran (keyboards, synthesisers, various electronics, occasional guitar, vocals), and Dafydd Ieuan (drums, vocals). An earlier incarnation of the band featured actor Rhys Ifans on lead vocals. The band are considered to be part of the renaissance of Welsh culture which emerged in the 1990s: other Welsh bands of the time include the

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...

Stereophonics Stereophonics are a Welsh pop and rock music, Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley. The band consists of Kelly Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Richard Jones (Stereophonics), Richard Jones (n ...

Catatonia Catatonia is a complex syndrome most commonly seen in people with underlying mood disorders, such as major depressive disorder, or psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia. People with catatonia exhibit abnormal movement and behaviors, wh ...

and

Gorky's Zygotic Mynci Gorky's Zygotic Mynci () were a psychedelic folk and alternative rock band which formed in Carmarthen, Wales, in 1991. The group performed music in both Welsh and English, and they had eight Top 75 singles on the UK Singles Chart during their ...

. Super Furry Animals have recorded nine

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

Top 25 studio albums (one BPI certified Gold and four certified Silver), plus numerous singles, EPs, compilations and collaborations. The band were known as central to the Cool Cymru era during which they were dominant, and are the act with the most top 40 hits without reaching the UK Singles Chart Top 10. Over the course of nine albums, Super Furry Animals has been described as "one of the most imaginative bands of our time" by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', while according to a 2005 article in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'', "There's a case to be argued that uper Furry Animalswere the most important band of the past 15 years".

History

1990–1993: Formation

Super Furry Animals formed in

in 1993 after being part of various other bands in Wales: Gruff Rhys and Dafydd Ieuan had played together in Ffa Coffi Pawb, whilst Huw Bunford and Guto Pryce were previously members of U Thant. Actor Rhys Ifans joined them as lead vocalist, and started to perform initially in a techno style before becoming more rock-orientated. Ifans would shortly leave however once his acting career took off, with Rhys stepping in on lead vocals. After Cian Ciaran (Ieuan's younger brother) joined the band after being part of electronic outfit Wwzz, they signed to Ankst, a prolific Welsh indie label, in 1995. The name of the band came from T-shirts being printed by Rhys' sister. She was making Super Furry Animals T-shirts for the fashion and music collective Acid Casuals (variants of whose name have appeared throughout Super Furry Animals' career – for example, in their song "The Placid Casual", their record label Placid Casual). The band has also made reference to Blur,

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

, and Wynton Marsalis as major influences in their work.

1994–1995: Early recordings

The earliest Super Furry Animals track commercially available is "Dim Brys: Dim Chwys", recorded in 1994 for Radio Cymru: an ambient piece, the track shows the band's techno roots. However, by the time it was released (on the "Triskedekaphilia" compilation album in August 1995), the band had already put out their debut EP on the Ankst label. The ''Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyndrobwllantysiliogogogochynygofod (In Space)'' EP appeared in June 1995 and has been listed in the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

as having the longest-ever title for an EP. The '' Moog Droog'' EP followed in October 1995, named after the synthesiser manufacturer

Robert Moog Robert Arthur Moog ( ; May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthe ...

and the Nadsat term for "friend" in '' A Clockwork Orange''. The EP's title is also a pun on the Welsh slang for

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

, literally "bad (or naughty) smoke". The lyrics on all the tracks on both EPs were in Welsh, except for "God! Show Me Magic" from "Moog Droog". After gigging in London in late 1995, they were noticed by

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

boss Alan McGee at the Camden Monarch club, who signed them to his label. Creation was also home to

Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock music, rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie (musician), Jim Beattie (guitar). The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simon ...

, My Bloody Valentine and

Teenage Fanclub Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Glasgow in 1989. The group were founded by Norman Blake (Scottish musician), Norman Blake (vocals, guitar), Raymond McGinley (vocals, lead guitar) and Gerard Love (vocals, bass), al ...

