Editing Gruff Rhys (section)

==Musical career==

===Ffa Coffi Pawb===
{{main|Ffa Coffi Pawb}}
As a teenager in 1985, Gruff Rhys played drums for the North Wales band, Machlud, appearing at the Pesda Roc festival in Bethesda.<ref>{{cite news|last=Naylor|first=Tony|title=Fidget, schranz, doom – what? Folktronica not leftfield enough? Try this beginner's guide to obscure music genres|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/apr/17/tony-naylor-guide-to-obscure-music|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=21 May 2014|date=16 April 2010}}</ref> After playing drums for the band Emily, Rhys found fame in Wales as the front man of [[Ffa Coffi Pawb]]. Translated, the name means 'everyone's coffee beans', though if said quickly in Welsh, it can sound like 'fuck off everyone' in English and Welsh combined.

On signing to [[Ankst]]musik, Ffa Coffi Pawb became one of the leading bands on the Welsh music scene during the [[Cool Cymru]] movement, and released three albums – ''Clymhalio'', ''Dalec Peilon'' and ''Hei Vidal!''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Owens|first=David|title=Cerys, Catatonia and the Rise of Welsh Pop|date=2011|publisher=Random House|isbn=9781448116362}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Elfyn|first=Bethan|title=Pre-Cool Cymru: the pioneering bands|date=9 July 2013 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/Pre-Cool-Cymru-the-pioneering-bands|publisher=BBC Wales|access-date=16 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Buckley|first=Peter|title=The Rough Guide to Rock|date=2003|publisher=Rough Guide, Penguin|location=London|isbn=1843531054|pages=[https://archive.org/details/roughguidetorock0003unse/page/1034 1034–1035]|edition=3rd|url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetorock0003unse/page/1034}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hill|first=Sarah|title=Blerwytirhwng?: The Place of Welsh Pop Music|date=September 2007|publisher=Ashgate|location=Cardiff, Wales|isbn=978-0-7546-5898-6|page=200}}</ref>

Rhys plays the guitar in an unusual style. Although he is right-handed, he learned to play left-handed on his brother's left-handed guitar. Once his brother left home, Rhys only had access to a right-handed guitar. As he had already learned to play left-handed, and rather than invert the nut and re-string it, he taught himself to play the right-handed guitar upside down so the bass strings are on the bottom. Today, Rhys still plays left-handed on an upside down right-handed guitar.<ref>[http://www.planetmagazine.org.uk/documents/PunkRockinBethesda-MalcolmLewis.pdf ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202223925/http://www.planetmagazine.org.uk/documents/PunkRockinBethesda-MalcolmLewis.pdf |date=2 December 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p018xtlj |title=BBC Radio 6 Music – Mary Anne Hobbs, Gruff Rhys returns, Gruff Rhys: Key of Life interview with Mary Anne Hobbs (Extended Cut) |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=12 May 2013 |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref>

===Super Furry Animals===
{{main|Super Furry Animals}}
When Ffa Coffi Pawb disbanded in 1993, Rhys and drummer [[Dafydd Ieuan]], of Rhoscefnhir, [[Anglesey]], who had played for [[Catatonia (band)|Catatonia]], [[Yr Anhrefn|Anhrefn]], Hanner Pei and many other Welsh language bands, formed the basis of Super Furry Animals. They soon settled on a line-up consisting of Rhys on vocals and guitar, Ieuan on drums, his brother [[Cian Ciaran]] (formerly of WWZZ) on keyboards, [[Huw Bunford]] (formerly of U-Thant) on guitar and [[Guto Pryce]] on bass. This line-up has remained constant to the present day, although the role of each member has become more flexible, particularly in the studio.

In 1995, following a couple of largely Welsh-language EPs on the [[Ankst]] label, they signed to [[Creation Records]]. Apparently, when offering them the deal after a gig, [[Alan McGee]], head of Creation, asked that they sing more songs in English. Rhys pointed out that all the songs that night had been in English. Super Furry Animals went on to release their critically acclaimed first album, ''[[Fuzzy Logic (Super Furry Animals album)|Fuzzy Logic]]'', in 1996 – the first time Rhys had recorded in English. He later observed that his singing sounded like a random collection of accents – but it was nevertheless very successful.

Follow-up albums included ''[[Radiator (album)|Radiator]]'' in 1997, ''[[Guerrilla (album)|Guerrilla]]'' in 1999 and ''[[Mwng]]'' in 2000. They also became particularly famous for their 40-foot inflatable bears and a blue tank with 'SFA' written upon it which toured summer festivals playing techno music at high volume. Super Furry Animals made a further mark on history in July 2001, when they released their first album for the Sony label, ''[[Rings Around the World]]'', on CD and DVD simultaneously. They repeated this for 2003's ''[[Phantom Power (Super Furry Animals album)|Phantom Power]]''. Unfortunately 2005's ''[[Love Kraft]]'' performed poorly commercially and Super Furry Animals agreed to leave Sony. They are presently signed to [[Rough Trade Records|Rough Trade]] and released ''[[Hey Venus!]]'' in 2007 in the UK. In 2009 they released their latest record to date, entitled ''[[Dark Days/Light Years]]''.

