Mwng
Encyclopedia
Mwng (ˈmʊŋ; English
: Mane) is the fourth studio album by Welsh rock band the Super Furry Animals
, and the first by the group to have lyrics written entirely in the Welsh language
. Mwng was released on 15 May 2000 on the band's own record label, Placid Casual
, following the demise of their former label Creation
. The album includes the single "Ysbeidiau Heulog
", and reached number 11 on the UK Albums Chart
following its release—the first Welsh-language album to reach the Top 20. This success lead to Mwng being mentioned in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom by Elfyn Llwyd
, who described the record as a celebration of a "new wave of confidence in the Welsh nation".
The Super Furry Animals had attempted to make a hit record with a commercial sound with their previous release, 1999's Guerrilla
. The record's singles failed to hit the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart
, so the band decided to go on "pop strike". The group had written several Welsh-language songs during sessions for Guerrilla, and opted to release them as a coherent album rather than issue "token Welsh songs" as b-sides
—reasoning that, if their English pop songs were not going to be played on the radio they may as well release Welsh pop songs that would not get played on the radio. Singer Gruff Rhys
stated that, although the decision to release a Welsh language album was not an explicitly political statement, he does feel the record is a "stand against globalisation". Recording largely took place at Ofn Studios, Llanfaelog
, Anglesey in 1999, with the band sharing production
duties with Gorwel Owen
. The "lo-fi
" album cost just to make, in contrast with the "excessive expense" of Guerrilla, and was recorded almost entirely live.
Mwng is an understated rock record inspired by the band's love of "Anglo-American pop culture of the 60s, 70s and 80s." The album has a "wintery persona" that is best summed up by the track "Ymaelodi Â'r Ymylon". Rhys feels that the record marks the first time the band managed to escape their influences and clearly establish their own sound. The album's lyrics deal with a diverse set of subjects, such as the death of rural communities, old school teachers, and Sarn Helen
(a Roman road built in Wales). Rhys has stated that many of Mwngs songs are highly personal reflections on what were difficult years for him. Rhys has also expressed the belief that the album is accessible to non-Welsh speakers, as they can pick up on the mood of the songs even if they cannot understand the lyrics. Critical reception was generally positive, although some reviewers criticised the album for its "bare-boned production". Mwng was included in both the Melody Maker
and NME
"Best album of 2000" lists, with the latter calling the record the band's best release.
. The band had written the album's intended singles with the hope that they would become "radio hits
", and were disappointed with the limited success they received: the first single, "Northern Lites
", charted just outside the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart
at number 11, while subsequent releases "Fire in My Heart
" and "Do or Die
" reached numbers 25 and 20, respectively. The band blamed their record label, Creation
, for the relative failure of the singles—particularly "Northern Lites", which they felt "could have been bigger" if the label had produced a better music video
and conducted a more successful marketing campaign. As a result, the group became tired of playing "chart games" and went on "pop strike", deciding to release music just "for the joy of it", with no agenda.
The Super Furry Animals had written several Welsh language
songs while they were working on Guerrilla and decided that, rather than releasing "token Welsh songs" as b-sides
and album tracks, they would issue them together as a coherent record. These tracks would be augmented by "Dacw Hi", a song written by Rhys in 1987 that he had never "had a chance to do before", and a cover of the track "Y Teimlad", which the group wanted to record because of their admiration for Welsh language band Datblygu
(who originally wrote and recorded the song in 1984). According to Rhys, the Super Furry Animals reasoned that, if their English language pop songs were not getting played on the radio, they may as well make a Welsh language album featuring songs that would not be played on the radio. Rhys has said that, although the decision to release a Welsh language album was not "an explicitly political statement", he does see Mwng as a "stand against globalisation", railing against "advanced capitalism" and the lack of interest shown in minority cultures by large companies who "just want to make money". Rhys has also stated that his boredom with writing songs in English inspired him to write Mwng, and that it is a very personal album, rather than a celebration of Welsh culture.