, and had recently found massive commercial success with

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentDafydd Ieuan: "It all started when we played this festival in West Wales, and for some reason the Welsh media started foaming at the mouth because we were singing songs in Welsh and English. But they get The Dubliners playing and they do not sing in Irish. It's ridiculous." The band have claimed that the decision to sing in English was taken in order to broaden their fanbase.

1996–1998: ''Fuzzy Logic'' to ''Out Spaced''

In February 1996, the band's debut on Creation, " Hometown Unicorn", became

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

's Single of the Week, chosen by guest reviewers Pulp, and the first Super Furry Animals single to chart in the UK Top 50, peaking at No. 47. The follow-up, a re-recording of " God! Show Me Magic", charted at No. 33 upon release in April 1996 and also became ''

'' single of the week. Rawer than the "Moog Droog" version, it clocks in at 1 min 50 secs. In May, their debut album ''

Fuzzy Logic Fuzzy logic is a form of many-valued logic in which the truth value of variables may be any real number between 0 and 1. It is employed to handle the concept of partial truth, where the truth value may range between completely true and completely ...

'' was released, to wide critical acclaim. Sales were slow, with the album peaking at No. 23 in the charts, but it garnered a little more interest when next single " Something 4 the Weekend" (a reworked, more mellow version of the album track) was given considerable radio airplay and charted at No. 18 in July 1996. The final single from the album, " If You Don't Want Me to Destroy You", was to have been backed by a track called " The Man Don't Give a Fuck". However, there were problems in clearing a sample from "Showbiz Kids" by

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band formed in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971 by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen cho ...

which formed the basis of the chorus, and it was switched for a different track. The single charted at No. 18. However, Super Furry Animals regarded "The Man Don't Give a Fuck" as one of their best songs and continued their efforts to clear the sample. When they managed this, there was no upcoming release to attach it to – so it came out as a limited edition single in its own right, in December 1996. This ultimately cemented its legendary status and did much to establish Super Furry Animals as cult heroes, as the song contained the word "

fuck ''Fuck'' () is profanity in the English language that often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested ...

" over 50 times and therefore received practically no airplay. However, it hit No. 22 in the charts and became Super Furry Animals' standard closing number when they played live. In early 1997, Super Furry Animals embarked on the ''NME'' Brats Tour and completed work on a speedy follow-up to ''Fuzzy Logic''. Two singles preceded the new album, " Hermann ♥'s Pauline" in May and " The International Language of Screaming" in July, hitting No. 26 and No. 24 respectively: these releases were the first to feature cover art from Pete Fowler, who went on to design the sleeves of all their releases up until 2007's ''Hey Venus''. The album, ''

Radiator A radiator is a heat exchanger used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

'', hit shelves in August. The reviews were, if anything, better than those for ''Fuzzy Logic'', and it sold more quickly than its predecessor, reaching a peak of No. 8: however, Creation did not serve the album particularly well by releasing it just four days after the long-awaited new effort from Oasis, '' Be Here Now''. Two further singles, " Play It Cool" (released September 1997) and " Demons" (November 1997) both hit No. 27 in the charts, suggesting that Super Furry Animals had hit a commercial ceiling though which they were struggling to break. However, they had established themselves as favourites in the music press, a cut above the majority of their Britpop peers. After a chance to think about their music and their direction, Super Furry Animals decided to record a new EP in early 1998 at Gorwel Owen's house and released it in May. This was the ''

Ice Hockey Hair ''Ice Hockey Hair'' is an EP by the Welsh alternative rock band Super Furry Animals, released in 1998. The record contains four songs which the band felt did not fit in with either their previous album, 1997's '' Radiator'', or its follow-up '' ...

'' EP, widely held as one of their finest moments ("ice hockey hair" is a slang term for a mullet.) Featuring four tracks, the EP sampled from Black Uhuru. The title track, a melodic and very moving epic, gained airplay while "Smokin'". In a ''Melody Maker'' interview, Super Furry Animals said the "Smokin'" referred to smoking

haddock The haddock (''Melanogrammus aeglefinus'') is a saltwater ray-finned fish from the Family (biology), family Gadidae, the true cods. It is the only species in the Monotypy, monotypic genus ''Melanogrammus''. It is found in the North Atlantic Oce ...

