GRUFF RHYS
The Super Furry Animals and solo seer in his own words and by his own hand.
The Super Furry Animal and solo mind-warrior presents his bold Self-Portrait. You won’t believe what his biggest vice is!
I describe myself as… I try not to, really. I’ve previously described myself as a wheelie bin, but that was too conceptual.
Music changed me… it’s made me travel a lot more than I would have done, I think, and because of that I’ve found even more music. It’s a totally transforming thing, it turns your world upside down, and it’s like a loop, the more you hear the more you travel.
When I’m not making music… I’m usually not making music, I’m doing other stuff, I’ve got kids… Finding the time to go in the studio and make music, it feels like a privileged thing. But because I’ve got a musical sweet tooth, earworms are always there.
My biggest vice is… I’ve got a metal one, at home, just a generic one from B&Q. It was in a cellar but I’ve recently moved house so it’s now in a box. I made, like, picture frames in the last millennium.
The last time I was embarrassed was… last night. We were playing in Dublin and I went to play a guitar duet with Bunf and he played brilliantly and I didn’t. In the home of Thin Lizzy, it was embarrassing. The UV lights were on so only whites and blues could be seen, not my embarrassment.
My formal qualifications are… I have a degree in fine art. They were big on criticism, and how to not take it personally. By the end I wasn’t making physical work, just ideas. To the point where there was nothing there at all!
The last time I cried was… it doesn’t happen a lot. It’s usually to do with a film that tries to manipulate you sentimentally. I’m not easily manipulated because I understand the mechanics of what they’re trying to do. Sporting events, they’re pretty manipulative but more unpredictable. But these days all you have to do is watch the news for 24 hours and you’re likely to be streaming away.
Vinyl, CD or MP3? …all and more, you know? Vinyl as a medium because they’re quite large artefacts and I find them easier to keep track of, files and CDs are more disposable, though I listen to files and streams all the time.
My most treasured possession is… (long silence) My family, but I wouldn’t consider them to be possession. So I’d say a Tom Zé record, Estudando O Samba. It took a lot of trouble to get hold of.
The best book I’ve read is… I really treasure the books of Brenda Chamberlain. She used to live in the place where I grew up and later on I lived in the house where she committed suicide, unbeknownst to me when I moved in. She’s still remembered where I’m from because she was so radical: in the 1930s she’d be dressed in a potato sack – really practical. I’d also recommend On David Bowie by the English philosopher Simon Critchley. It’s like a guide to philosophy through the songs of David Bowie. I learned a lot. Is the glass half-full or half-empty?… Half-full. I’m optimistic.
My greatest regret is… I grew up listening to the Butthole Surfers, and on Locust Abortion Technician there’s a quote, “It’s better to regret something you have done than to regret something you haven’t done.” Ha ha! It’s been my education.
When we die… it depends on the procedure, on the place of death, sometimes people phone the police, sometimes the funeral home. There are forms to fill in. If you’re Lenin, you get pickled and displayed. An afterlife? People stay in the memory.
I would like to be remembered… it’s not something I consider at all.
Gruff Rhys’ Set Fire To The Stars dates happen in Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff and London from January 26-30.
“I’VE DESCRIBED MYSELF AS A WHEELIE BIN, BUT THAT WAS TOO CONCEPTUAL”.