{"title":"Gruff Rhys","description":"\u003cp\u003eSinger, guitarist and main songwriter with Super Furry Animals. Gruff Rhys has an eclectic and eccentric musical style, reflected in his solo albums released since 2005. His debut album was recorded entirely in Welsh, followed by several other successful releases. He has collaborated with various artists and contributed to soundtracks. Gruff's music is known for its unique concepts and storytelling.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"set-fire-to-the-stars","title":"Set Fire to the Stars","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGruff Rhys\u003c\/strong\u003e has recorded the soundtrack to the new biopic \u003cem\u003e'Set Fire to the Stars'\u003c\/em\u003e about the great poet Dylan Thomas, featuring Elijah Wood.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGruff Rhys is known as someone who likes to push the envelope musically, but even he says he was surprised to find himself composing a jazz score for the new Dylan Thomas movie. Putting together a jazz band to meet the challenge, Gruff found himself experimenting with different sounds and styles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe group features drummer Chris Walmsley, Jim Barr the double bass player with Portishead, Osian Gwynedd (formerly of Big Leaves and Sybridion) on piano, and Gruff Ab Arwel from Y Niwl who arranged the strings.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Twisted nerve","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50410085646667,"sku":"404889","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50410085843275,"sku":"404888","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/c97e8e6e-abcb-4257-bab8-d1b0553f4be8_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726636526"},{"product_id":"candylion","title":"Candylion","description":"\u003cp\u003eOut for the first time ever on vinyl in the UK, Rough Trade is extremely proud to offer Gruff Rhys' astonishing second solo album. The Double Vinyl comes with 3 sides of Audio with the 4th side Etched as well as a 12\" pop out Candylion Figure. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eCandylion\u003c\/i\u003e is the second album from shaggy haired psychedelic warrior Gruff Rhys which features guest vocals from Lisa Jen from Welsh medievalists 9 Bach. Without his bandmates, the sound is more stripped-back, but what remains are beautiful melodies and the curiously affecting voice of a man who should by now be considered a national treasure. It pinballs between the childlike pop of the title track, the archaeologist fantasy of \"The Court of King Arthur\" and the closing 14 minute '60s pop epic \"Skylon\".\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rough Trade Records","offers":[{"title":"Black LPx2","offer_id":50410206495051,"sku":"397143","price":34.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50410207215947,"sku":"1027948","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Candylion_4ecefeab_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726640147"},{"product_id":"sadness-sets-me-free","title":"Sadness Sets Me Free","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGruff Rhys\u003c\/strong\u003e releases his new album \u003cem\u003eSadness Sets Me Free\u003c\/em\u003e via Rough Trade Records. This incredibly is the 25th album he has released in his 35-year career individually, collaboratively, and as a member of various bands.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSadness Sets Me Free\u003c\/em\u003e is also the follow-up to 2021’s \u003cem\u003eSeeking new Gods\u003c\/em\u003e, his first solo top ten record. Lead-off single \"\u003cem\u003eCelestial Candyfloss\u003c\/em\u003e\" is a telling four-minute glimpse of the album, revealing the heady wonders and classic pop sounds within. Soaring strings carry the sweet melodies along, anchored by just enough necessary melancholy to add emotional ballast.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe eye-popping video was created by long-time collaborator Mark James and compliments the scope and style of the song on a galactic scale. \"\u003cem\u003eCelestial Candyfloss\u003c\/em\u003e\" is, Gruff says, “an attempted pocket symphony about the cosmic lengths that people will travel in the pursuit of love and acceptance.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMark James has brought the \u003cem\u003eSadness Sets Me Free\u003c\/em\u003e album cover to life and managed to place me watching TV interference in a shipping container that’s lost in space. For what is apparently the 25th album I’ve had a hand in writing, I’ve reverted to a rich seam of inspiration relating to shedding some light on sadness and the general terror of cosmic loneliness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnd so it was that \u003cstrong\u003eGruff\u003c\/strong\u003e and his band – Osian Gwynedd (piano), Huw V Williams (double bass), and former Flaming Lips drummer turned Super Furry Animals archivist Kliph Scurlock (drums) piled into a van driven by the late, legendary tour manager “Dr” Kiko Loiacono and raced from Dunkirk, where they had just played the final show of a tour of Spain and France, to the outskirts of Paris in the early hours of a March morning in 2022.