, or to truck drivers' tyres when they're 'burnin' the roads'. It became their most successful single up to this point, hitting No. 12 in the charts and leading to a memorable appearance on "

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

". In November 1998, the album '' Out Spaced'' was released. This was a collection of songs from the 1995 Ankst releases (including "Dim Brys: Dim Chwys"), the band's favourite B-sides, plus "The Man Don't Give a Fuck" and "Smokin'". A limited edition appeared in a comedy rubber sleeve, shaped like a nipple.

1999–2000: ''Guerrilla'' and ''Mwng''

In 1999, ''NME'' readers named them 'best new band' in January (this despite the fact it was now three years since they released their debut album). In May, the single " Northern Lites" was released and made No. 11 in the charts. A dense production, with steel drums clattering out a calypso rhythm whilst Rhys sang an irreverent lyric about the

El Niño-Southern Oscillation EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...

weather phenomenon, it was an apt taster for the new album, ''

Guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

''. Recorded at the Real World Studios, the album retained SFA's pop melodies but took a less guitar-centric approach to their execution and was their most experimental work to date. Layers of samples over

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

, percussion and Gruff's melodic singing produced an album which took the freewheeling approach of 1960s groups such as

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

and

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...

and updated it to the late 1990s. The album swung from glam and garage rock numbers ("Night Vision", "The Teacher") to novelty techno ("Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)"), ambient indietronica ("Some Things Come From Nothing") and upbeat drum and bass ("The Door To This House Remains Open"). For the cover art, Pete Fowler created the band's first three-dimensional models, rather than the paintings he had supplied for the ''Radiator'' album and singles. After playing several of the summer festivals, SFA released " Fire in My Heart", the most soulful track from ''Guerrilla'', in August and saw it chart at No. 25. They then embarked on a US and UK tour. SFA finished their UK tour at the

Cardiff International Arena Cardiff International Arena (formerly known as Cardiff International Arena & Convention Centre and Motorpoint Arena Cardiff and currently, for sponsorship reasons, as Utilita Arena Cardiff) is an indoor exhibition centre and events arena locate ...

, where they showcased the first ever concert in surround sound and broadcast it on the

World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is an information system that enables Content (media), content sharing over the Internet through user-friendly ways meant to appeal to users beyond Information technology, IT specialists and hobbyis ...

. January 2000 involved a series of changes for SFA. The last single from ''Guerrilla'', " Do or Die", was released and made No. 20. It was also the last single SFA released on Creation Records, as founder Alan McGee set off to pursue other interests. It had always been SFA's plan to release their next album on their own label, Placid Casual, as it would be a deliberate sidestep from their recent work: a largely acoustic album of

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

songs entitled '' Mwng''. Meaning " mane", its lilting melodies established that SFA's songwriting did not have to fall back on head-spinning production tricks. A limited edition (of 3000) 7 inch record, " Ysbeidiau Heulog" (meaning "Sunny Intervals") preceded ''Mwng'' in May 2000. It came backed with "Charge", a hard-rock jam recorded as a Peel Session for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. The album, released the same month, sold remarkably well for a non-English LP – it made No. 11 in the charts – and received a rare distinction for a pop record, being commended in Parliament for its efforts in keeping the Welsh language alive. 2000 also saw the Furries contribute two tracks, Free Now and Peter Blake 2000, for the Liverpool Sound Collage project, which was nominated for a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

. They undertook this remixing of unreleased Beatles recordings at the invitation of

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

, whom they had met at the

NME Awards The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding o ...

, where they had won Best Live Act.

