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Cardiff, Wales (1993 – present)

Super Furry Animals (also known as “SFA”, the “Furries” and the “Super Furries”) are a critically acclaimed band, with leanings towards , , and experimentation.

They formed in Cardiff, Wales in 1993 by Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw ‘Bunf’ Bunford (guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass), Cian Ciaran (keyboards, electronics) and Dafydd Ieuan (drums) and have released nine full length albums and numerous EPs. The most recent release is 2009’s “Dark Days/Light Years”.

-Early years-
The band formed in Cardiff after being in various other Welsh bands and techno outfits in the area, among them Ffa Coffi Pawb. Lead vocalist/guitarist Gruff Rhys, drummer/vocalist Dafydd Ieuan and bassist Guto Pryce had been together since the early 1990s and had toured the north coast of France as a techno group. The other two members of the band are lead guitarist/vocalist Huw Bunford and keyboardist/vocalist Cian Ciaran; the latter is Ieuan’s younger brother. They then got to work on writing some songs, and in 1995 ended up signing to Ankst, the famous Welsh label. The band are considered to be part of the renaissance of Welsh music (and art, and literature) in the 1990s: other Welsh bands of the time include Catatonia, Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci and the Manic Street Preachers.
The actor Rhys Ifans was briefly lead vocalist of the band, before they found national success.
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indie, indie rock, alternative, britpop, rock
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  • GodShowMeMagic wrote:
    13 minutes ago
    I'm pretty sure it's out of print now? So that's why you can't get it brand spanking new on Amazon. But I would just buy it from Amazon or Play's marketplace. A lot of the sellers there sell brand new CDs. And eBay sometimes has still sealed copies.

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  • jag66 wrote:
    6 hours ago
    Does anyone know where I can buy mwng new in the UK? Its never in any CD shops or on amazon or anything..

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  • sdl1986 wrote:
    Friday evening
    I also think he has the most distinguished look of anyone in the band at the moment. That graying beard is awesome.

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  • sdl1986 wrote:
    Friday evening
    Juxtapozed... Maybe Walk You Home. I really like his bass on Drawing Rings Around the World and Moped Eyes, of course.

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  • GodShowMeMagic wrote:
    Friday morning
    Alright then, in honour of Guto, what Furries song has the best bass in it?

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  • sdl1986 wrote:
    Friday morning
    And his hand looks like a centipede effortlessly moving up and down the neck.

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  • sdl1986 wrote:
    Friday morning
    Who sings "Never More," Daf? Maybe Guto does secret vocals on tracks. I know he did the weird noises on "Tradewinds." He's a really nice guy. I like giving him credit. Really, how often do you hear about SFA's basslines? And it's not cuz I'm just being weird... I hear his stuff, and I love it.

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  • hotterthanjuly wrote:
    Friday morning
    Gruff's voice is more assertive than Cian's, because I'd like to think of it as Cian just assisting in the background as well.

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  • GodShowMeMagic wrote:
    Thursday evening
    And I repeat my assertion on the board; Guto IS God.

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  • GodShowMeMagic wrote:
    Thursday evening
    Yeah, I tend to think of Download as a Gruff-vocaled song backed by Cian, but that just shows my Gruff bias :-) It's a duet really. What I was talking about was the first time you hear any of the others sing lead on their own. Which I reckon would be Chewing Chewing Gum right? (Well, not exactly lead but they're definitely not backing vocals.) That's a great song to try and identify their voices... The deep voice on 'Walk You Home' I would say is definitely Daf. At the same time in the backing vocals Gruff is doing a falsetto and seems to be panned more to the left I think. Gawd, I know all the technical terms ;-)

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  • hotterthanjuly wrote:
    Thursday evening
    Exactly.

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  • i-phantom wrote:
    Thursday evening
    I just listened to Download and Cian's vocals are hard panned to the left and Gruff's to the right.

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  • hotterthanjuly wrote:
    Thursday afternoon
    Agreed. So it shouldn't be so much a surprise that people have said that about the three albums I mentioned earlier, especially when Sean O'Hagan was basically the unofficial member at that point. But yeah, SFA culls its influences from other directions as well. Calling them modern-day Beatles is pretty safe, but more than a little lazy. But at the same time, they sound most like themselves. They are able to blend more divergent sounds better than nearly any other band I've listened to extensively, which is no easy task. They've created their own sound.

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  • hotterthanjuly wrote:
    Thursday afternoon
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPPq_Cdarig&feature=related. There's no way one can listen to this and not hear "Atomik Lust." You can also hear traces of "Ohio Heat." The sounds from Love Kraft aren't derivative, but they are definitely accentuated from Surf's Up.

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  • sdl1986 wrote:
    Thursday afternoon
    No, I know about stuff like that. But their influences are manifold. I don't think that The Beach Boys are their only antecedent. Any band that works in complex pop music is going to be influenced by Brian Wilson's compositions. The High Llamas, who work closely with SFA, are much more Beach Boys derivative.

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  • hotterthanjuly wrote:
    Thursday afternoon
    It's not the music, it's the harmonies. The influence is so obvious. But there are songs from Love Kraft that undeniably sound inspired by The Beach Boys' Surf's Up, which is reportedly the band's favorite album, and Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue.

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  • sdl1986 wrote:
    Thursday afternoon
    They really don't sound anything like The Beach Boys. I'm a huge fan. I wouldn't be ashamed to admit it if they did. There's MUCH more derivative bands out there. Cian kind of reminds me of Dennis Wilson, though.

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  • hotterthanjuly wrote:
    Thursday afternoon
    Yeah, definitely Cian in "Download." HIs voice sounds especially younger, understandable considering he was only around 21 when Radiator was released.

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  • hotterthanjuly wrote:
    Thursday afternoon
    I find it odd that some people have worried about SFA turning into a Beach Boys tribute band the last few albums, particularly Phantom Power, Love Kraft and Hey Venus! There is just as much of that influence to be found on Radiator and no one said anything then.

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  • sdl1986 wrote:
    Thursday afternoon
    His movie premieres tonight. I can't wait to hear about it...

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THE ONE AND ONLY US TRIP FOR DARK DAYS/LIGHT YEARS

26 Aug 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/superfurry

GOOD DAY CITIZENS OF THE US!We are super excited here at Super Furry Animal farm as our 3 date US visit is coming up soon. These will most likely be our only North American shows on our Dark Days Ligh. …

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