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere, in La Frette Studios, a recording facility installed in a 19th-century house, \u003cstrong\u003eGruff\u003c\/strong\u003e and his road-hardened group tracked \"\u003cem\u003eSadness Sets Me Free\u003c\/em\u003e\" in just three days. Backing vocals were added along the way by Kate Stables from This Is The Kit along with additional strings and orchestration and it was mixed between Marseille and Cardiff.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat finally emerged from these intense bouts of cross-continental activity was \u003cstrong\u003eGruff\u003c\/strong\u003e’s most accomplished and beautiful record to date. In a career that has taken him from the slate-mining towns of north-west Wales, down to the expat communities of Patagonia, up to the Mandan tribe of the Great Plains of North America, and across to the Tuareg rock groups of the Saharan Desert, \u003cstrong\u003eGruff Rhys\u003c\/strong\u003e, one of Britain’s most beloved and successful singer-songwriters, has always been willing to follow an opportunity, wherever it may lead him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e“At this point I quite like working with serendipity,” he says. “Not in a cosmic way, [but] I try and leave things open to chance encounters and chance geography. As I'm around 25 albums in, I’m always looking for ways to make a different-sounding record.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rough Trade Records","offers":[{"title":"Brown LP | Rough Trade Exclusive","offer_id":50417251844427,"sku":"2057373","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Purple LP","offer_id":50417251647819,"sku":"2057359","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50417251221835,"sku":"2057358","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50417250894155,"sku":"2057357","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/GruffRhys_SSMF_Cover_4000px_300dpi_copy_dbb56db9_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726723503"},{"product_id":"the-almond-and-the-seahorse-original-motion-picture-soundtrack","title":"The Almond and The Seahorse - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack","description":"\u003cp\u003eFollowing on from his top 10 album \u003ci\u003eSeeking New Gods\u003c\/i\u003e Gruff Rhys releases the soundtrack to the film \u003ci\u003eThe Almond And\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Seahorse\u003c\/i\u003e via Rough Trade Records. The soundtrack is released as a foil numbered, limited edition double-LP, on yellow vinyl with a fold out film poster.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe 22-track album comprises original songs and instrumental score, all composed by Gruff Rhys. Recorded between 2021-2022 with a host of featured musicians including members of the National of Orchestra Wales, the music features throughout the forthcoming film of the same name, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rebel Wilson and Celyn Jones.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSet for release in early 2023, the film tells the story of archaeologist (Rebel Wilson) and an architect (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and their fight to re-imagine a future after a traumatic brain injury leaves them adrift from the people they love. The title of the film itself refers to the nicknames given to the parts of our brains that lay down new memories and hold on to the old ones.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTonally, the soundtrack compliments the movie perfectly: the drama of the subject matter and the human relationships is counterbalanced by the film’s wry humour and lightness of touch, and the varied compositions and styles on Gruff Rhys’ score and compositions reflects that. “The soundtrack for The Almond and The Seahorse was recorded largely in pandemic conditions so it was a matter of recording in bursts of possible activity in various friends’ studios, homes and even scout halls as chance permitted. It’s a varied quilt work as a result. “Gruff notes. “As sonic flagpoles I wanted to signify the film’s location in Liverpool and the Wirral by liberally, but hopefully not too obviously, using the Mellotron synthesizer (as famously used in Strawberry Fields by the Beatles \u0026amp; therefore in my mind it represents that great city sonically) and the Cello as a nod to its use by Gwen’s character in the film.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I was encouraged by Mike Jones the editor to take things to a more acoustic, emotional and ragged place. That, I hope, roughly explains the trajectory of the recording and how the varied music contained in this record came about. I hope you enjoy this colorful scrapbook of a soundtrack and get a chance to watch the film”.