You know those Welsh psychedelic-pop-monsters the Super Furry Animals really don’t give a f**k about anybody else. Emerging at the dawn of the Britpop movement, SFA were wrongly assumed to be a by-the-numbers-product of the whole ‘Cool-Britannia’ (and the even more ridiculous ‘Cool Cymru’ Welsh offshoot) buzz that was hanging heavy in the air at that particular time.  

Eschewing the more straightforward British guitar pop that was favoured by so many of their peers, SFA headed for more esoteric pop territories, and pastures, well, more pastoral. Over the course of their career, SFA have tackled psychedelic garage rock, fully-realised Beach Boys like orchestration, techno-influenced indie-pop, Welsh folk, played gigs in surround sound, released remix albums, enjoyed chart success and remained critical darlings for their idiosyncratic approach to both their recordings and their live shows.

SFA have never been anything less then eclectic and almost always unpredictable, and with a new album fans are currently strapping themselves in for the next chapter in the ongoing Super Furry Animal saga. They’re returning to Cork for a show at the Savoy Theatre on Monday, October 15, their first since playing the same venue some years back. The Cork Independent spoke with Cian Ciaran, keyboardist with the psychedelic monsters, about life, growing old, majors verses independent labels, and the groups ongoing desire to keep the masses second guessing.

“This is our eight album,” Cian drawls in a thick Welsh brogue, “and it’s reflective of the changes in our lives. It’s never been an outright conscious decision on our parts to keep changing…we just see it as a natural part of growing up. Life changes, circumstances change (the band recently ended their long-running and largely fruitful ties with Sony, moving to respected independent institution Rough Trade), and through it all you try out different things. For us, that’s the big incentive, to keep going in new directions, to keep it interesting for ourselves, but we never decide on that direction consciously. It usually just happens.”

Over the course of those eight albums, SFA have proven themselves to be more then adept at channelling their disparate influences into a sound that, while undoubtedly paying its dues to the past masters, also stays focused on adding something new to the musical cannon. Progressive rock, funk, soul, 70s punk, techno and west-coast pop have all manifested themselves in the SFA sound, and were it not for the fact that their records are so widely available upon release, it would be an easy mistake to assume that these Animals exist in the independent woods, away from the captivity of major label dependence. But as Cian explains the Super Furry Animals have always lived in relative harmony with the industry. “Sony was real good for the time. They always allowed us to do whatever it was that we wanted to do. In that regard, they were great… they allowed you to release whatever records we wanted to make and backed us on a number of pretty ambitious projects, like the DVD albums. The key difference between Sony and Rough Trade is probably down to feedback. We have as much freedom to do what we want, but with less money, but they do offer more individual input into what we’re doing. They’re a lot more hands on in that regard and they’re interested in seeing where we’re going.”