SUPER FURRY ANIMALS

Because being in a band is essentially a form of self-employment, and even bands have gotta pay income tax!

That makes sense. I think its interesting they chose to revive the name.

It's just a way for bands to manage their income/finances/accounts/tax etc., that's all. Pure music business finance stuff, really, and very common. More often than not bands tend to have various other people like accountants/tax advisers/financial advisers involved, for obvious reasons. A limited company can be set up with any name you like, within reason (there's various words you're not allowed to use; offensive names are an obvious no-no, but there's various other words you can't use).

Y'see, here in the UK when you're employed by someone, income tax and National Insurance deductions are normally sorted out for you. They come out of your pay packet seemingly automatically (even though someone has undoubtedly spent time calculating it for you). In a role where you're essentially your own boss, you either have to sort this out yourself or hire an accountant that will do this on your behalf. If you set yourself up as a limited company, all accounting records must be kept and all returns must be filed by a certain time. Not keeping accounting records can land you with a fine of £3,000 and not sending your returns on time can lead to (at best) your company being closed down or (at worst) prosecution. So it's really no surprise to find that many people who do set up limited companies have people that know what they're doing, and more than likely get paid a handsome amount for doing it!

But yeah, the resurrection of the Das Koolies name is very interesting. I do hope in the future they do something with that project. It would have to be something completely different from SFA though, else it may as well just out under the SFA banner.

Was that the project that had an hour long song which Gruff described as "terrible"? I can't remember the exact quote but I LOL'd when I read it the first time.

Yeah, Steelwerks In Stone!

They played a fine gig at the Royal Festival Hall in the mid 2000s that was quite a relaxed and Mwng heavy set, if memory serves.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/super-furry-animals-s4c-documentary-8739590?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

I have no doubt they're in it for at least another album.

Then Gruff brings me back to reality:

Speaking to NME, in an interview in this week's issue (available on newsstands now and digitally, frontman Gruff Rhys (pictured right) is non-committal over the long term future of the band, stating: "It's all been a bit last minute so these gigs we've got booked are all we're doing for now that we know. Everyone's busy with other stuff. We all have very different lives and it would be difficult to recreate the intensity without being in the studio for 12 months at a time."

However, guitarist Huw Bunford is more optimistic, saying, "These gigs will remind people of what we're all about. Doing another album? I would personally love to. But we'll just have tio wait and see."
Read more at http://www.nme.com/news/super-furry-animals/83267?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=superfurrys#byDW772Dq0FD6lCZ.99

The group will reissue their fourth studio album, ‘Mwng' as a two-disc and triple-vinyl package to mark its 15th anniversary on May 1. The new edition will contain five tracks previously released on the US version of 'Mwng' under the name 'Mwng Bach', as well as a previously unreleased John Peel session and a full live show recorded at ATP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oByYOPg3LXs

6 December 2015-3 January 2016
SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff
THE INSATIABLE, INFLATABLE CANDYLION
“A long time ago, In the Kingdom of Candy, a lion once roamed the streets...
Howled on the hour, whined on the minute, roared every second day of the year.”
An immersive, festive treat from the creative minds behind the genre-bending Praxis Makes Perfect: Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys, writer Tim Price and director Wils Wilson team up to create a show like no other - a theatre gig for audiences of all ages, inspired by the seminal album Candylion.
Featuring inflatable fat cats, a dalmation on drums, pink candyfloss, blue audience members, a penniless penguin, and all led by Gruff Rhys himself - this is a festive show you’ll be singing about for years to come!
Tim Price also wrote the award-winning The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning, which was performed by NTW in schools in Pembrokeshire, Cardiff and Flintshire in April 2012, and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2013.

Well, the band have added dates since the dates are selling out, so that's a good sign. On the other hand, Gruff seems to be addicted to making stuff without them.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/listen-exclusively-first-single-new-8789392

Super Furry Animals' synth wizard Cian Ciarán has always made his voice heard.

As a campaigning musician and an impassioned activist he is a rarity in a world where pop and politics invariably make for uneasy bedfellows.