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rough Trade Records","offers":[{"title":"Yellow LP","offer_id":50426246660427,"sku":"2004932","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/0-1_1feaef5d_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726805592"},{"product_id":"seeking-new-gods","title":"Seeking New Gods","description":"\u003cp\u003eGruff Rhy releases his new album \u003ci\u003eSeeking New Gods\u003c\/i\u003e through Rough Trade Records. This is Gruff’s seventh solo album. \u003ci\u003eSeeking New Gods\u003c\/i\u003e was recorded following a US tour with his band and mixed in LA with superstar producer Mario C (Beastie Boys).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe album concept was originally driven to be the biography of a mountain, Mount Paektu (an East Asian active volcano). However, as Gruff’s writing began to reflect on the inhuman timescale of a peak’s existence and the intimate features that bring it to mythological life, both the songs and the mountain became more and more personal. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e“The album is about people and the civilisations, and the spaces people inhabit over periods of time. How people come and go but the geology sticks around and changes more slowly. I think it’s about memory and time,” he suggests of Seeking New Gods’ meaning. “It’s still a biography of a mountain, but now it’s a Mount Paektu of the mind. You won’t learn much about the real mountain from listening to this record but you will feel something, hopefully.”\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e- Gruff Rhys\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rough Trade Records","offers":[{"title":"White | LP","offer_id":50465325646155,"sku":"1116778","price":21.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50465325515083,"sku":"1116777","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50465325908299,"sku":"1116776","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/fbb20931-d481-486d-80d7-e040197e3941_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727286286"},{"product_id":"don-t-welcome-the-plague-as-a-blessing-the-babelsberg-basement-files","title":"(Don't) Welcome The Plague As A Blessing \/ The Babelsberg Basement Files","description":"\u003cp\u003eEarly in 2016 \u003cstrong\u003eAli Chant\u003c\/strong\u003e texted me, asking if I still wanted to record some stuff at his studio - as property developers were about to knock it down. Another creative space bulldozed away for capital gain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePolitically it was a tough year. The noise building for the Brexit referendum that would impact the future of the young was in full swing. \u003cstrong\u003eBowie\u003c\/strong\u003e died, and on the morning of the first recordings I had the worst migraine. I left the building and threw up in the street.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eI wanted to commit to the lyrics and sing live so I think I was stressed about getting them ready to sing. I had a batch of songs I wanted to record but I didn't have a record label or any plans of what to do with them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eI gathered incredible musicians from my square mile in Cardiff in the van and drove to Bristol. \u003cstrong\u003eKliph\u003c\/strong\u003e on drums, \u003cstrong\u003eSteve\u003c\/strong\u003e on bass and \u003cstrong\u003eOsian\u003c\/strong\u003e on piano. I sang and played guitar - We recorded live takes for 3 days then I sat on the songs for almost 2 years. Eventually handing them to composer \u003cstrong\u003eStephen McNeff\u003c\/strong\u003e to work on orchestral arrangements.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eI called the album that was mixed by \u003cstrong\u003eSamur Kouja\u003c\/strong\u003e; \u003cem\u003eBabelsberg\u003c\/em\u003e - and I'm very happy with it. This album meanwhile is an exploration of how it came to be - and the songs in their raw state. A companion piece rather than the definitive article.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMost tracks are similar to the final work except for \"\u003cem\u003eSelfies in The Sunset\u003c\/em\u003e\" which is pre-duet and much longer. At some point it would be great to release the amazing orchestral elements too. Maybe both records could be played at once.