2001–2003: ''Rings Around the World'' and ''Phantom Power''

With the demise of Creation, SFA needed to find a new label for their next album. Sony had long held a substantial stake in Creation and offered deals to many ex-Creation artists, including SFA, who signed with one of Sony's subsidiaries, Epic. The band pushed for a deal which allowed them to take a new album elsewhere if the label was not interested in releasing it – thereby allowing them to find a home for any esoteric project they might want to undertake in the future. The greater resources afforded them by Epic were apparent in their first album for the label, '' Rings Around the World'', an album that recaptured the cohesive, experimental feel of ''Guerrilla'' but more song-driven and sonically expansive. It is cited by many critics and fans alike as their most polished and accessible work. Again the first single was a good indication of what was to come: " Juxtapozed with U", released in July 2001, was a lush soul record which made No. 14 in the charts. The album followed in the same month and major label marketing muscle made it their biggest-seller to date, reaching No. 3 in the album charts. One of the tracks from the album, "Receptacle For the Respectable" featured

on "carrot and celery rhythm track" (a homage to his performance on the

Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...

' "Vegetables"). SFA unleashed their experimental side on tracks such as "Sidewalk Serfer Girl" (which switches between light techno-pop and hardcore punk), " Touch Sensitive" (gloomy trip-hop) and "No Sympathy" (which descends into chaotic drum'n'bass), but also apparent was an angrier edge to the lyrics: "Run! Christian, Run!" seemed to be an attack on the complacency of organised religion. ''Rings Around the World'' is also remarkable for being the world's first simultaneous release of an

audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of sound ...

and DVD album. It was nominated for the

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

in 2001. The ceremony took place on the day after the terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and SFA's performance of the album track " It's Not the End of the World?" took on a somewhat bitter edge. It was released as a single in January 2002 (chart No. 30), following " (Drawing) Rings Around the World" (chart No. 28): neither had that much impact but still received some airplay, notably on BBC Radio 2. The next album, ''

Phantom Power Phantom power, in the context of Professional audio, professional audio equipment, is Direct current, DC electric power equally applied to both signal wires in Balanced line, balanced microphone cables, forming a phantom circuit, to power m ...

'', relied less on sound experimentation and proved to be a more stripped-down, back-to-basics recording in contrast to the orchestral ''Rings Around the World''. It was also released as both a CD and DVD album in July 2003, preceded by a single, " Golden Retriever", in June (chart No. 13). Although the reviews for the album were generally good and it sold well initially, charting at No. 4, the album broke little new ground by SFA's standards and the band had fallen out of fashion, receiving little coverage in the music press. Another single, " Hello Sunshine", hit No. 31 in October 2003 and was eventually featured on the soundtrack of '' The O.C.''.

2004–2005: ''Phantom Phorce'' to ''Love Kraft''

Perhaps recognising that their approach to ''Phantom Power'' had been a little too straightforward, the group followed it up in 2004 with a remix version, '' Phantom Phorce'', with tracks reworked by the likes of Killa Kela, Four Tet and Brave Captain. They accompanied this with a download single, " Slow Life", which also included the track "Motherfokker", a collaboration with

Goldie Lookin Chain Goldie Lookin Chain are a Welsh comedy hip hop group from Newport, Wales, Newport, Wales. The group produces humorous, and often explicit songs that satirise hip hop music, hip hop, today's consumer society, the "chav" culture and life in Newpo ...

, both tracks are now available as a free download via the Placid Casual website. In October 2004 the band released a

best of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

album, '' Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1'', accompanied by a single – a live version of "The Man Don't Give a Fuck" (chart No. 16). In early 2005, Gruff Rhys released a solo album '' Yr Atal Genhedlaeth'', ("The Stuttering Generation", and also a play on words as "Atal Genhedlu" means contraception), sung all in Welsh. Gruff played most of the instruments himself, mainly using guitars, drums and his own multi-tracked voice. The band also selected tracks for a volume in the '' Under the Influence'' series of compilations, in which artists present the songs that they feel have most contributed to their sound. In 2005 Super Furry Animals were asked to put together the sixth release from the 'Under The Influence' series - '' Under the Influence: Super Furry Animals''. Each member chose 3 track each - Pryce's selections were Dawn Penn " You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)", Dennis Wilson and Rumbo "Lady" and

MC5 MC5 was an American rock music, rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The classic lineup consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis (bassist), Michael Davis, and drummer ...

