The Friday Project publisher Scott Pack has acquired The Rise of the Super Furry Animals, the story of iconic Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals by music journalist Ric Rawlins in a deal for world rights direct with the author.
Originally an electronic music collective, Super Furry Animals started out playing raves around Europe before evolving into an experimental rock group in 1993. After signing to Creation, SFA suddenly found they had a massive marketing budget to play with – bankrolled by Oasis album sales – and set to work on spending it wisely.
They bought an army tank and equipped it with a techno sound-system; caused national security alerts with 60ft inflatable monsters; went into the Colombian jungle with armed Guerrilla fighters, and drew up plans to convert an aircraft carrier into a nightclub. They pioneered surround sound concerts, triggered a minor earthquake with sub bass, and of course, made some of the most acclaimed records of our time.
The SFA catalogue includes the summery techno-pop of Guerrilla, the urban anarchy of Radiator, the digital space-rock of Rings Around The World and the first Welsh language album to hit the top 20, Mwng. Welsh speakers with a passion for internationalism, the band’s discography is a soundtrack to the rise of global communications – and with each album adorned with the artwork of Pete Fowler, it’s a great-looking oeuvre too.
The release of the biography will coincide with the 20th anniversary of SFA’s first recordings, and is drawn from new interviews with the band, Pete Fowler and various key players. Pete Fowler is also producing new, bespoke artwork for the project.
The biography is being written by Ric Rawlins. Formerly the Digital Editor of Artrocker, Ric produced the world’s first online music festival in 2009 before moving to Bath and making iOS apps for Future. He first met SFA in Cardiff during the making of Dark Days/Light Years.
Gruff Rhys, lead singer of Super Furry Animals says: ‘Revolutionary, crazed and beautiful musical events and conversations that originally happened through the medium of a cracked youthful version of the Welsh language in the mid-nineties are presented here for the first time in quality English. Ric lifts the lid on these millennial events through comic re-enactments, cosmic speculations and passionate research for the recordings – which sometimes hits on truths that are closer to what happened than what actually happened.’
Ric says: ‘The world of SFA is a fantastic place to take your imagination, and it’s an honour that they’ve allowed me to tell their tale. Hopefully I can repay them by turning up the spotlight on their visionary work.’
Scott says: ‘This is an amazing story with an equally amazing cast and some cracking music. Ric has really captured the energy and humour of the band as well as their passion for the Welsh language and culture. Far from being a traditional music biography, this is an anarchic ride through their career and I think fans will love it.’
The Rise of the Super Furry Animals by Ric Rawlins will publish in February 2015.