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the meantime please enjoy the fruits of \u003cstrong\u003eKliph Scurlock\u003c\/strong\u003e's mixes and demo digging for \"\u003cem\u003e(Don't) Welcome The Plague As A Blessing\u003c\/em\u003e\". I'm very grateful to \u003cstrong\u003eLisa Jen\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eMirain Haf\u003c\/strong\u003e from the band 9 Bach for singing the background vocals. Kliph for overseeing this project, \u003cem\u003eRough Trade\u003c\/em\u003e for their enthusiasm and thanks to the designers; thanks \u003cstrong\u003eUno Moralez\u003c\/strong\u003e for agreeing to have his incredible \u003cem\u003eBabelsberg\u003c\/em\u003e sleeve illustration carved up, and ace designer \u003cstrong\u003eMark James\u003c\/strong\u003e for this final article. Further thanks to \u003cstrong\u003eAli\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eSteve\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eOsian\u003c\/strong\u003e and also to \u003cstrong\u003eRobin Turner\u003c\/strong\u003e for lending his ear at the time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTracklist:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eFrontier Man\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eThe Club\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eOh Dear!\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eLimited Edition Heart\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eTake That Call\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eDrones in the City\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eNegative Vibes\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eSame Old Song\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eArchitecture of Amnesia\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- \u003cem\u003eSelfies in the Sunset\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rough Trade Records","offers":[{"title":"White | LP","offer_id":50490598687051,"sku":"1090438","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/91be1b6f-d3a9-423d-ae55-61c3529cdfcd_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727667706"},{"product_id":"pang-1","title":"Pang!","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe new album from Gruff Rhys, Pang! is a Welsh Language pop album with a couple of verses of Zulu and an English title. \u003ci\u003ePang!\u003c\/i\u003e developed unexpectedly over about 18 months. A solo album of songs by Gruff Rhys, produced and mixed by the South African electronic artist Mmusi, and is released by Rough Trade Records.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecorded in Cardiff, Wales. It was mixed by the producer Muzi in Johannesburg, South Africa. Drums by Welsh-American psychedelic warlord Kliph Scurlock, brass by Gavin Fitzjohn and flute and percussion by the engineer Kris Jenkins. Beats, bass and ah’s by Muzi with Gruff on vocals and guitar.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGruff explains “Pang! Is a Welsh language song with an English title. It started life as a folk reel and soon expanded into a ‘list’ song, listing various reasons for pangs; hunger, regret, twitter, pain, bad design etc. Using the English word pang in a Welsh language track may appear weird but I suppose it’s like using the French word ‘Magazine’ in an English song. In that it’s slightly pretentious but completely acceptable.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rough Trade Records","offers":[{"title":"Blue | LP","offer_id":50498536603979,"sku":"1069425","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50498536833355,"sku":"1069419","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50498536931659,"sku":"1069424","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/1d6d3d5f-92a8-4d80-a109-620350579ee6_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727749447"},{"product_id":"hotel-shampoo","title":"Hotel Shampoo","description":"\u003cp\u003eGruff Rhys checks in with third solo album, 'Hotel Shampoo', his most ambitious and fully realized yet. As well as the intentions above, 'Hotel Shampoo' is inspired by, and takes its title from, Gruff's extensive collection of mini shampoo bottles and complimentary hotel products acquired whilst touring the world. 'Hotel Shampoo's reception desk and opener 'Shark Ridden Waters' is a slice of kaleidoscopic, cinematic pop music produced by Andy Votel. A dozen equally sumptuous songs follow with Gruff's highly original, cliche-free lyrics ranging over a wide spectrum of topics. Uplifting, mariachi-tinged 'Sensations in the Dark' celebrates discovering music, eco politics is discussed on 'Conservation Conversation', colonization invades 60s style stomp 'Christopher Columbus' and 'Patterns of Power' touches on inequality over wailing, distorted guitar. Love in it's various guises also features heavily - from sugar sweet 'Honey all Over', string drenched 'At the Heart of Love', achingly beautiful ballad 'If We Were Words (We Would Rhyme)' to 'Space Dust #2'; a tale of short-lived, seminar-sparked romance in the form of a duet with El Perro del Mar. In addition to vocals, Gruff has played much of the instrumentation himself with the album mostly recorded in north Wales before being mixed in LA.