The "lo-fi
" Mwng was recorded over two weeks in late 1999, and—in contrast with the "excessive expense" of Guerilla—cost just to make. The band chose Gorwel Owen
as co-producer
, having previously worked with him on their first two albums, 1996's Fuzzy Logic
and 1997's Radiator
. The majority of Mwng was recorded with Owen at Ofn Studios in Llanfaelog
, Wales
. According to Rhys, the band had to play in separate rooms to avoid the sound of one instrument bleeding onto the track of another during recording due to Ofn's small size. "Y Gwyneb Iau" and "Ysbeidiau Heulog
" were recorded at Famous Studios in Cardiff
, and were engineered
by Greg Haver, while "Y Teimlad" was recorded at Real World Studios
, Box
, Wiltshire
, and was engineered by Michael Brennan, Jr. "Sarn Helen" was recorded and engineered by keyboardist Cian Ciaran
in his living room. Overdubs
for all songs were added at Ofn with Owen, who also mixed
the album at the studio along with the Super Furry Animals. Songs were recorded almost entirely live, with the band wanting to make a "really immediate record" as a reaction against the drawn out recording sessions for Guerilla and 1997's Radiator
, which had taken several months and proved frustrating for the group. The version of "Nythod Cacwn" that appears on the album is the original demo
, with Rhys on drums. The band felt that, although the demo did not sound very professional, there was a warmth to it that would be impossible to recreate were the group to record the song again. The album's title translates into English as "Mane". According to Rhys, the band did not have the mane of a particular animal in mind, but felt it could be "an extension of a Super Furry Animal".
(the writers of "Y Teimlad") and Meic Stevens
. Instead, the record is a tribute to the band's obsession with "Anglo-American pop culture of the 60s, 70s and 80s", and is an album that "can be understood on a musical level anywhere in the Westernised world" regardless of whether or not the listener can understand the lyrics.
Bassist
Guto Pryce
said that he feels Mwng "sounds like an album" rather than a collection of individual songs, due to the fact it was recorded live and over a short period of time. According to Rhys, Mwng marks a refining of the group's sound, with the band having "sieved off" their influences to truly sound like the Super Furry Animals for the first time. Rhys has said that, although keyboardist Cian Ciaran did not explore "digital frontiers" on the album, he was still able to "deconstruct songs", even when playing the harmonium
. The band had previously thought of the saxophone
as "the instrument of Satan", but actually used one on this record for the first time, reasoning that it was appropriate as Mwng is a "darkish album". Rhys described the album as the band's "monochrome" record, stating that it is "less dressed up" than their other releases, and that it is a "good introduction to [the group's] songwriting."
Rhys said that "if there's a song that sums up the album in terms of mood", perhaps it is "Ymaelodi Â'r Ymylon", typifying its "wintery persona". The track has been described by Rhys as a celebration of the band's love of The Beach Boys
, Love
, and Ennio Morricone
, featuring layered vocal harmonies. "Pan Ddaw'r Wawr" features a "wheezing harmonium" and "perishing trumpet swirl", and has been compared to the music of XTC
, Ennio Morricone, and "psychedelic-era" Rolling Stones
. According to Rhys, the music of "Sarn Helen" was written to provide the soundtrack to a fictional journey, "cruising down the A5 to Rome
in a two-door chariot". The song has been called "evil personified" and dark, and has been likened to the sound of "an approaching Roman army". The "folky", eerily melancholic "Nythod Cacwn" has been compared to the Tori Amos
single "Cornflake Girl
". "Y Gwyneb Iau" has been described as a "brass-soaked" cross between the music of Herb Alpert
and The Doors
, featuring "maudlin horns and military beats", while Rhys has said that the song is a combination of Nick Drake
, Gladys Knight
, and The Velvet Underground
's third album
. "Ysbeidiau Heulog" and the album's opening track, "Drygioni", have been singled out as the only songs on Mwng that are "distinctly cheery". Both display glam rock
influences and have been compared to Roxy Music
, with Rhys describing "Ysbeidiau Heulog" as "old time pop music" with vocal harmonies that are a tribute to late 1960s groups such as the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band and Os Mutantes
.
: "If I listen to a Nirvana record I don't understand most of their lyrics cos he's just screaming away, but I just understand the frustration and the passion in his voice. I think equally people can get off on this record by just hitting on the mood of the song, or connecting to the mood of the song."
Several of the songs on Mwng feature quite solemn, personal lyrics, which reflect on a difficult few years for Rhys. The single, "Ysbeidiau Heulog", is about "looking back at a bad time which had the odd good moment", while "Pan Ddaw'r Wawr" deals with the death of rural communities. The singer claims to have wept—rather than sung—the album's last track, "Gwreiddiau Dwfn" / "Mawrth Oer Ar y Blaned Neifion", which features lyrics "so bleak it's almost comic" about "being rooted to a sad piece of land [...] being doomed to live somewhere and that's all you have and that's what you're stuck with". Rhys has described Datblygu
's "Y Teimlad" as being about "not knowing what love is or what love means." "Drygioni" is a song about "sleaze [...] about good versus evil, and a person's need for both", and "Y Gwyneb Iau" is a "moody song about war" whose title is a Welsh insult that translates into English as "Liverface". In contrast, "Nythod Cacwn" is a comedic song, based on an incident involving drummer
Dafydd Ieuan
being chased by bee
s after he disturbed a beehive
while attempting to build a bonfire on a beach. It features lyrics that were "made up on the spot" by Rhys. "Dacw Hi" is inspired by one of Rhys's former teachers who claimed she had eyes in the back of her head. "Sarn Helen" is about the decline of the Roman road of the same name
that was built between North and South Wales. "Ymaelodi Â'r Ymylon" is partly inspired by the ostracisation the band felt from some areas of the Welsh musical community due to their decision to sing in English on earlier albums. The track's lyrics feature the old Welsh idiom "y cythraul canu", which means "the demon in music" and refers to the friction this can create between people.