This week may be all about the return of the Furries after a six-year hiatus but there’s no let-up for the musician with a social conscience. Ciarán has recorded a protest album alongside former Beta Band frontman Steve Mason, and poets Stephen Burke-Morrison...

I'm pretty convinced SFA's live shows are going to be a mess. There's no way they're getting enough rehearsal time together.

Ah right, so they're using the "return of SFA" thing to boost interest in their solo careers. Smart.

I'm pretty clearly a fanboy, but I don't think they have it in them to pull off "playing every song in their catalog" while limiting themselves to two months of rehearsal while they work on countless projects. There must've been a reason they stuck to pretty static setlisst in the past.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Guitar-Owned-By-Super-Furry-Animals-Gruff-Rhys-/271794243472?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f48330790

Honestly surprised that's going for more than the dollar it was at yesterday.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/09/pop-political-british-musicians-paloma-faith

Cian wrote a bit of a manifesto that got published by The Guardian. Surprised by the number of comments it's received; they're mostly negative.

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/zefurwolves?referrer=artist181150&utm_campaign=project10983&utm_medium=activity

Pledge Music for the Zefur Wolves album. Really expensive vinyl.

Meh.

Headlining Green Man on the Saturday night

http://www.greenman.net/line-up/2015/

I'm going to really try to go to that. I'm excited that they're playing something in August. It gives me hope they're planning on staying together for a while. We'll see if they make it out of the summer. Zefur Wolves are also playing. I hear Gulp might as well. It'll be a great weekend.

I found a Zefur Wolves LP review: http://www.apessimistisneverdisappointed.com/2015/03/cian-ciarans-back-with-zefur-wolves-my.html

Sounds pretty good.

There's a Zefur Wolves track here. Not feeling it, although there are a few nice moments. http://www.gigslutz.co.uk/exclusive-zefur-wolves-premier-new-track-wake-gigslutz/

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/super-furry-animals-gruff-rhys-the-journey-through-a-distorted-vision-of-reality-10125805.html

turrican's earlier thoughts were a good read on the state of the band. when consider dark days/light years' songwriting and recording process took place during the hey venus! sessions, it's easy to see the band might've been running out of steam quite some time ago. i suppose gruff might've been deflecting since the concert reunion had not been announced yet, but i'm not so sure that the tour is anything more than a quick cash grab. they all seem pretty serious about their individual careers. if a tenth sfa album were to be as bad as the new blur album's sounding like it might be, then i guess it's for the best..

on another note, i listened to hey venus! last night and enjoyed it a lot more than I did when it came out. sounded pretty nice on good headphones, too.

when considering*

There's a fairly decent new interview in the NME. It's got a bit of positive information, such as the band's plans to release another b-sides compilation as well as floating the idea of reissuing more albums with Kliph Scurlock's help. The band still seems hesitant to comment on a new album, although I get the feeling they're open to the idea. They just haven't had enough time together to come up with ideas and recreate the environment they like to have when they record an LP.

Cian says they want their shows this year to be extremely loud and bass-heavy. They also mention songs like "Arnofio/Glo in the Dark," "Mountain People" and "Citizen's Band" being on the short list of songs to add to their setlist. All in all, it sounds like a promising direction for a band that seemed finished.

I don't see the point in reissuing the albums again, but a new B-sides compilation seems like a good idea.

I'm still hoping they plan to reissue all their albums on vinyl.

http://i.imgur.com/Dq5hiAU.png

I'm still hoping they plan to reissue all their albums on vinyl.

― Kitchen Person, Thursday, April 16, 2015 2:59 PM (39 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'm guessing those who don't want the value of their existing vinyl to go down would think otherwise!

I'm sure they wouldn't but it would make me happier than getting a new album. I started looking for their stuff on vinyl a couple of years ago. Had to stop in the end as it got depressing seeing copies of Radiator go for £80 every single time.

Oh, there's also a "behind the scenes" documentary about the summer tour on S4C on the 24th:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/sneak-peek-super-furry-animals-9052717

The SFA tour marks 20 years since they signed with the iconic indie record label Creation Records, a move which led to the band’s international success.

With some rare archive footage and classic Furry performances, the documentary will celebrate the extraordinary story of the group that has had more than twenty top 40 hits and a string of highly acclaimed, top 10 albums.