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Turnstile","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50524222947659,"sku":"335912","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Hotel_Shampoo_5f7f8f53_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1728026716"},{"product_id":"babelsberg","title":"Babelsberg","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBabelsberg\u003c\/i\u003e is the fifth album by Gruff Rhys, his first record for Rough Trade since 2007’s classic \u003ci\u003eCandylion\u003c\/i\u003e. The album features orchestral scores by Swansea based composer Stephen McNeff and the incredible work of the 72 piece BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The result is Gruff’s best record to date - a ten song gazetteer of modern times, each track set to timeless, indelible melody. Amazingly, for a collection of songs written over two years ago, each one seems to pull very sharp focus on the times we’re living in.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rough Trade Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50524230025547,"sku":"1033789","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50524235006283,"sku":"1033790","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/81081467-5c6b-4c34-af32-858354cab2a2_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1728026748"},{"product_id":"resist-phony-encores","title":"Resist Phony Encores!","description":"\u003cp\u003eResist Phony Encores! is a selective memoir in the form of graphics, images, and mass communications by musician Gruff Rhys. Rhys weaves anecdotes from his life in performance through designer and long-term collaborator Mark James’ xeroxed graphics and doctored photos, as well as cue cards, which—for the past 15 years—Rhys has used as a part of his live performances. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eApplause! Louder! Thank You! Etc. These cue cards have gradually become more ambitious and absurd: Wild Abandon! Burger Franchise Opportunity! Generic Festival Reaction! The crowd generally goes wild on cue, prompting Rhys to seek explanations for the unimaginable highs and weirdness of life in music through the lens of crowd psychology. The book will appeal to students of linguistics, propaganda, and graphic design, and anyone interested in music and live performance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Suddenly there was little pressure for me to communicate with the audience, when all I was interested in was writing and singing songs. Which was just as well as I had very little in the way of social skills and couldn’t speak very clearly or look an audience in the eye, and I wasn’t interested in people having a good time.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom minority-language punk rock through crowd psychology and a critique of the buffoonish leaders of our times, the book is a chance to accompany Rhys’s singular imagination towards an understanding of our communal need for music, searching gently and comically for the meaning of life itself. This is a roadmap and call to arms for anyone seeking to \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eResist Phony Encores!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRhys originally performed Resist Phony Encores! as an acclaimed one-man slide show at the Edinburgh Festival in 2018. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hat and Beard","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":50531796779339,"sku":"1107783","price":24.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/d76bb7a1-6079-4be1-ae86-b444a63072ed_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1728112326"},{"product_id":"american-interior","title":"American Interior (2025 Remastered Bonus Edition)","description":"\u003cp\u003e In 2012 Gruff Rhys embarked on a solo 'investigative concert tour' through the heart of America following the route taken by his distant relative John Evans. Every night he presented songs augmented by a power point presentation that detailed his relative's unbelievable history, along with any new piece of information that had come his way during the day. He was ultimately looking for Evans's lost unmarked grave. Along with many major cities, the tour took him to play shows at the Mandan and Omaha tribe reservations, a Missouri vineyard, villages that no longer exist and lay at the bottom the Mississippi river and a New Orleans bordello.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat transpired from that ‘investigative concert tour’ was a 2014 album, \u003cem\u003eAmerican Interior\u003c\/em\u003e, plus a book, film and exhaustive tour of the same name. With the aid of the dusted-off power point presentation, Gruff Rhys and a full band revisits the project in 2025 to perform the songs that formed both the album, and the soundtrack to the film.