Mwng was eventually released on 15 May 2000 in the United Kingdom on CD
, cassette
, and vinyl
, and reached number 11 in the UK Albums Chart
. In the United States, Mwng was released on 20 June 2000 by Flydaddy, with a bonus CD entitled Mwng Bach (ˈmʊŋ ˈbɑːχ; English: Little Mane) featuring five Welsh language tracks: "Sali Mali", from the 1995 EP
Moog Droog
, and four songs which had originally been released in the UK as B-sides. This two-disc version of Mwng was reissued in the US in 2005 by XL Recordings
/Beggars Banquet US
. "Ysbeidiau Heulog" was released as the only single from the album, and failed to chart inside the UK Singles Top 75
. Although the Super Furry Animals had "no commercial expectations" for the album, Mwng became the first Welsh-language record to reach the Top 20 of the UK album charts, and has frequently been called the biggest-selling Welsh language album of all time. As a result of the record's success, Mwng was mentioned in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom by Plaid Cymru
's Elfyn Llwyd
, who called on his fellow politicians to congratulate the band on their "chart topping new album" and recognise Mwng as a celebration of a "new wave of confidence in the Welsh nation". Rhys dismissed Llwyd's statement, saying that the record is very personal and has "bugger all to do with a celebration".
denoting "universal acclaim". Allmusic called the album "terrific", and stated that the band's decision to release an all-Welsh
record was courageous and proof that they are "the great eccentric band of [their] time". Drowned in Sound
called the album "a poignant, dark, curling, bundle of songs", but expressed sadness that the band's usual "skewed play on words" are missed by all but Welsh speakers. In contrast, Rolling Stone
said that the album's "tight arrangements of melodic bliss" manage to cross the "Welsh-language barrier." Yahoo! Music
stated that Mwng cemented the Super Furry Animals' position as "figureheads of futuristic rock." The review went on to state that Mwng is "a theoretically disorientating and complex, but triumphantly audacious, experience", and said that initial reservations about not being able to understand the lyrics were lost when it became clear that Rhys was always "unintelligible [...] on record anyway".
Matt LeMay, reviewing Mwng on its initial release for Pitchfork
, described the album as being not as "fully realised or inventive" as 1999's Guerrilla
and said that, although the record highlights Rhys's talents for songwriting, the lack of any "electronic wizardry" from keyboard player Ciaran is disappointing. LeMay went on to state, however, that Mwng is "still [...] a damned enjoyable listen", and said that the record "couples cultural pride with unforgettable melodies in a way few bands have ever attempted". On the album's re-release in 2005, Pitchfork writer Marc Hogan stated that Mwng's "sinuous pop melodies and organic arrangements" make for an "exciting discovery", despite the lack of the band's "usual studio wizardry". Q
said that, while tracks such as "Ymaelodi Â'r Ymylon" and "Y Gwyneb Iau" are "strangely charming, chiming pop music with a twist", Mwng is hampered by its "bare-boned production". Mojo
, however, described the album as a "sensuous sonic journey" with an "organic, woody, mystical atmosphere" that compares favourably with the overly-produced sounds of the band's previous records. The magazine went on to suggest the album's only flaw is that it "manages to lose its way for a while [...] in the middle", thanks to the poor sequencing of its tracks.
Nude as the News stated that, although the record is "more reserved" than the band's previous releases, it "conjures up images of the Welsh winter in which the songs were recorded" and fits in with the group's "unique vision." Melody Maker
described the album as a "sad, beautiful record", but expressed concern that the Super Furry Animals had moved away from the pop of Guerilla and called on them to deliver another release in the vein of the band's 1996 single "The Man Don't Give a Fuck
". Nevertheless, Mwng was ranked number 24 in the magazine's "Albums of the year 2000" feature. Website SonicNet described the record as a slightly retro album that sees the Super Furry Animals "refashion the past into the present". Art Sperl, writing for Rock's Backpages
in December 2000, stated that although the album "[gathers] from the past", the band's influences are channelled "into a truly organic maverick pop". NME
described Mwng as an antidote to the "preservative pumped-junk" music that they felt was prevalent at the time of the album's release, and placed it at number nine in their album of the year list
for 2000, calling it the group's best record. The magazine also described the album as the most accessible Super Furry Animals release, despite its Welsh-language lyrics. Rhys has stated that he considers Mwng to be a "really pure record".
