Super Furry Animals

Super Furry Animals是后另类乐队带头人之一，他们的音乐融合着众多不同音乐种类——包括重摇滚、朋克、电子和前卫摇滚等——创造着的的平稳而旋律化的，玩世不恭的，随心所欲的艺术化的摇滚乐。作为90年代中期威尔士音乐运动先驱人之一，Super Furry Animals早已被定性为门外汉——以他们用自己天然的嗓音去唱所有歌的趋势，但他们的演绎方式是独特的，充满着古怪奇异的左翼观点和激奋的行为。而他们以具有感染力的音乐敏感性以及不恭敬的态度让Super Furry Animals在其他象Gorky's Zygotic Mynci,60 Foot Dolls和Catatonia这种威尔士乐队中脱颖而出。Super Furry Animals96年发行了乐队的第一张专辑Fuzzy Logic，此专辑一经发行后在英国迅速成为众人注目的焦点，爬上专辑销量榜前40位并最终多年占据着前10名，压倒了一切反面批评。
 
Super Furry Animals在1993年成立于威尔士的Cardiff，乐队包括Gruff Rhys(主唱和吉他手),Huw “Bunf” Bunford (吉他手兼伴唱),Guto Pryce (贝斯手),Cian Ciaran (键盘手), and Dafydd Ieuan (鼓手)。这五个人——成立乐队之前——在还是青少年时就一直从事着乐队形式的演艺生涯，其中以Rhys最为出众，曾在一个叫Emily的独立流行乐队里干过，这个乐队后来还签到了Creation旗下，还有个威尔士噪音摇滚乐队Ffa Coffi Pawb。Ffa Coffi Pawb解散之后Rhys与Pryce和Ieuan一起组了一支三人乐队，这支最终演变发展成现在的Super Furry Animals。Super Furry Animals最初是个电气流行乐队，然而他们迅速向后迷幻和前卫流行发展。经过两年的歌曲创作和巡回演出，乐队最终和Cardiff当地的独立品牌Ankst签约并发行了他们的首张EP——Lianfairpwllgywgyllgoger Chwymdrobwlltysiliogoygoyocynygofod (In Space)，这首歌完全是用威尔士地方语言唱的。一个月以后乐队又出了另一张也是用威尔士语的EP——Moog Droog。这两张EP都是由Gorwel Owen出任制作的。
 
到1995年底，Super Furry Animals已在威尔士当地赢得了一个基础扎实而且跨越个年龄阶层的歌迷团体，紧接着在英国全境内也吸引了越来越多的乐迷，乐队的人气激升最终让Super Furry Animals给Creation签唱片合同，乐队也以Creation发行了总共6张专辑。在签到Creation之前，乐队就决定用标准英语唱绝大多数的歌，以获得更大范围歌迷的拥护。96年春天乐队发行了两张中游水平的单曲碟“Hometown Unicorn”和“God! Show Me Magic”之后，Super Furry Animals接着和Owen一起制作了乐队的第一张专辑——Fuzzy Logic，并在96年的6月在全英发行，专辑也取得了一致的好评。一个月后，Super Furry Animals音乐中的几处歌词效仿便已为流行文化所借鉴——最为突出的是对于威尔士毒品走私贩Howard Marks的模仿，他还出现在Fuzzy Logic的专辑封面上，由此Super Furry Animals也成为英国独立音乐中最具嬉皮士形象的乐队。在96年春出席流行音乐节时，乐队在一个硕大无比的坦克里的形象也让Super Furry Animals一度声名狼藉。
 
“Something 4 the Weekend”和“If You Don't Want Me to Destroy You”在96年秋天成为了流行单曲，后者还被Steely Dan编辑成“The Man Don't Give a Fuck”收录在他们的“Showbiz Kids”中，但Donald Fagen不同意授权Steely Dan使用。到了11月，他总算发慈悲让“The Man Don't Give a Fuck”做成一张限量版EP于12月初发行，这张唱片还在英国销量榜上排到了第22位。Super Furry Animals在97年1月再次进入录音棚录制他们的第二张专辑Radiator，这张专辑发行于97年的8月份。两年后乐队出了专辑Guerrilla，2000年中期发行了Mwng。
 
