Super Furry Animal with a love for his native tongue

Gruff Rhys has been releasing records since 1988, when he was still a teenager in the Welsh-speaking town of Bethesda in the north of the country.  He is best known as the frontman of the magnificently eclectic Super Furry Animals, who, once upon a time, would arrive at music festivals in their own blue armoured tank. After receiving noise complaints in the mid-nineties, they sold it to Don Henley of the Eagles, who had no interest in the band but a big interest in military vehicles.

Gruff Rhys plays Galway’s Róisín Dubh on Saturday week, January 24, as part of the tour for his ninth solo album (and 26th overall), which arrived last September. A warm and melodic sounding Welsh-language record, it is ironically titled Dim Probs, which translates to ‘no problem’.

“It’s a bit bleaker than most of my records would be, not that that’s necessarily a bad thing,” he says. “It’s felt like quite a bleak time politically. The last couple of years have been quite violent worldwide and at the time, it was affecting the way I was writing.

“There are some sunny intervals as well. It’s also influenced by a lot of 1980s Welsh language music. Low tech, electronic music that had lyrics influenced by the Cold War and that kind of atmosphere.”

Those sunny intervals correspond to moments of nostalgia in the music and words. Dim Probs is influenced by records Rhys listened to growing up, and some of the imagery draws on simple memories.

“It starts off quite sweet, quite elemental. It’s about enjoying the warmth of the sun or memories of playing with newts on the mountainside when I was younger. Some random, elemental thoughts.”

Welsh is Rhys’ first language. He grew up speaking it at home and at school; today, it’s how he communicates with his partner and his children. That is his primary relationship with Welsh, but Rhys has come to understand and appreciate its fragility over the years.

“It’s something I’ve treated irreverently at times,” he says. “It’s easy to take it for granted. I didn’t sing in English until I was 25, and I started putting records out when I was in my teens. I made a lot of Welsh language records with my first band, and we would just tour on the Welsh language circuit.

“The organisers were political activists. So, my background is in Welsh language music and that goes hand in hand with Welsh language political activism. That’s my background.

“As a musician, I don’t necessarily want to be defined by nationality, but it’s something that’s very instinctive for me to champion. It’s shaped my entire worldview in a way, being part of a minoritised culture.”

Pictured: Gruff Rhys...back at the Róisín Dubh on Saturday week.