GARETH BICKNELL talks to Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys, who has launched a solo album with an impressively individual strain of Welsh rock SONGS about egg pudding, a Welsh language rock opera and a Mancunian DJ spinning Celtic folk music of yore... Never afraid to try something completely different, that is what Super Furry Animals singer Gruff Rhys has in store for fans when he plays a series of dates in North Wales to promote his debut solo album Yr Atal Genhedlaeth. For the singer from Bethesda, the album is the realisation of 10 years of ideas that had floated around in his head while recording and touring with the Super Furries. Rhys says the album - recorded entirely in Welsh - came about "quite accidentally" and took "about a week" to record at Stiwdio Ofn in Rhosneigr. But he says he has no plans to leave one of the most influential and innovative bands to have come out of Wales in the last 15 years. "It's just totally different," he says, his softly-spoken tones deliberating over his answers as if they were scaling the contours of the Snowdonia setting he grew up in. "My priority is still being a member of the Super Furry Animals. "I spent a lot of time going to Ofn studios. I went there one time and I mixed some demos and five other tunes, and it had a kind of immediate quality to it. So I did another five in that style and we had an album in about a week. "I've got no interest in touring the world with it - it's very specific to Welsh culture and it's full of references to other Welsh records." The album, produced by Super Furries' producer Gorwel Owen, is released on January 24 and Rhys will be playing gigs across North Wales. He admits that, lyrically at least, Yr Atal Genhedlaeth is "a pretty silly album". The song titles are riddled with puns - as on Epynt, a song about a mid Wales mountain which doubles up as a treatise on the euro and the pound (pynt in Welsh). Among the most intriguing numbers are Pwdin Wy (Egg Pudding) 1 and 2, two songs about falling in love with a girl called Egg Pudding. It is not, Gruff says, based on a true story. "It's completely fictional. It doesn't have to be about a girl, it could be about liking cake," he says. Rhys says Yr Atal Genhedlaeth is marked out from the Super Furries catalogue by its individuality - although he admits that while it was fun to make, it was not as enjoyable as being part of the band. "It's much more rewarding because you get to share the results with other people - although I imagine everybody in the Super Furries will do their own solo projects at some point," he says. "I only represent one fifth of the Super Furry Animals. Everyone brings in their own idea of what we should sound like," he explains. The band have finished recording a seventh studio album, which will be released later this year. "It's very lush, with a full string section," says Rhys. "It's the most cinematic and the most orchestral thing we've ever done." Meanwhile, joining Rhys on his mini tour of Wales will be Conwy Valley singer Alun Tan Lan, whose music he describes as "instantly likeable" and "heartfelt and genuine". He will also be supported by Kerdd Dant, a rock opera written by Llanuwchllyn's MC Mabon. So what's that all about then? "I'm not sure," says Rhys, sounding as if he's slightly bemused by his support act but willing to give it a go. Then, perhaps pressing his tongue slightly into his cheek, he continues: "He's a bit of an enigma. I don't even know if he's going to appear himself - but he's got a choir and a harpist and some interesting outfits. "Basically, the concept of the gig is it's a celebration of Welsh songs." This concept will be furthered by an appearance from Andy Votel, a Manchester-based DJ from Badly Drawn Boy's label Twisted Nerve, who will be entertaining the crowds with Welsh language folk and progressive rock tunes from the 1960s and 70s. "He's from Manchester but he's picked up on Welsh language music. "He's making a compilation of it and he's going to be releasing it internationally. Rhys is optimistic that his support act's idea will take off, even if people from other countries don't understand the lyrics. "I think if it's got a melody and a good groove, it doesn't really matter what language you're singing in, as long as you understand the sentiment." * Gruff Rhys' debut album Yr Atal Genhedlaeth is released on Monday, January 24 on Placid Casual records. He plays Theatr Colwyn on February 10, Theatr Ardudwy, Harlech on February 11, the Paget Rooms in Penarth on February 12 and Theatr Y Werin, Aberystwyth on February 14. Welsh music that speaks to all YR Atal Genhedlaeth is not a Super Furry Animals album. It will not get to number one. But the album's infectious hooks and choruses will be ringing around your head for some time. From the simple snare-drum beat and rolling verses of opener Gwn Mi Wn and the three-chord electro-pop guitar on the next track Epynt, it's obvious the Super Furries frontman is just delighting in the sheer enjoyment of making music. Uplifting instrumental accompaniments from recorder to harmonica make the album immediately hummable and the choruses are rousing, whatever your grasp of Welsh. The material also epitomises the fact that, whereas the Super Furries' material is very often set in another galaxy, Rhys' debut solo offering is definitely set in Wales. It's a story of lost loves and places remembered, illustrated by Welsh proverbs and puns. Rhys' deep, brooding voice and acoustic guitar plays over a sea of clashing percussion, beating like the waves lashing the wild coastline of the land that Rhys calls home. | 
