Super Furry Animals share first ever recorded song featuring Rhys Ifans
Super Furry Animals have shared their first ever recorded song that features vocals from actor Rhys Ifans.
The song – ‘Of No Fixed Identity – has remained in the band’s archives for almost 30 years but is now available on Bandcamp for a limited time.
Before Gruff Rhys took over vocals, Ifans fronted the Welsh band. The group first recorded at Gorwel Owen’s studio on Ynys Môn in summer 1993 and ‘Of No Fixed Identity’ was the first song ever recorded by the band.
In a statement about the song, the group said: “Our first, ever recorded work is out, in part an exploration of the past and in part a criticism of the present and a future where corporate interests are prioritised ahead of health, wellbeing and the natural world.”
“Please download the track, support the cause and rediscover the considerable singing talents of Mr Rhys Ifans.”
You can download the song here.
The band are donating a percentage off the profits to ‘Save The Severn’ campaign. Recently, Super Furry Animals called on the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to revoke the licence granted to EDF – which they claim has resulted in nuclear mud dumping in the Severn Estuary.
In 2018, a group of activists took EDF to court to stop 300,000 tonnes of alleged nuclear mud from a Somerset power station being disposed of just outside Cardiff. The Welsh indie veterans have recently picked up the cause again.
In a press release the band added that the ‘Save The Severn’ campaign was “aiming to halt the reckless dumping of sediment from the site of discharges from a nuclear power station into a Marine Protected Area.”
They added: “A percentage of the proceeds [of their Bandcamp song] will go towards funding the campaign group’s judicial review hearing versus the Marine Management Organisation and energy giants EDF.”
Last year, Super Furry Animals announced the release of their first ever NFT to mark the reissue of their album ‘Rings Around The World’. The release was a part of the 20th anniversary celebrations for the album and was a collaboration between the band, Hipgnosis Songs and eco-friendly platform Serenade.
The Mercury Prize-nominated ‘Rings Around The World’ was reissued across two dates in September 2021. Physical versions, which included 180g gatefold double vinyl and triple CD options, landed alongside part one of the digital release on September 3. Part two of the digital release followed on September 24.