Kick Out the Jams ''Kick Out the Jams'' is the debut album by American rock band MC5. A live album, it was recorded at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit over two nights, October 30 and 31, 1968, and released in February 1969, by Elektra Records. The album peaked at ...

". Also in 2005 it was reported that the band turned down a US$1.8m advertising deal with

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

after visiting a Coca-Cola plantation in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

with charity

War on Want War on Want is an anti-poverty charity based in London. War on Want works to challenge the root causes of poverty, inequality and injustice through partnership with social movements in the global South and campaigns in the UK. War on Want's slo ...

, where they heard of management-directed killings of trade-union members. The company were asking for use of " Hello Sunshine" as part of their campaign. In a statement to British magazine '' Q'', Coca-Cola denied the allegations, stating they had been "an exemplary member of the business community" in Colombia. In August 2005, Super Furry Animals released their seventh studio effort, '' Love Kraft'', recorded in Spain. This represented a departure from their previous working methods: although all five members had always contributed to the development of the songs, Rhys had been the main songwriter. On ''Love Kraft'' this was no longer the case, as Rhys, Bunford, Ieuan and Ciaran all contributed songs and lead vocals. There was only one single from the album, " Lazer Beam", released on 15 August (chart No. 28). The laid-back ambience recalls early-1970s Beach Boys albums such as '' Surf's Up'' (which SFA have referred to as one of their favourite albums), whilst the heavy use of strings suggested the likes of Scott Walker and

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...

. The album's cool commercial reception (it charted at just No. 19) suggested that they had returned to their familiar status of critically acclaimed cult favourites. ''Love Kraft'' was also the last album released under Epic Records, as their contract expired in early 2006.

2006–2008: Rough Trade and ''Hey Venus!''

Ciaran's side project Acid Casuals released their debut album ''Omni'' in January 2006 on the Placid Casual label. Drummer Ieuan formed a band known as The Peth which has been described by Rhys in various magazine articles as "Satanic Abba": the band also reunites Rhys Ifans with the SFA family, as he takes lead vocal duties. The band signed to

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

during 2006 and are reportedly working on three projects for the label. Gruff Rhys has also signed for

as a solo artist in his own right and released a single on 7" vinyl and download entitled "Candylion" in late 2006 which preceded an album of the same name that was released during the second week of 2007. Unlike his debut '' Yr Atal Genhedlaeth'', '' Candylion'' is primarily sung in English but has two Welsh tracks and one in "bad Spanish": it is primarily an acoustic album, and came about because Rhys has written several acoustic pop songs that did not fit with the direction of the new SFA record. During this time some of the bands' music was used prominently in

The Rock-afire Explosion The Rock-afire Explosion (RAE) is an animatronic character band designed and manufactured by Creative Engineering, Inc. (CEI) for use in ShowBiz Pizza Place restaurants in the 1980s and early 1990s. The band's characters are various Anthropomorp ...

documentary movie, namely ''Hello Sunshine'' and ''Some things Come From Nothing''. Recording sessions took place in a chateau in the south of France in 2007 for the band's first release for Rough Trade, '' Hey Venus!'', which was released on 27 August that year. Gruff himself described the record as "speaker blowing". The album's first single, "Show Your Hand", failed to enter the top 40, their first to do so since 1996's "Hometown Unicorn", despite modest airplay. The album itself fared much better, peaking at No. 11 and was a slight improvement from the sales of ''Love Kraft''. The album became their first to enter the

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

Music Store top 10 album charts, peaking at No. 9. Over the 2007 Christmas period SFA released a single, "The Gift That Keeps Giving", free from their website.

