Super brilliant Super Furry Animal Gruff Rhys has announced yet another collaborative side-project, this time with Brazilian musical trailblazer Tony Da Gatorra. Their debut record together will be released in a few months and is called The Terror of Cosmic Loneliness. I'd imagine that the title gives a fair indication of the sounds found within.
We're not sure, however, as it's described as "unorthodox", "experimental" and "a record". It'll receive a limited edition release in July through Turnstile, and the two will play a couple of shows across the UK around that time, as is now traditional. Cardiff's Clwb Ifor Bach will be the duo's first date on July 29, Camp Bestival follows it a day later, and Field Day will be the third and final chance to catch them, on July 31.
If you aren't aware of TdG, then perhaps you'd be interested to know that he is a man of innovation, having invented an instrument -'The Gatorra' - which is part drum machine, part guitar. You can see him playing it in the main photo as well as LIVE, by clicking here. The Gatorra also features heavily in the cover art.
As I wasn't actively involved in the recording process, it'd be slightly foolish for me to write about in any great depth, especially when the words of Gruff are available. He knows what it's all about.
"We spent 5 days rehearsing a set of songs to play live at the venue – our only shared language was music itself so there was no small talk, just intense concentration on the music. On the final day, as the rehearsals had been so productive, we hooked up some recording equipment and took about 5 hours out to make this record. We recorded several live takes of each song then chose the best versions. I added a harmony vocal overdub on two songs, otherwise it’s pretty much what we recorded at the time."
"Upon returning to Cardiff I took the songs to producer Kris Jenkins’s studio whose excitement for the album and general encouragement was infectious – then we called in noise legend Sir Doufus Styles to oversee the final mix. Armed with 5 flasks of strong coffee, 75 sticks of gum and a bank of vintage compressors we mixed The Terror Of Cosmic Loneliness at extremely loud volume in one epic 12 hour session."
Album art below:
Photo by Chris McAndrew