Gruff Rhys

One of the great pop eccentrics of his generation, Gruff Rhys emerged in the mid-’90s as the frontman for the Welsh neo-psychedelic quintet Super Furry Animals. Debuting as impish guitar pranksters, SFA quickly developed an appetite for adventure, a sensibility maintained in his work outside the band. Rhys stepped out on SFA while the group was still active, releasing the Welsh-language solo debut Yr Atal Genhedlaeth in 2005 and teaming up with Boom Bip for the electro-pop duo Neon Neon, whose 2008 album Stainless Style earned wide acclaim. Once Super Furry Animals retired in 2010, Rhys pursued a number of ambitious creative endeavors, ranging from the 2014 multi-media project American Interior and the orchestral 2018 LP Babelsberg to Seeking New Gods, a myth-making exercise about a volcano mixed by Mario Caldato, Jr. of Beastie Boys fame.

In 2018, Rhys released Babelsberg, a lush, sweeping album recorded with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. A year later, he returned with Pang!, a collaboration with South African electronic musician Muzi that was primarily sung in Welsh. Rhys released Seeking New Gods, an album he started during the American tour supporting Babelsberg, in May 2021.