Accolades
unless otherwise stated.
Bonus disc, Mwng Bach, included with American CD release
All songs by Super Furry Animals.
Additional musicians
Recording personnel
Artwork
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: Mane) is the fourth studio album by Welsh rock band the Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band that lean towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. Since their formation in Cardiff, Wales in 1993, the band has consisted of Gruff Rhys , Huw Bunford , Guto Pryce , Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band...
, and the first by the group to have lyrics written entirely in the Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
. Mwng was released on 15 May 2000 on the band's own record label, Placid Casual
Placid Casual
Placid Casual is the Cardiff based record label set up in 1998 by Super Furry Animals.According to the label's website "Placid Casual retains an amateur status and an a&r policy of blatant nepotism...
, following the demise of their former label Creation
Creation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
. The album includes the single "Ysbeidiau Heulog
Ysbeidiau Heulog
"Ysbeidiau Heulog" is 2 minutes 51 seconds long and is in the key of B major. The track begins with an intro with a lead guitar melody, which plays twice, accompanied by drums, bass, distorted rhythm guitar and saxophone...
", and reached number 11 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
following its release—the first Welsh-language album to reach the Top 20. This success lead to Mwng being mentioned in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom by Elfyn Llwyd
Elfyn Llwyd
Elfyn Llwyd, PC is a Welsh barrister and politician. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, representing Meirionnydd Nant Conwy in the House of Commons from 1992 to 2010 and Dwyfor Meirionnydd since 2010...
, who described the record as a celebration of a "new wave of confidence in the Welsh nation".
The Super Furry Animals had attempted to make a hit record with a commercial sound with their previous release, 1999's Guerrilla
Guerrilla (album)
Guerrilla is the third studio album by by Welsh rock band the Super Furry Animals. The record was released on 14 June 1999 by Creation Records and peaked at number 10 in the UK Album Charts. Guerrilla was conceived as a commercial 'pop' album and was produced by the band themselves, as regular...
. The record's singles failed to hit the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, so the band decided to go on "pop strike". The group had written several Welsh-language songs during sessions for Guerrilla, and opted to release them as a coherent album rather than issue "token Welsh songs" as b-sides
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
—reasoning that, if their English pop songs were not going to be played on the radio they may as well release Welsh pop songs that would not get played on the radio. Singer Gruff Rhys
Gruff Rhys
Gruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, performing solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals who obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He also most recently formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008...
stated that, although the decision to release a Welsh language album was not an explicitly political statement, he does feel the record is a "stand against globalisation". Recording largely took place at Ofn Studios, Llanfaelog
Llanfaelog
Llanfaelog is a village in western Anglesey, Wales. It is situated some 13 kilometres south-east of Holyhead and 22 kilometres west of the city of Bangor.-Transport:...
, Anglesey in 1999, with the band sharing production
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
duties with Gorwel Owen
Gorwel Owen
Gorwel Owen is a Welsh producer and musician. He has worked with Datblygu, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Super Furry Animals and Hwyl Nofio. He is also a member of Pondman with his wife, the poet Fiona Owen.-Discography:...
. The "lo-fi
Low fidelity
Low fidelity or lo-fi describes a sound recording which contains technical flaws such as distortion, hum, or background noise, or limited frequency response...
" album cost just to make, in contrast with the "excessive expense" of Guerrilla, and was recorded almost entirely live.
Mwng is an understated rock record inspired by the band's love of "Anglo-American pop culture of the 60s, 70s and 80s." The album has a "wintery persona" that is best summed up by the track "Ymaelodi Â'r Ymylon". Rhys feels that the record marks the first time the band managed to escape their influences and clearly establish their own sound. The album's lyrics deal with a diverse set of subjects, such as the death of rural communities, old school teachers, and Sarn Helen
Sarn Helen
right|thumb|250px|A section of Sarn Helen near Betws-y-coed.Sarn Helen was a Roman road in Wales, running from Aberconwy in the north to Carmarthen in the south.It was some 160 miles in length...
(a Roman road built in Wales). Rhys has stated that many of Mwngs songs are highly personal reflections on what were difficult years for him. Rhys has also expressed the belief that the album is accessible to non-Welsh speakers, as they can pick up on the mood of the songs even if they cannot understand the lyrics. Critical reception was generally positive, although some reviewers criticised the album for its "bare-boned production". Mwng was included in both the Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
and NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
"Best album of 2000" lists, with the latter calling the record the band's best release.
