Gruff Rhys
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Gruff Rhys (pronounced "Griff Reese"), Lead vocalist and guitarist in the band Super Furry Animals, was born on the 18th July 1970 in Haverfordwest, UK and lived in Bethesda. Gruff has written songs from a very early age. He played in the bands Emily, and Ffa Coffi Pawb, before forming Super Furry Animals.
On January 24th, 2005, he released his first solo album entitled Yr Atal Genhedlaeth on the Placid Casual label. Entirely in the Welsh language, the title of the album and many of the songs are plays on words and puns that might not be obvious to even a Welsh-speaker:
- Yr Atal Genhedlaeth - "The Stuttering Generation", but "atal-genhedleath" is Welsh for a contraceptive
- Gwn Mi Wn - "Yes, I Know", could also mean "this is my gun", a reference to the battle in the song
- Epynt - named after a mountain in Mid Wales, but about money, with the "E" standing for the Euro, and "punt" being Welsh for pound
- Rhagluniaeth Ysgafn - "May My Destiny Be Light", but "lluniaeth ysgafn" means a light snack
- Pwdin Wy 1 & 2 - literally "egg pudding", means "egg custard", two love songs
- Y Gwybodusion - "those who know", ie., experts
- Caerffosiaeth - literally "sewage fortress", but "caer" is a common part of Welsh place-names (for example, Caergybi), so "Sewage City"
- Ambell Waith - "Remembering"
- Ni Yw Y Byd - "We Are The World"
- Chwarea'n Troi'n Chwerw - "When Play Turns Sour", from a Welsh proverb
External Links
- Super Furry Animals (http://www.superfurry.com)
- Placid Casual (http://www.placidcasual.com)