Play Super Furry Animals Radio

Super Furry Animals

On Tour

5,239,160 plays (252,021 listeners)

Listening now: devreng

922 shouts

Add to my Library Share
Get Ringtones

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.
Read more… Edit

Tagged as:

indie, indie rock, alternative, britpop, rock
See more…

Top Albums

See more

Shoutbox

Leave a comment. Log in to Last.fm or sign up (it’s free).
  • sdl1986 wrote:
    Friday afternoon
    What I'm trying to say is that if anything, The Flaming Lips are definitely aware of SFA's existence.

    View Profile | Leave sdl1986 a shout

  • sdl1986 wrote:
    Friday afternoon
    I hear SFA came out as yetis during The Flaming Lips' set somewhere one year. Also, SFA are their "new" drummer's favorite band. He's constantly going on about how Rings Around the World is the best album of the decade. SFA even did a Flaming Lips version of "Psyclone!" that I've yet to hear.

    View Profile | Leave sdl1986 a shout

  • hotterthanjuly wrote:
    Thursday evening
    :]

    View Profile | Leave hotterthanjuly a shout

  • rollingclone wrote:
    Thursday evening
    The Flaming Lips comparison is lazy. SFA are not the Welsh flaming Lips. If anything in recent years the Flaming Lips have been the American SFA (costume copying for a start).

    View Profile | Leave rollingclone a shout

  • i-phantom wrote:
    Wednesday afternoon
    I'm from Scotland, so you don't need to tell me :)

    View Profile | Leave i-phantom a shout

  • metal_gimp wrote:
    Wednesday afternoon
    sorry to intervene, but being from Wales and having heared this band a lot in my younger days (not a fan though sorry!) thought i'd offer an opinion. A lot of people from Wales put their nationality: Welsh. Not British. If they're able to that is. We're not one big happy island I'm afraid!! I'm sure the culture and Welsh language has had a big impact on their upbringing and, thus their music! Gobeithiwn bod hwnna's clirio pethau lan i chi bobl! :)

    View Profile | Leave metal_gimp a shout

  • sdl1986 wrote:
    Wednesday morning
    Welsh bands seem to really get it right when they get it right. Zabrinski, GZM, SFA and those guys Radio Luxembourg seem to be following suit.

    View Profile | Leave sdl1986 a shout

  • hotterthanjuly wrote:
    Monday evening
    No, not really unreasonable, just awkward when you consider SFA's cultural heritage. Their Welsh background is a pivotal essence of their whole package. The influences are stamped all over the music and lyrics. It's kind of like labelling Egyptian music African when its sound is too distinct to be put under that umbrella. Even so, Blur, The Beta Band, The Aliens and even The Coral all would have been stronger choices to compare SFA's sound with. Granted, they're all cut from UK cloth, but still.

    View Profile | Leave hotterthanjuly a shout

  • i-phantom wrote:
    Monday afternoon
    eh, I still don't think "British Flaming Lips" is unreasonable.

    View Profile | Leave i-phantom a shout

  • hotterthanjuly wrote:
    Monday afternoon
    Well Wales is in the UK of course, but I feel most people associate being British specifically with all things English, which isn't the case with SFA. Their Welsh background contributes a vital element to their music that must be noted. Sam should have been specific to avoid this confusion. I also have a slight preference to Hey Venus! His review is positive for the most part, but it's still inadequate and misinformed overall. But still, the whole "return to form" thing is one of the most irritating cliches in the music journalism vernacular, and it certainly doesn't apply to band as consistently brilliant as SFA. Sure, each band obviously has much admiration for the other, but on record, they are on separate planes. The comparison made in the review was an overreach. Gorky's Zygotic Mynci is SFA's obvious kindred spirit band, and not The Flaming Lips.

    View Profile | Leave hotterthanjuly a shout

  • i-phantom wrote:
    Monday afternoon
    Wales is in Britain. Regardless of how the Furries may feel about their national identity, it still says British on their passports, so he's not wrong. Sam's review looks alright to me (although personally I prefer Hey Venus to the new one). And yeah, the SFA have nothing in common with Flaming Lips, except both are psychedelic rock/pop bands who dabble with electronics and orchestration and elaborate live shows. Nothing in common at all.

    View Profile | Leave i-phantom a shout

  • sdl1986 wrote:
    8 days ago
    Yeah, they have nothing in common with the Flaming Lips. They're fans of each others. I'd say that's as far as it goes. SFA are a pop band.

    View Profile | Leave sdl1986 a shout

  • hotterthanjuly wrote:
    last month
    Not to mention SFA is (obviously) Welsh and not British, and that whole "return to form" bit is yawn-worthy. As if that wildly overused phrase could even begin to apply to a band like SFA, who has never lowered the bar since inception.

    View Profile | Leave hotterthanjuly a shout

  • hotterthanjuly wrote:
    last month
    The review was confused, contradictory, misguided and ultimately not quite there.

    View Profile | Leave hotterthanjuly a shout

  • hotterthanjuly wrote:
    last month
    Yeah, GodShowMeMagic, that's what I mean by the review. It was a bit too ironic. Percentages and numerical figures shouldn't really be used to determine an album's merit. And besides, they are nothing like The Flaming Lips, so the comparison between the two was dead on arrival.

    View Profile | Leave hotterthanjuly a shout

  • GodShowMeMagic wrote:
    last month
    Just thought I'd open a can of worms ;-)

    View Profile | Leave GodShowMeMagic a shout

  • GodShowMeMagic wrote:
    last month
    I absolutely ADORE the Furries but find myself coming and going with the Lips... They just don't move me like SFA do.

    View Profile | Leave GodShowMeMagic a shout

  • GodShowMeMagic wrote:
    last month
    hotterthanjuly, you made me search out Sam's review on his site. It was very positive... Although the percentage was a little low. Was more shocked about them being the British Flaming Lips, but "nowhere near as good". I like the Flaming Lips, I really do but they don't have the consistency for me that SFA do.

    View Profile | Leave GodShowMeMagic a shout

  • NotLiving wrote:
    last month
    What happened to the SFA Yo Gabba Gabba song? Were they not supposedly writing one?

    View Profile | Leave NotLiving a shout

  • hotterthanjuly wrote:
    last month
    So, Sam, you love Dark Days/Light Years, yet your review for it earlier this year was a little underwhelming?

    View Profile | Leave hotterthanjuly a shout

See all 922 shouts

Videos

See more

Events

Add event See more

News

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. …

Add comment

See more

Listeners

See more

Recent Activity

Related Journals

See more

Groups (160)

See more

More Information

Links
Band Members
Labels
“Last.fm Is Good For You.”

More Last.fm Sites: Blog | Music Manager | Build | Playground | Best of 2008

Popular on CBS sites: Fantasy Football | Madden NFL10 | PGA Championship | iPhone | Video Game Reviews | US Open | Antivirus Software

© 2009 Last.fm Ltd. All rights reserved. | Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | Updated November 21, 2008
Some user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
Text may also be available under the GNU Free Documentation License.