Super Furry Animals were one of the first post-alternative bands, fusing together a number of disparate musical genres — including power pop, punk rock, techno, and progressive rock — creating a shimmering, melodic, irreverent, and willfully artsy rock & roll. As one of the leading bands of the mid-90s Welsh movement, they were already tagged as outsiders by their tendency to sing entire songs in their native tongue, but their very approach was unique, full of both whimsy and left-wing political activism. What set them apart from their fellow Welsh bands were their infectious melodic sensibilities and their wildly irreverent attitude, which peers like Gorkys Zygotic Mynci, 60 Ft. Dolls, and Catatonia lacked. Super Furry Animals 1996 debut album, Fuzzy Logic, became a major English hit, charting in the Top 40 and placing in the Top Ten of many year-end critics polls.
 
Formed in Cardiff, Wales, in 1993, Super Furry Animals were comprised of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw Bunf Bunford (guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass), Cian Ciárán (keyboards, electronics), and Dafydd Ieuan (drums). All five members had played in bands throughout their teens prior to forming the group, most notably Rhys, who had previously played in a jangle pop band named Emily that was briefly signed to Creation, as well as a Welsh noise rock band called Ffa Coffi Pawb. Following the dissolution of Ffa Coffi Pawb, Rhys played in a trio with Pryce and Ieuan, which eventually evolved into Super Furry Animals. Initially, the group was a techno outfit, yet they quickly evolved into a neo-psychedelic and progressive pop outfit. After two years or writing and touring, the band signed with the Cardiff-based independent label Ankst and released their debut EP, Lianfairpwllgywgyllgoger Chwymdrobwlltysiliogoygoyocynygofod (In Space), which was sung entirely in Welsh. It was followed within a few months by another EP, Moog Droog, which was also sung in Welsh. Both EPs were produced by Gorwel Owen.
 
By the end of 1995, Super Furry Animals had gained a strong, cross-generational fan base in Wales while gathering a strong cult following in Britain, which led to a six-album record contract with Creation Records. Prior to signing with Creation, the band had decided to sing the majority of their songs in English, in order to reach a wider audience. Super Furry Animals and Owen produced the groups debut album, which was preceded by two singles in the spring of 1996 — Hometown Unicorn and God! Show Me Magic — which became moderate hits. Fuzzy Logic, the bands debut album, was released in the U.K. in June 1996 to uniformly excellent reviews. Within a few months, SFA had become one of the hippest bands in British independent music, with several of the groups lyrical touchstones — most notably the notorious Welsh dope smuggler Howard Marks, who appeared on the cover of Fuzzy Logic — having become pop culture references. Super Furry Animals also became infamous during the summer of 1996 for attending all of the pop music festivals in a gigantic tank.
 
Something 4 the Weekend and If You Dont Want Me to Destroy You became hit singles in the summer and fall of 1996. The latter single was scheduled to have a B-side called The Man Dont Give a Fuck, which was built on a sample of Steely Dans Showbiz Kids, but Donald Fagen refused to give the group permission to use the recording. By November, he relented and The Man Dont Give a Fuck was released as a limited-edition single in early December, and it reached number 22 on the U.K. charts. Super Furry Animals entered the studios in January 1997 to record their second album, Radiator, which was released in August 1997. Guerrilla followed two years later, and in mid-2000 the band resurfaced with Mwng. Cameos by John Cale and Paul McCartney were featured on the ambitious 2001 album Rings Around the World, while 2003s Phantom Power was a looser affair. The compilation Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1 and the new album Love Kraft were both released in 2005. The group signed with the Rough Trade label in 2006 and released the addictive pop album Hey Venus! in 2007.