===Solo===
[[File:Gruff Rhys @ EOTR 2024.jpg|thumb|Gruff Rhys performing at [[End of the Road Festival|End of the Road]], Dorset, England on 30th August 2024]]

On 24 January 2005, Rhys released his first solo album, ''[[Yr Atal Genhedlaeth]]'', on the Placid Casual label. It was a loose, sketchy, all-Welsh-language album, with most of the instruments played by Rhys. A tour of Wales and several festival appearances followed. After Super Furry Animals signed to Rough Trade, the new label agreed to take on his solo works as well, and on 8 January 2007 they released ''[[Candylion]]'', a batch of acoustic pop songs in English, Spanish and Welsh, which Rhys wrote whilst touring ''Love Kraft'' but which did not fit with the direction of the new Super Furry Animals album. A third solo album by Rhys, ''[[Hotel Shampoo]]'', was released on 14 February 2011. On 4 March 2011, it was announced that Rhys would be playing at [[Glastonbury Festival 2011|Glastonbury 2011]].

In May 2014, Rhys released his new work, ''American Interior'' (''I Grombil Cyfandir Pell''), a combined project of an album, a film, a hardback book and an [[mobile application software|app]] for mobile devices. The film was co-directed by Dylan Goch, who also worked with Rhys on his previous film, ''Separado!'' (2010).

From December 2015 to January 2016, Rhys fronted a co-production with [[National Theatre Wales]] titled "The Insatiable, Inflatable Candylion", featuring songs from ''Candylion'' and several new tracks. The music and lyrics were by Gruff Rhys and the play's text, which included audience participation, by Tim Price. The musicians appearing with Rhys were [[9 Bach|Lisa Jên Brown]] (who also sang on the original album), [[Sweet Baboo]], [[Islet (band)|Emma Daman Thomas]] and [[Kliph Scurlock]]. The show also included actors Remy Beasley, Matthew Bulgo, [[Dyfan Dwyfor]], Natasha Lewis and Dyfrig Morris.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationaltheatrewales.org/insatiable-inflatable-candylion|title=The Insatiable, Inflatable Candylion |publisher=National Theatre Wales|access-date=15 January 2016}}</ref>

On 21 April 2016, Rhys released a new song entitled "I Love EU", a song praising the [[European Union]] ahead of the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|EU Referendum]] on 23 June 2016.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rhys|first1=Gruff|title=Gruff Rhys: hear his song I Love EU – and find out why he wrote it|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/apr/21/gruff-rhys-hear-his-song-i-love-eu-and-find-out-why-he-wrote-it|website=The Guardian|date=21 April 2016 |access-date=22 April 2016}}</ref>

Rhys released his fifth album, entitled ''Babelsberg'', on 8 June 2018. A further album, "Pang!", was released on 13 September 2019, produced by South African DJ [[Muzi (musician)|Muzi]].

===Neon Neon===
In 2007 Rhys launched a new electro-pop collaborative project with [[Boom Bip]] under the collective moniker [[Neon Neon]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.krugermagazine.com/content/view/164/10826/ |title=Beck to the Future? Neon Neon hit 88MPH! |access-date=26 October 2007 |publisher=Kruger Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071112051829/http://www.krugermagazine.com/content/view/164/10826/ |archive-date=12 November 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Their album, titled ''[[Stainless Style]]'', is a loose concept album based on the tumultuous life of [[DeLorean Motor Company]] founder [[John DeLorean]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spin.com/features/news/2007/01/070105_neonneon/ |title=Super Furry Animals Frontman, Boom Bip Join Forces |access-date=26 October 2007 |publisher=spin.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018122707/http://www.spin.com/features/news/2007/01/070105_neonneon/ |archive-date=18 October 2007 }}</ref> and was released on 18 March 2008 via [[Lex Records]]. The album includes a number of high-profile guest appearances from [[Fabrizio Moretti|Fab Moretti]] of [[The Strokes]], [[Har Mar Superstar]], [[Yo Majesty]], [[Spank Rock]], [[Cate Le Bon]] and [[The Magic Numbers]]. The first single, "Raquel", was released on 26 November 2007.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://web.nme.com/news/gruff-rhys/32073| title= Super Furry Animals man to release brand new album in February| access-date= 26 October 2007| work= NME| url-status= dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071028024025/http://web.nme.com/news/gruff-rhys/32073| archive-date= 28 October 2007}}</ref> The follow-up single "I Lust U", featured fellow Welsh artist Cate Le Bon on vocals. The album was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize.