Origins and recording
The Super Furry Animals made a conscious decision to make a commercial-sounding "pop jukebox" record with 1999's GuerrillaGuerrilla (album)
Guerrilla is the third studio album by by Welsh rock band the Super Furry Animals. The record was released on 14 June 1999 by Creation Records and peaked at number 10 in the UK Album Charts. Guerrilla was conceived as a commercial 'pop' album and was produced by the band themselves, as regular...
. The band had written the album's intended singles with the hope that they would become "radio hits
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
", and were disappointed with the limited success they received: the first single, "Northern Lites
Northern Lites
"Northern Lites" is the ninth single by Super Furry Animals. It was the first single to be taken from the Guerrilla album and reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart after its release on 10 May 1999. The song was written by singer Gruff Rhys and was inspired by the El Niño phenomenon...
", charted just outside the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at number 11, while subsequent releases "Fire in My Heart
Fire in My Heart
"Fire in My Heart" is the tenth single by Welsh rock band the Super Furry Animals. It was the second single to be taken from the group's 1999 album Guerrilla, and reached number 25 in the UK Singles Chart after its release on 9 August 1999...
" and "Do or Die
Do or Die (song)
"Do or Die" is the eleventh single by Super Furry Animals. It was the last single to be taken from the Guerrilla album and was the band's last release for Creation Records. The track reached number 20 in the UK Singles Chart after its release on 17 January 2000...
" reached numbers 25 and 20, respectively. The band blamed their record label, Creation
Creation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
, for the relative failure of the singles—particularly "Northern Lites", which they felt "could have been bigger" if the label had produced a better music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
and conducted a more successful marketing campaign. As a result, the group became tired of playing "chart games" and went on "pop strike", deciding to release music just "for the joy of it", with no agenda.
The Super Furry Animals had written several Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
songs while they were working on Guerrilla and decided that, rather than releasing "token Welsh songs" as b-sides
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
and album tracks, they would issue them together as a coherent record. These tracks would be augmented by "Dacw Hi", a song written by Rhys in 1987 that he had never "had a chance to do before", and a cover of the track "Y Teimlad", which the group wanted to record because of their admiration for Welsh language band Datblygu
Datblygu
Datblygu was an experimental Welsh rock group in the 1980s and early to mid-1990s, now regarded as a catalyst of the new wave of Welsh rock in the early '80s.-History:...
(who originally wrote and recorded the song in 1984). According to Rhys, the Super Furry Animals reasoned that, if their English language pop songs were not getting played on the radio, they may as well make a Welsh language album featuring songs that would not be played on the radio. Rhys has said that, although the decision to release a Welsh language album was not "an explicitly political statement", he does see Mwng as a "stand against globalisation", railing against "advanced capitalism" and the lack of interest shown in minority cultures by large companies who "just want to make money". Rhys has also stated that his boredom with writing songs in English inspired him to write Mwng, and that it is a very personal album, rather than a celebration of Welsh culture.
The "lo-fi
Low fidelity
Low fidelity or lo-fi describes a sound recording which contains technical flaws such as distortion, hum, or background noise, or limited frequency response...
" Mwng was recorded over two weeks in late 1999, and—in contrast with the "excessive expense" of Guerilla—cost just to make. The band chose Gorwel Owen
Gorwel Owen
Gorwel Owen is a Welsh producer and musician. He has worked with Datblygu, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Super Furry Animals and Hwyl Nofio. He is also a member of Pondman with his wife, the poet Fiona Owen.-Discography:...
as co-producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, having previously worked with him on their first two albums, 1996's Fuzzy Logic
Fuzzy Logic (album)
Fuzzy Logic is the debut album by the Super Furry Animals. It was listed in Q Magazine's Best British Albums Ever in July 2004, and in the same magazine's Top 10 Britpop Albums Ever in December 1996 and features in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die...
and 1997's Radiator
Radiator (album)
Radiator is the second album by the Super Furry Animals. It peaked at #8 on the UK charts. In 2005, it was reissued with a bonus disc of other tracks from the time....
. The majority of Mwng was recorded with Owen at Ofn Studios in Llanfaelog
Llanfaelog
Llanfaelog is a village in western Anglesey, Wales. It is situated some 13 kilometres south-east of Holyhead and 22 kilometres west of the city of Bangor.-Transport:...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. According to Rhys, the band had to play in separate rooms to avoid the sound of one instrument bleeding onto the track of another during recording due to Ofn's small size. "Y Gwyneb Iau" and "Ysbeidiau Heulog
Ysbeidiau Heulog
"Ysbeidiau Heulog" is 2 minutes 51 seconds long and is in the key of B major. The track begins with an intro with a lead guitar melody, which plays twice, accompanied by drums, bass, distorted rhythm guitar and saxophone...
