Never one to be a bore and just make a standard album with songs on it, Gruff Rhys’ latest creation, American Interior, turns out to be not only a record, but also a book, film and mobile app. The project is based upon Rhys following in the footsteps of his distant relative, explorer John Evans, who in the late 1700s arrived in the States in search of a terrific-sounding Welsh speaking tribe of Native Americans. Rhys decided to follow Evans’ path and the result is this cross platform multimedia experience, with the film showing at Cornerhouse, accompanied by a Q&A with the man himself (Rhys, not Evans, silly). The album itself stands alone as an upbeat collection of catchy folky sounding songs – although never losing the interesting use of some trippy electronica, which has prevailed throughout the Super Furry Animals frontman’s career. The film should provide an insight into the making of said music, while it also features Rhys travelling around with a 3ft felt avatar of Evans, which is definitely worth the admission fee alone.
Tue 27 May, Cornerhouse, 70 Oxford Street, M1 5NH, Tel: 0161 200 1500, 6.10pm, £8 (£6 conc), www.cornerhouse.org
- Words:
- John Hutcheon
- Published on:
- Sun 25 May 2014
