This summer has officially been bollocks. It’s rained the whole time but there’s at least been one ray of sunlight; these five Welsh guys who play sublime psychedelic pop and sound like the cast of Zulu when they’re talking seem to show up everywhere I go.
Yep, it’s been a busy period for the Super Furry Animals recently; these guys have been motoring around the country like Wacky Races, jumping on any stage they can find along the way. And that’s not even the half of it, somehow in all the confusion they’ve managed to sign a new deal with Rough Trade and record a new album in the lovely South of France
How does this fun bus keep rolling on? Fortunately, keyboardist, electronic wizard and all-round music legend Cian Ciaran solves the mystery:-
You guys have popped up everywhere recently, busy summer is it?
Just a bit, we haven’t really played out live for a while, so we’ve just been doing festivals from May on and off. After that we’re touring Japan, Germany and Italy in October then hopefully back for tea in the middle.
How are you coping?
I don’t really; I’m not a big fan of touring. After 13 years it all gets a bit like Groundhog Day. OK, you get to see a bit of the world, but there’s only so many times you can go round it. Then again it’s better than working.
The other big news is that your on Rough Trade now, how’s that going?
This album’s sort of strange because even though it’s out in a few weeks, I’m not sure if we’ve technically signed to the label yet. But apart from that, it’s going good; we’ve got that two-way relationship back that we haven’t had since Creation.
So this has been almost like starting from scratch for you guys?
Like every relationship, each time something new happens it’s different. Not starting from scratch per say, but yeah, definitely a new beginning.
It’s refreshing to be on a label that is so proactive; they’ve been involved in every step of the process, including the choice of the single, which is something we’ve never really had before.
They’re certainly treating you well. You got to record this new record in the South of France.
Yeah, for me that’s the perk of the job. The reason I got into music was recording and coming up with stuff, and the cherry on top is being able to do that in places all around the world, not just a house in Wales. Even after 13 years I still appreciate that.
From a label point of view, it’s just nice to have no shackle on your legs if you know what I mean. Rough Trade are happy to let us carry on with what we’re doing without any hindrance, so that’s great.
Your new single Show Your Hand reminds me a bit of The Beatles, was that a conscious decision?
We’re all massive fans of The Beatles, but no, that wasn’t intentional. We never set out to sound like somebody else, we just mess about with riffs and that until someone goes ‘fuck, yeah!’ and then we head to the studio.
It’s a really summer sounding record, though…
Aye, shame the weather isn’t complying.
The Super Furrie’s new album ‘Hey Venus’ is out now. www.superfurry.com/
Words: Dominic Hayley