On 29 April 2013, Neon Neon released their second studio album, ''Praxis Makes Perfect'', followed by a limited run of live performances featuring actors from National Theatre Wales. The album and live show are based on the life of [[Giangiacomo Feltrinelli]].

===Collaborations with other artists===
Rhys has occasionally collaborated with other artists, providing vocals for the track "Dial: Revenge" on the [[Mogwai]] album ''[[Rock Action (album)|Rock Action]]'' as well as guesting on the songs "Fear of Guitars" (from the album ''[[Machine Says Yes]]'' by [[FC Kahuna]]) and "Do's and Don'ts" (by [[Boom Bip]]) as well as "Just War" from [[Danger Mouse (music producer)|Danger Mouse]] and [[Sparklehorse]]'s album ''[[Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Present: Dark Night of the Soul|Dark Night of the Soul]]''. He has also featured on the Myspace remix track "I'm Not Lying" by [[Goldie Lookin' Chain]]. He features on the track "Cream Dream" from the 2009 [[Simian Mobile Disco]] album ''[[Temporary Pleasure]]''. He also eats carrots on the [[Misty's Big Adventure]] album ''[[Television's People]]'', continuing the vegetable relay started by [[Brian Wilson]] on ''[[Smile (The Beach Boys album)|Smile]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nme.com/news/mistys-big-adventure/40250 |title=NME News Super Furry Animals/Neon Neon's Gruff Rhys in new collaboration |work=NME|date=6 October 2008 |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref> Miles Kane has also called for him to produce the next album by his band the Rascals. Rhys also collaborated with influential hip-hop group [[De La Soul]] on a [[Gorillaz]] track titled ''[[Superfast Jellyfish]]''. The track is on the third Gorillaz studio album, ''[[Plastic Beach]],'' and provided vocals on the song "We Won't be Broke Forever Baby" on [[Akira the Don]]'s LP ''The Life Equation.''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://akirathedon.bandcamp.com/album/the-life-equation |title=The Life Equation |publisher=Bandcamp.com |date=16 May 2011 |access-date=10 February 2017}}</ref>

In 2010 he released an album with Brazilian artist Tony da Gatorra on Turnstile Music. The album featured both compositions by Tony da Gatorra, who is relatively unknown in his native Brazil, and Gruff Rhys.<ref>{{cite web|last=Slater |first=Russ |url=http://soundsandcolours.com/articles/brazil/tony-da-gatorra-vs-gruff-rhys-the-terror-of-cosmic-loneliness-2010-3575/ |title=Tony da Gatorra vs Gruff Rhys – The Terror of Cosmic Loneliness &#124; Music Review &#124; Sounds and Colours |publisher=Soundsandcolours.com |date=12 December 2010 |access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref>

On 17 December 2011, Rhys joined [[Manic Street Preachers]] on stage during the band's 38 song ''A Night of National Treasures'' one-off live event at the [[The O2 Arena (London)|O2 Arena in London]] to provide the lead vocals for the song ''[[Let Robeson Sing]]''. Introducing Rhys to the stage, lead singer [[James Dean Bradfield]] explained that Rhys had been set to perform the song at the band's [[Louder Than War|2001 performance in Havana, Cuba]] but circumstances had prevented this from happening.

===Documentaries===
In 2010, Dylan Goch's film ''[[Separado!]]'' premiered. It is a documentary about Gruff Rhys's trip to [[Patagonia]] to try to locate members of his family whose ancestors had emigrated in Victorian times.

In 2014, the pair co-directed a film about the Welsh explorer [[John Evans (explorer)|John Evans]], ''American Interior''. It was released in cinemas in the UK on 9 May 2014.

===Computer game music===
In 2011 Rhys composed the music for the successful [[iOS]] and [[Android (operating system)|Android]] game ''[[Whale Trail]]''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2011/sep/28/gruff-rhys-whale-trail|title=New music: Gruff Rhys – Whale Trail|date=28 September 2011|access-date=15 December 2011|location=London|work=The Guardian|first=Michael|last=Cragg}}</ref> which has been an iTunes game of the week.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/whale-trail/id450163154|title=Whale Trail on the iTunes App Store|website=[[iTunes]]|access-date=15 December 2011}}</ref>

===Political music===
In 2016 Rhys composed and sang "I Love EU"  to support the [[Britain Stronger in Europe|Remain]] campaign in the [[Campaigning in the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016|UK European Membership Referendum]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Official Brexit Campaign Songs|url=http://www.channel4.com/news/catch-up/display/playlistref/230416/clipid/230416_4ON_BREXITSONGSPAB|access-date=2 May 2016|publisher=Channel 4 News|date=23 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Find out why Gruff Rhys wrote his I Love EU song|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/apr/21/gruff-rhys-hear-his-song-i-love-eu-and-find-out-why-he-wrote-it|access-date=2 May 2016|issue=Music Section|newspaper=The Guardian|date=21 April 2016}}</ref>