2009–2014: ''Dark Days/Light Years'' and hiatus

On 16 March 2009, Super Furry Animals released their ninth and final studio album, '' Dark Days/Light Years'', digitally via their website. The album's progress was recorded in a series of short films that were shown on the band's website in the build-up to the release. Later in March, they performed the record in its entirety through an exclusive stream on their website. A physical release on

followed on 21 April, resulting in a number 23 UK Chart placement. '' Dark Days/Light Years'' notably featured a guest appearance from Nick McCarthy of Franz Ferdinand on "Inaugural Trams." '' Dark Days/Light Years'' received strong critical feedback, with

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

writing that "it has more spark and invention than most teen bands manage on their debuts." Gruff Rhys

In 2010, Super Furry Animals went on what became a five-year hiatus, as bassist Guto Pryce revealed in an interview with Wales Online. Pryce noted that the band expected to reconvene as soon as the members finished with the various projects they were working on. Super Furry Animals reconvened for one performance on 29 February 2012 at

Cardiff City Stadium The Cardiff City Stadium () is a stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City and the Wales national football team, Wales national team. Following expansion of the Ninian S ...

before a

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

Gary Speed Gary Andrew Speed (8 September 1969 – 27 November 2011) was a Welsh professional footballer and manager. As manager of Wales, Speed is often credited as being the catalyst for the change in fortunes of the national team and as setting t ...

Memorial Match, in tribute to the late Welsh

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

and team manager. In 2014, craft brewer The Celt Experience created a tribute "Fuzzy Beer" in collaboration with the band.

2015–2016: Reunion

In May 2015, the band played several gigs from early May to September to accompany a major reissue of their 15-year-old album ''Mwng'', which had been out of print. The same month a biography, ''Rise of the Super Furry Animals'', was published by HarperCollins. In January 2016, the band announced their first North American tour in six years. In May 2016, the band released " Bing Bong", their first single in seven years. The song was released to celebrate the

Wales national football team The Wales national football team () represents Wales in international Association football, football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the governing body for football in Wales. They have been a member of FIFA since ...

's qualification for

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...

. They headlined the Caught by the River Festival in August 2016, and announced the re-release of ''Fuzzy Logic''. A compilation album, '' Zoom! The Best of 1995–2016'', was released on 4 November 2016. The final tour of their reunion, in which they played both ''Fuzzy Logic'' and ''Radiator'' in full across the UK and Ireland, took place in December 2016.

2017–present: Second hiatus and Das Koolies

In September 2018, the official Super Furry Animals Twitter feed posted an announcement of a multi-disc set of recordings made at the BBC to be released on 23 November 2018. In 2019 Bunford, Ciaran, Pryce, and Ieuan reformed without Rhys under the name Das Koolies, an alter ego SFA used around 2000 for an experimental electronic album that was never officially released. Das Koolies released their debut single "It's All About The Dolphins" on 29 January 2020. According to Ciaran, Das Koolies is now their main focus; they are no longer focusing on anything from Super Furry Animals. On March 4, 2022, the band made the first song they ever recorded, "Of No Fixed Identity", recorded in 1993 and featuring Rhys Ifans on lead vocals, available for one week only on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

, with all the proceeds going towards Save the Severn, an ongoing environmental campaign to protect the

Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary () is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England (from North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire) and South Wales (from Cardiff, Newport to Monmouthshire). Its very h ...

Discography

* ''

'' (1996) * ''

'' (1997) * ''

'' (1999) * '' Mwng'' (2000) * '' Rings Around the World'' (2001) * ''

'' (2003) * '' Love Kraft'' (2005) * '' Hey Venus!'' (2007) * '' Dark Days/Light Years'' (2009)

References

External links

*
Super Furry Animals biography from BBC Wales
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1993 1993 establishments in Wales Welsh neo-psychedelia groups Cool Cymru Welsh alternative rock groups Welsh psychedelic rock music groups Britpop groups Creation Records artists Welsh-language bands Welsh musical quintets Alternative rock groups from Cardiff Bertelsmann Music Group artists Epic Records artists Rough Trade Records artists Love Da Records artists