The documentary includes interviews, archive pictures, home-movie footage from the band’s personal collections and live performances from Glastonbury Festival, Top of the Pops and Later with Jools Holland.

Y'know, a lot of this stuff (reissues, a short tour, B-sides compilation) could easily be construed as being a mopping up exercise rather than any kind of continuation or new beginning.

You're totally right, and if that's the case, I think it's great fan service and pretty kind of them to at least wrap things up. I'm hopeful they'll record another album, but clearly their hesitation to do even that doesn't bode too well for things ever being like they were.

Then again, 4/5ths of the band could probably use easy money. Maybe it's just kind of Gruff.

they probably don't want to announce their intention to record an album yet to create anticipation and probably as the time to actually start work on it is many months away

This Zefur Wolves track is really rad. It's a shame it's not even two minutes long. Probably the grooviest, most SFA-sounding thing I've heard since DD/LY.

https://open.spotify.com/track/0fJpmhnswgTACvqqUOy8mg

Not sure what I'd like to see on another b-side compilation. The songs that make Out Spaced special for me are the psychedelic, stoned-out Welsh songs. "Pam V", "Dim Bendith," "Focus Pocus/Debiel" "Arnofio/Glo in the Dark" and "blerwytirhwng?" are some of my all-time favorite SFA songs. I wish they'd been able to further explore that territory.

You're totally right, and if that's the case, I think it's great fan service and pretty kind of them to at least wrap things up. I'm hopeful they'll record another album, but clearly their hesitation to do even that doesn't bode too well for things ever being like they were.

― afriendlypioneer, Thursday, April 16, 2015 11:04 PM (34 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah. I mean, even if they do eventually get around to making their 10th album, I definitely think it's fair to say that the days of SFA putting out a record every couple of years are long gone now. If they choose to record new material, I suspect it'll be on a "whenever we feel like it" basis, and if they don't choose to record new material, then I suppose they can get away with getting the most out of the wealth of stuff they've already put out and stuff that's apparently in the vaults.

Not sure what I'd like to see on another b-side compilation. The songs that make Out Spaced special for me are the psychedelic, stoned-out Welsh songs. "Pam V", "Dim Bendith," "Focus Pocus/Debiel" "Arnofio/Glo in the Dark" and "blerwytirhwng?" are some of my all-time favorite SFA songs. I wish they'd been able to further explore that territory.

― afriendlypioneer, Thursday, April 16, 2015 11:40 PM (16 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'm interested to see what their choices would be for a second B-sides compilation, too. They might do the opposite of Out Spaced and put the more shorter/poppier B-sides on there. Although, it's also possible they could go the "completist" route.

They just added a gig. Less than two weeks from now, at the Gloucester Guildhall. It looks tiny.

http://www.gigsandtours.com/tour/super-furry-animals

The SFA documentary is on at 9:30 on Friday. They're also showing the SFA Classical Album documentary afterwards. I'd completely forgotten about that one. From what I remember, many of the songs they were working on ended up on DD/LY or Gruff's Hotel Shampoo.

Can someone please "tape" this for the benefit of those of us who aren't in the UK?

S4C! That took some searching for on the TiVo !

Hopefully there'll be English subtitles for non-Welsh speakers.

There is, apparently

https://instagram.com/p/1wbYS8y9o1/

That got me excited for some reason, but then I realized Daf has his own band and is also a pretty prolific session drummer. I still somehow hope it means they're secretly laying it down in the studio.

Only an hour to go. Hope there's some interesting stuff in there.

On 856 is the S4C AD channel, i.e. With audio descriptions.

So was the documentary any good, then? Ended up not watching it.

I couldn't get English subtitles, so I turned it off after a few minutes. It's completely narrated in Welsh.

It's here now, with subtitles: http://www.s4c.cymru/clic/c_level2.shtml?programme_id=527263044

I'll be watching soon.

I'm American, so I used a program called iPlayer Automator and downloaded the file directly from the BBC website. It showed up in iTunes with subtitles and English captions. I didn't have to set up a proxy or VPN to get it.