" were recorded at Famous Studios in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, and were engineered
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
by Greg Haver, while "Y Teimlad" was recorded at Real World Studios
Real World Studios
Real World Studios is a residential recording studio in Box, Wiltshire, England associated with the Real World Records Ltd. record label founded by rock musician Peter Gabriel...
, Box
Box, Wiltshire
Box is a village located in Wiltshire, England, about east of Bath and west of Chippenham. It is quite a large parish with several settlements, apart from the village of Box, within its boundaries....
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, and was engineered by Michael Brennan, Jr. "Sarn Helen" was recorded and engineered by keyboardist Cian Ciaran
Cian Ciaran
Cian Ciaran is the keyboard player in the band, Super Furry Animals.Ciaran is the brother of Dafydd Ieuan . He plays keyboards, electronics and occasional guitar, drums, steel drum and vocals...
in his living room. Overdubs
Overdubbing
Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance....
for all songs were added at Ofn with Owen, who also mixed
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
the album at the studio along with the Super Furry Animals. Songs were recorded almost entirely live, with the band wanting to make a "really immediate record" as a reaction against the drawn out recording sessions for Guerilla and 1997's Radiator
Radiator (album)
Radiator is the second album by the Super Furry Animals. It peaked at #8 on the UK charts. In 2005, it was reissued with a bonus disc of other tracks from the time....
, which had taken several months and proved frustrating for the group. The version of "Nythod Cacwn" that appears on the album is the original demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
, with Rhys on drums. The band felt that, although the demo did not sound very professional, there was a warmth to it that would be impossible to recreate were the group to record the song again. The album's title translates into English as "Mane". According to Rhys, the band did not have the mane of a particular animal in mind, but felt it could be "an extension of a Super Furry Animal".
Musical style
Mwng is a "lo-fi", raw, and understated record of rock songs, "stripped of the bleeps and squelches" that appear on the Super Furry Animals' other releases. Although the album's lyrics are in Welsh, singer Rhys has said that "musically there's nothing Welsh about it at all", going on to state that the record's only real Welsh influences are DatblyguDatblygu
Datblygu was an experimental Welsh rock group in the 1980s and early to mid-1990s, now regarded as a catalyst of the new wave of Welsh rock in the early '80s.-History:...
(the writers of "Y Teimlad") and Meic Stevens
Meic Stevens
Meic Mortimer Stevens is a Welsh singer-songwriter often referred to as "the Welsh Dylan" and has been compared favourably with musicians like Syd Barrett. Stevens's songs have a mystical, faintly psychedelic flavour, and are mostly sung in his native Welsh language...
. Instead, the record is a tribute to the band's obsession with "Anglo-American pop culture of the 60s, 70s and 80s", and is an album that "can be understood on a musical level anywhere in the Westernised world" regardless of whether or not the listener can understand the lyrics.
Bassist
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Guto Pryce
Guto Pryce
Guto Dafydd Pryce is a bass guitar player in the band Super Furry Animals.The name Guto is pronounced in Welsh....
said that he feels Mwng "sounds like an album" rather than a collection of individual songs, due to the fact it was recorded live and over a short period of time. According to Rhys, Mwng marks a refining of the group's sound, with the band having "sieved off" their influences to truly sound like the Super Furry Animals for the first time. Rhys has said that, although keyboardist Cian Ciaran did not explore "digital frontiers" on the album, he was still able to "deconstruct songs", even when playing the harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
. The band had previously thought of the saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
as "the instrument of Satan", but actually used one on this record for the first time, reasoning that it was appropriate as Mwng is a "darkish album". Rhys described the album as the band's "monochrome" record, stating that it is "less dressed up" than their other releases, and that it is a "good introduction to [the group's] songwriting."
Rhys said that "if there's a song that sums up the album in terms of mood", perhaps it is "Ymaelodi Â'r Ymylon", typifying its "wintery persona". The track has been described by Rhys as a celebration of the band's love of The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
, Love
Love (band)
Love was an American rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were led by singer/songwriter Arthur Lee and lead guitarist Johnny Echols...
, and Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
, featuring layered vocal harmonies. "Pan Ddaw'r Wawr" features a "wheezing harmonium" and "perishing trumpet swirl", and has been compared to the music of XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
, Ennio Morricone, and "psychedelic-era" Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
. According to Rhys, the music of "Sarn Helen" was written to provide the soundtrack to a fictional journey, "cruising down the A5 to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in a two-door chariot". The song has been called "evil personified" and dark, and has been likened to the sound of "an approaching Roman army". The "folky", eerily melancholic "Nythod Cacwn" has been compared to the Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
single "Cornflake Girl
Cornflake Girl
"Cornflake Girl" is a song by American singer-songwriter and musician Tori Amos. It was released as the first single from her second studio album Under the Pink. It was released on January 10, 1994 by EastWest Records in the UK and on May 5 by Atlantic Records in North America...
