Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008 Nationwide Mercury Prize. He won the 2011 Welsh Music Prize for his album Hotel Shampoo, which was followed up by American Interior in 2014, accompanied by a film, a book and a mobile app. His most recent album, Sadness Sets Me Free, was released in 2024. He is considered a figurehead of the era known as Cool Cymru.
Phantom Power is the sixth album by Welsh indie rock band Super Furry Animals, released on 21 July 2003 by Epic Records in the United Kingdom. The record was originally conceived as a ten-song concept album using D-A-D-D-A-D guitar tuning, but the band chose to abandon this idea during recording as they didn't want to constrain themselves. The group did attempt to create a "more coherent" album than their past efforts by choosing songs which worked well together. Phantom Power was recorded at the band's own studio, AV Happenings, in Cardiff with the Super Furries producing and engineering themselves for the first time. The album features a range of musical styles, from country rock to techno, although many of the tracks are based around the acoustic guitar. According to chief songwriter and vocalist Gruff Rhys, the album's lyrics deal with "broken relationships and war".
Rings Around the World is the fifth studio album and the major label debut by Super Furry Animals. Released on 23 July 2001 by Epic Records in the United Kingdom, it was the first album by any artist to be simultaneously released on both audio CD and DVD. The record reached number 3 in the UK Albums Chart and includes the singles "Juxtapozed with U", "(Drawing) Rings Around the World" and "It's Not the End of the World?".
Love Kraft is the seventh studio album by Welsh indie rock band Super Furry Animals, released on 22 August 2005 through Epic Records in the United Kingdom. The album was recorded in Spain with producer Mario Caldato Jr and was something of a departure for the band, with all members contributing songs and lead vocals alongside Gruff Rhys who had been main songwriter for the Super Furries until this point. In selecting tracks for Love Kraft a conscious effort was made by the band not to choose songs on their individual merit but rather to pick those which went well together in order to create as cohesive an album as possible. The album's name was taken from a sex shop, Love Craft, near the Cardiff offices of the Super Furries' management team and is also a nod to American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.
Rock Action is the third studio album by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai. The album was produced by Dave Fridmann of Mercury Rev in New York.
The Others is the self-titled debut studio album by English band The Others. The album was released on 31 January 2005 in the UK on Mercury Records. In 2010, Q included the album in their list "The Fifty Worst Albums Ever!"
Cate Le Bon is a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. She sings in both English and Welsh. She has released six solo studio albums, to date, and is one half of the experimental music duo DRINKS with her partner Tim Presley. Her stage name is a tribute to English musician Simon Le Bon.
Dark Days/Light Years, the ninth and most recent studio album by Super Furry Animals, was digitally released at 8pm on 16 March 2009 via the band's website, with a physical release following on the 21st of April on Rough Trade Records. The album's title is taken from a lyric in the song "Moped Eyes".
Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang is the fifth studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan-member Raekwon, released March 8, 2011, on Ice H2O and EMI Records. Guests for the album include Black Thought, Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah, GZA, Inspectah Deck, Lloyd Banks, Method Man, Nas, and Rick Ross, among others.
Hotel Shampoo is the third solo album by Welsh musician and Super Furry Animals front-man Gruff Rhys. It was released on 14 February 2011 through Onvi Records/Turnstile and Wichita and peaked at number forty-two on the UK Albums Chart. The album includes the singles "Shark Ridden Waters", "Sensations In The Dark", "Honey All Over" and "Space Dust #2"; the latter of which is collaboration with Sarah Assbring and Miles Kane. The album won the 2011 Welsh Music Prize and the Album of the Year award at the Artrocker Awards 2011.
Cerulean is the debut studio album by American electronic musician Baths. It was released on June 22, 2010 by Anticon.
Colour of the Trap is the debut solo album by English musician Miles Kane, released on 6 May 2011 by Columbia Records. It was mainly written by Kane and frequent collaborator Alex Turner alongside Gruff Rhys and Sean Bonniwell. It was produced in London by Rhys, Dan Carey, Dan the Automator and Craig Silvey. The record features guest musicians Clémence Poésy on the track "Happenstance" and Noel Gallagher on "My Fantasy". The cover features a black and white picture of Kane, taken by Laurence Ellis, with his name superimposed in light purple. The album peaked to number 11 on the UK Albums Chart.
Marissa Nadler is the fifth studio album by American musician Marissa Nadler. It was released on June 14, 2011, by Box of Cedar Records. The song "Baby, I Will Leave You In The Morning" was released as a free download on March 8, followed by a music video for the song.
Kill for Love is the fourth studio album by American electronic music band Chromatics. It was released on March 26, 2012, by Italians Do It Better. On May 7, 2012, a drumless version of the album, containing 11 songs with no percussion, was made available by the band for free download.
Blue Eyed in the Red Room is the second solo studio album by Boom Bip. It was released through Lex Records on March 8, 2005. It features guest appearances from Gruff Rhys and Nina Nastasia.
Praxis Makes Perfect is the second studio album by the pop-electronica-hip hop duo Neon Neon, which was produced by Boom Bip and Gruff Rhys, and the album was released on 29 April 2013 by Lex Records. Praxis Makes Perfect is a concept album based on the life of influential Italian publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli. The album charted at No. 43 in the United Kingdom. Between May and October 2013, the album was performed live as an immersive gig theatre performance with National Theatre Wales.
American Interior is the fourth solo album by Gruff Rhys, released on 5 May 2014. It is a concept album based on the life of the explorer John Evans. It peaked at number 24 in the UK.
Depression Cherry is the fifth studio album by the American dream pop duo Beach House. It was co-produced by the group and Chris Coady, and was released on August 28, 2015, by Sub Pop in the US, Bella Union in Europe, Mistletone Records in Australia, Hostess Entertainment in Japan and Arts & Crafts in Mexico. The album was recorded at Studio in the Country in Bogalusa, Louisiana, from November 2014 to January 2015. Reacting to their dissatisfaction with using live drums on tour to play songs from their previous album, Bloom (2012), for Depression Cherry, the band returned to simpler song arrangements, similar to those of its first two studio albums. "Sparks" was released as the lead single on July 1. The album received mostly positive reviews from critics. Less than two months after releasing Depression Cherry, Beach House followed it up with their sixth album, Thank Your Lucky Stars.
Lacuna is the debut studio album by English band Childhood. It was released on 11 August 2014 under Marathon Artists.
Sadness Sets Me Free is the eighth studio album by Welsh musician Gruff Rhys, released on 26 January 2024 through Rough Trade Records. It was recorded in three days in March 2022 in Paris, and received positive reviews from critics.