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGruff says of the reissue -\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Revisiting \u003cem\u003eAmerican Interior\u003c\/em\u003e 11 years later, feels very prescient. In following the unusual story of explorer John Evans (1770-1799) it becomes clear that faked narratives can have profound and unpredictable consequences in real life.  His barely believable journey of verification in searching through continental scale wilderness for a [fictitious] Welsh speaking tribe believed to be living on the Great Plains of North America (an ancient folk tale perpetuated by the Elizabethan court following the subjugation of Wales, to make colonial claims on behalf of the British on the Americas) had a dramatic political effect on the fledgling USA and a devastating impact on himself and some of those who helped him on his way.  I wrote an album of songs inspired by his life; American Interior, which also served as a soundtrack to a documentary film based on a book that detailed his journey, intertwined with my own investigative concert tour, all three of which I worked on simultaneously during a 2-year fever 2012-14.  By far the most ambitious undertaking I’ve ever attempted. Living with one foot in the 18th century, wearing the same clothes (for cinematic continuity) for that entire period, left me pretty exhausted. (Imagine a cold extra from The Revenant movie). It took me a while to process the whole experience and its lessons and feel I owe it to my former self to take these songs back on the road for a couple of months and re-tell the story for a new decade. To celebrate it further Rough Trade will reissue a remastered version of the album with previously unreleased tracks.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTracklistings\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3LP Deluxe:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDisc 1\u003cbr\u003eA1-American Exterior\u003cbr\u003eA2-American Interior\u003cbr\u003eA3-The Whether (Or Not)\u003cbr\u003eA4-The Last Conquistador\u003cbr\u003eA5-Lost Tribes\u003cbr\u003eB1-Liberty (Is Where We'll Be)\u003cbr\u003eB2-Allweddellau Allweddol\u003cbr\u003eB3-Walk into the Wilderness\u003cbr\u003eB4-Sugar Insides\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDisc 2\u003cbr\u003eA1-100 Unread Messages\u003cbr\u003eA2-That's Why\u003cbr\u003eA3-The Swamp\u003cbr\u003eA4-Media Quake\u003cbr\u003eB1-Cylchdro Amser\u003cbr\u003eB2-Iolo\u003cbr\u003eB3-Y Gwenan Gorn\u003cbr\u003eB4-Year of the Dog\u003cbr\u003eB5-Tiger's Tale\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDisc 3\u003cbr\u003eA1-I Grombil Cyfandir Pell\u003cbr\u003eA2-Ar Goll\u003cbr\u003eA3-Y Madogwys Neu Angau\u003cbr\u003eB1-Power Point Presentation\u003cbr\u003eB2- American Exterior (Extended Version For Two Synthesizers)\u003cbr\u003e2LP:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDisc 1\u003cbr\u003eA1-American Exterior\u003cbr\u003eA2-American Interior\u003cbr\u003eA3-The Whether (Or Not)\u003cbr\u003eA4-The Last Conquistador\u003cbr\u003eA5-Lost Tribes\u003cbr\u003eB1-Liberty (Is Where We'll Be)\u003cbr\u003eB2-Allweddellau Allweddol\u003cbr\u003eB3-Walk into the Wilderness\u003cbr\u003eB4-Sugar Insides\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDisc 2\u003cbr\u003eA1-100 Unread Messages\u003cbr\u003eA2-That's Why\u003cbr\u003eA3-The Swamp\u003cbr\u003eA4-Media Quake\u003cbr\u003eB1-Cylchdro Amser\u003cbr\u003eB2-Iolo\u003cbr\u003eB3-Y Gwenan Gorn\u003cbr\u003eB4-Year of the Dog\u003cbr\u003eB5-Tiger's Tale\u003cbr\u003eCD Tracklisting\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDisc 1\u003cbr\u003e1-American Exterior\u003cbr\u003e2-American Interior\u003cbr\u003e3-The Whether (Or Not)\u003cbr\u003e4-The Last Conquistador\u003cbr\u003e5-Lost Tribes\u003cbr\u003e6-Liberty (Is Where We'll Be)\u003cbr\u003e7-Allweddellau Allweddol\u003cbr\u003e8-Walk into the Wilderness\u003cbr\u003e9-Sugar Insides\u003cbr\u003e10-100 Unread Messages\u003cbr\u003e11-That's Why\u003cbr\u003e12-The Swamp\u003cbr\u003e13-Media Quake\u003cbr\u003e14-Cylchdro Amser\u003cbr\u003e15-Iolo\u003cbr\u003e16-Y Gwenan Gorn\u003cbr\u003e17-Year of the Dog\u003cbr\u003e18-Tiger's Tale\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rough Trade Records","offers":[{"title":"3LP - Deluxe","offer_id":51432756937035,"sku":"R1423-8879","price":47.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"2LP - Black","offer_id":51432756969803,"sku":"R1423-2237","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":51432757002571,"sku":"R1423-8613","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/090b1f79-382c-9f18-9f5c-5467f8784676.jpg?v=1741793636"},{"product_id":"dim-probs","title":"Dim Probs","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe legendary Gruff Rhys returns with \u003cem\u003eDim Probs\u003c\/em\u003e, his ninth solo album, fourth Welsh language long player, and first release through Rock Action Records.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eFeaturing fellow Welsh artists Cate Le Bon and H. 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