". "Y Gwyneb Iau" has been described as a "brass-soaked" cross between the music of Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
and The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
, featuring "maudlin horns and military beats", while Rhys has said that the song is a combination of Nick Drake
Nick Drake
Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake was an English singer-songwriter and musician. Though he is best known for his sombre guitar based songs, Drake was also proficient at piano, clarinet and saxophone...
, Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight , known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian, and author...
, and The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
's third album
The Velvet Underground (album)
The Velvet Underground is the third album by American rock group The Velvet Underground. It was their first record to feature Doug Yule, John Cale's replacement. It was recorded in 1968 at TTG Studios in Hollywood, California. This album's softer sound marks a radical shift in approach in style...
. "Ysbeidiau Heulog" and the album's opening track, "Drygioni", have been singled out as the only songs on Mwng that are "distinctly cheery". Both display glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
influences and have been compared to Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
, with Rhys describing "Ysbeidiau Heulog" as "old time pop music" with vocal harmonies that are a tribute to late 1960s groups such as the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band and Os Mutantes
Os Mutantes
Os Mutantes ) are an influential Brazilian psychedelic rock band that were linked with the Tropicália movement of the late 1960s. It was formed by two brothers and a vocalist, but has gone through numerous personnel changes throughout its existence...
.
Lyrical themes
Lyrically, the album deals with subjects as diverse as "isolated communities, old school teachers and Roman roads", but maintains a "warped coherency". According to Rhys, Mwngs lyrics—which he considers to be some of his best—were written "very simply" and convey simple messages. The singer made an effort to be economical with his words, not communicating a lot of information with them. Rhys feels that the album is accessible to non-Welsh speakers, citing his own experience of listening to NirvanaNirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
: "If I listen to a Nirvana record I don't understand most of their lyrics cos he's just screaming away, but I just understand the frustration and the passion in his voice. I think equally people can get off on this record by just hitting on the mood of the song, or connecting to the mood of the song."
Several of the songs on Mwng feature quite solemn, personal lyrics, which reflect on a difficult few years for Rhys. The single, "Ysbeidiau Heulog", is about "looking back at a bad time which had the odd good moment", while "Pan Ddaw'r Wawr" deals with the death of rural communities. The singer claims to have wept—rather than sung—the album's last track, "Gwreiddiau Dwfn" / "Mawrth Oer Ar y Blaned Neifion", which features lyrics "so bleak it's almost comic" about "being rooted to a sad piece of land [...] being doomed to live somewhere and that's all you have and that's what you're stuck with". Rhys has described Datblygu
Datblygu
Datblygu was an experimental Welsh rock group in the 1980s and early to mid-1990s, now regarded as a catalyst of the new wave of Welsh rock in the early '80s.-History:...
's "Y Teimlad" as being about "not knowing what love is or what love means." "Drygioni" is a song about "sleaze [...] about good versus evil, and a person's need for both", and "Y Gwyneb Iau" is a "moody song about war" whose title is a Welsh insult that translates into English as "Liverface". In contrast, "Nythod Cacwn" is a comedic song, based on an incident involving drummer
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Dafydd Ieuan
Dafydd Ieuan
Dafydd Ieuan is the drummer with the band, Super Furry Animals and The Peth. He currently lives in Cardiff with his wife Debbie, and their two children Cai and Lleucu....
being chased by bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s after he disturbed a beehive
Beehive
A beehive is a structure in which bees live and raise their young.Beehive may also refer to:Buildings and locations:* Bee Hive, Alabama, a neighborhood in Alabama* Beehive , a wing of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings...
while attempting to build a bonfire on a beach. It features lyrics that were "made up on the spot" by Rhys. "Dacw Hi" is inspired by one of Rhys's former teachers who claimed she had eyes in the back of her head. "Sarn Helen" is about the decline of the Roman road of the same name
Sarn Helen
right|thumb|250px|A section of Sarn Helen near Betws-y-coed.Sarn Helen was a Roman road in Wales, running from Aberconwy in the north to Carmarthen in the south.It was some 160 miles in length...
that was built between North and South Wales. "Ymaelodi Â'r Ymylon" is partly inspired by the ostracisation the band felt from some areas of the Welsh musical community due to their decision to sing in English on earlier albums. The track's lyrics feature the old Welsh idiom "y cythraul canu", which means "the demon in music" and refers to the friction this can create between people.
