Candylion - Gruff Rhys

...Gruff Rhys’ myspace website about Candylion and I found it quite amusing, so I’ve left it unchanged from the site…

“Candylion was raised by bears in Micronesia. Trained as a chef in Paris and following a City & Guilds diploma in desk top publishing at Tregoedwig polytechnic transformed himself into a card assembly image of his former self and arranged for the kind lady at the post depot to mail him back flatpack to his bear brothers ...
...cover features a picture of Candylion and the inlay of the digipack (not a plastic CD case) has picture of how to make Candylion. Have a look at the pictures to see him...

Throughout the album Gruff Rhys sings and plays guitars and percussion (or beats as he calls them). His guitar style is somewhat unique as he learnt to play by stringing his brothers right handed guitar upside down so he could play it left handed. This means that ... more

Gruff Rhys – Candylion

Well, who on earth is Gruff Rhys? As you have probably guessed he is Welsh and was born in Haverfordwest (or Hwlffordd) in Wales in 1970. He is most famous for being the vocalist and guitarist from the Super Furry Animals who were at the forefront of the Welsh invasion of mainstream music back in the 1990’s. Super Furry Animals are best known for songs such as “Something 4 the Weekend”, “Juxtaposed with You” and “Northern Lites”.

This is Gruff Rhys’ second solo album and is a mixture of Psychedelic pop, folk and rock all melted into one. It’s a great little chill out album and would be a talking point if you were having a few beers with your mates.

Here is a paragraph from Gruff Rhys’ myspace website about Candylion and I found it quite amusing, so I’ve left it unchanged from the site…

“Candylion was raised by bears in Micronesia. Trained as a chef in Paris and following a City & Guilds diploma in desk top publishing at Tregoedwig polytechnic transformed himself into a card assembly image of his former self and arranged for the kind lady at the post depot to mail him back flatpack to his bear brothers and sisters. Safely back in the palm forest he was given lessons in exotic guitar pickin' by a passing oxymoron. He is currently recording his first album.”

The cover features a picture of Candylion and the inlay of the digipack (not a plastic CD case) has picture of how to make Candylion. Have a look at the pictures to see him...

Throughout the album Gruff Rhys sings and plays guitars and percussion (or beats as he calls them). His guitar style is somewhat unique as he learnt to play by stringing his brothers right handed guitar upside down so he could play it left handed. This means that his guitar looks upside-down when he plays.

The CD opens on “This is just the Beginning” which is a short (49sec) piece that would sound perfectly at home as a kiddies computer game soundtrack that is being spoken over by someone on the tannoy at the airport… Intrigued?

The second song on the album is “Candylion”. This song features vocals from Lisa Jen from a band called “9Bach” and double bass from Owen Evans. These two musicians feature throughout the album as they both play on seven of the 12 tracks.

It opens on xylophone, guitar and drums then adds double bass and vocals. It is a perfect little chill out song with completely random lyrics that are beautifully harmonised and put a smile on your face. Or maybe a big scrunched up “whatoneartharetheysingingabout” face!

“Candy
A penguin incarnation
Lion
A lemon and Dalmatian
Candy
Though I look for inspiration
Lion
Still my favourite combination
Is Candy-Lion”

“The court of King Arthur” is a little more upbeat and sort of stomps along… Bimp bomp bimp bomp… Think the tuba guy in the parade (or Harold from Neighbours – tuba right?). It has several little harmonica parts that bring a nice new level in but as far as I can tell the song is all about digging for treasure. More random lyrics. Brilliant!

Yeehaa! “Lonesome words” reminds me of a chase in a Western movie with fingerpick style guitar playing and ghostly backing vocals from Lisa Jen. The song builds up and then falls, landing where it took off but with the edition of a violin that, for me, makes this song what it is. All of the instruments, fast paced as they are, work well together and particularly well with the slower, ghostly vocals.

“Cycle of violence” starts on a similar vein to “Lonesome words” as it comes in with fast paced bass and percussion but with a different style of vocals. Midway through the track Felipe Pinaud joins with his flute which adds another level to the music as it jostles for first spot with the violins and samples.

Track six is a great little comedown after the last two fast paced tracks and is called “Painting People Blue”. It features a chap called Jonathan Thomas playing something called a pedal steel. A pedal steel is a horizontal guitar like instrument that has a slide rather than using your fingers to make chords. They generally have between 10 and 13 strings and are usually played by finger picking (instead of strumming for example). They are most commonly used in America’s country and Western music scene.

“Beacon in the Darkness” features vocals from Lisa Jen, sleigh bells and a Tamboura (yes, another funny instrument). A Tamboura is an Eastern European instrument that is most commonly played in Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Bosnia Herzegovina. It reminds me of a bouzouki (Greek) and is a long, narrow necked, fretted instrument with a bulb shaped body. The song is about a girl, or at least that is how I interpret it, as he sings “For you are, the beacon in the darkness”. Although on second thoughts he could just he particularly fond of the moon.

“Lighten up the dark
Alleyways with golden glow
Raindrops fill my eyes
Tears falling…”

The eighth song “Con Cariño” is sung in Spanish and considering my Spanish is limited to “Dos cerveza por for vor” I haven’t got the foggiest what he’s singing about. This, however, doesn’t hurt the song in the slightest – I think it adds an air of mystery about it. A quick Google search tells me that “Con Cariño” means “with affection”.

Song number nine “Gyrru gyrru gyrru” was released as a single on the 12th March 2007 but only available as a download. It is sung entirely in Welsh and is the sort of song you’d stick on in your car. It’s a head bopper but chilled out at the same time an as far as I can tell sings the word “Gyrru” about 210 times. It’s funny how it doesn’ get boring though…

The tenth track “Now that feeling has Gone” opens on double bass and after a couple of bars comes in with some jazz style drumming. This jazz feel lasts about 20 seconds where it is replaced by a much heavier drum beat and distorted keys. The track then jumps back to jazz with a nice little organ style rift and continues to jump back and forth between the two different moods and sounds of the music. Ending the happy jazzy bits with the words “Now that the feeling has gone”.

Back to a similar guitar playing style to “Lonesome Words” and “Cycle of Violence” where the music is much more fast paced and finger picked with lengthy harmonising vocals and a rolling drum beat.

The final track is a lengthy one sitting at fourteen and a half minutes. It opens on sample of an air steward welcoming you on board her flight. The song moves on to a sort of early sixties, psychedelic guitar, bass and drum combo but later features a stylophone and a birambau.

Album Details;

2006 Rough Trade Records
Produced with Gorwel Owen and Mario Caldato Jr.

Track listing;

1 – This is just the Beginning
2 – Candylion
3 – The court of King Arthur
4 – Lonsome Words
5 – Cycle of Violence
6 – Painting People Blue
7 – Beacon in the Darkness
8 – Con Cariño
9 – Gyrru Gyrru Gyrru
10 – Now that the Feeling has Gone
11 – Ffwydriad yn y Ffurfafen
12 – Skylon!

Available from Fopp for a tenner.

Overall I think that this is a cracking album. Anyone who enjoys chill out music, pop or just something different should give this record a go. I definatley recommend checking out his myspace site for a wee listen before hand though.

Thanks for reading!

John. 

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