Release
The Super Furry Animals had originally intended to issue Mwng in March 2000, but the release was delayed due to the demise of the band's UK record label, Creation. The group have variously stated that Creation originally planned to issue Mwng, but allowed the group to buy the rights from them for around , and that the company "didn't want to take" the record in the first place. The band decided to put the album out on their own label, Placid Casual, as they were worried that a label that did not understand the group might do something "horrific", such as putting a Welsh flag on the cover. The "Mwng" logo on the cover is based on the logo for MixmagMixmag
Mixmag is a British dance music and clubbing magazine. It styles itself as "the world's biggest selling dance music magazine", with an Audit Bureau of Circulations audited circulation of approximately 21,250...
Mwng was eventually released on 15 May 2000 in the United Kingdom on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
, and vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, and reached number 11 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. In the United States, Mwng was released on 20 June 2000 by Flydaddy, with a bonus CD entitled Mwng Bach (ˈmʊŋ ˈbɑːχ; English: Little Mane) featuring five Welsh language tracks: "Sali Mali", from the 1995 EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Moog Droog
Moog Droog
Moog Droog is the second EP by the Super Furry Animals. It was originally released in October 1995 by the Welsh label Ankst Records, and reissued in May 1997...
, and four songs which had originally been released in the UK as B-sides. This two-disc version of Mwng was reissued in the US in 2005 by XL Recordings
XL Recordings
XL Recordings is a British independent record label owned by Richard Russell. It originated as a 1989 offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records.Though only releasing an average of six albums a year, XL Recordings has worked with The Prodigy, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., Vampire...
/Beggars Banquet US
Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels...
. "Ysbeidiau Heulog" was released as the only single from the album, and failed to chart inside the UK Singles Top 75
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. Although the Super Furry Animals had "no commercial expectations" for the album, Mwng became the first Welsh-language record to reach the Top 20 of the UK album charts, and has frequently been called the biggest-selling Welsh language album of all time. As a result of the record's success, Mwng was mentioned in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom by Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
's Elfyn Llwyd
Elfyn Llwyd
Elfyn Llwyd, PC is a Welsh barrister and politician. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, representing Meirionnydd Nant Conwy in the House of Commons from 1992 to 2010 and Dwyfor Meirionnydd since 2010...
, who called on his fellow politicians to congratulate the band on their "chart topping new album" and recognise Mwng as a celebration of a "new wave of confidence in the Welsh nation". Rhys dismissed Llwyd's statement, saying that the record is very personal and has "bugger all to do with a celebration".
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 15 May 2000 | Placid Casual Placid Casual Placid Casual is the Cardiff based record label set up in 1998 by Super Furry Animals.According to the label's website "Placid Casual retains an amateur status and an a&r policy of blatant nepotism... |
Compact disc Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
PLC03CD |
| Cassette Compact Cassette The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel... |
PLC03MC | |||
| Vinyl record Gramophone record A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove... |
PLC03LP | |||
| United States | 20 June 2000 | Flydaddy | Compact disc | FLY 040-2 |
Critical reception
Mwng received generally positive reviews from critics, with a score of 84 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
denoting "universal acclaim". Allmusic called the album "terrific", and stated that the band's decision to release an all-Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
record was courageous and proof that they are "the great eccentric band of [their] time". Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
called the album "a poignant, dark, curling, bundle of songs", but expressed sadness that the band's usual "skewed play on words" are missed by all but Welsh speakers. In contrast, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
said that the album's "tight arrangements of melodic bliss" manage to cross the "Welsh-language barrier." Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...
stated that Mwng cemented the Super Furry Animals' position as "figureheads of futuristic rock." The review went on to state that Mwng is "a theoretically disorientating and complex, but triumphantly audacious, experience", and said that initial reservations about not being able to understand the lyrics were lost when it became clear that Rhys was always "unintelligible [...] on record anyway".
Matt LeMay, reviewing Mwng on its initial release for Pitchfork
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
, described the album as being not as "fully realised or inventive" as 1999's Guerrilla
Guerrilla (album)
Guerrilla is the third studio album by by Welsh rock band the Super Furry Animals. The record was released on 14 June 1999 by Creation Records and peaked at number 10 in the UK Album Charts. Guerrilla was conceived as a commercial 'pop' album and was produced by the band themselves, as regular...
and said that, although the record highlights Rhys's talents for songwriting, the lack of any "electronic wizardry" from keyboard player Ciaran is disappointing. LeMay went on to state, however, that Mwng is "still [...] a damned enjoyable listen", and said that the record "couples cultural pride with unforgettable melodies in a way few bands have ever attempted". On the album's re-release in 2005, Pitchfork writer Marc Hogan stated that Mwng's "sinuous pop melodies and organic arrangements" make for an "exciting discovery", despite the lack of the band's "usual studio wizardry". Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
said that, while tracks such as "Ymaelodi Â'r Ymylon" and "Y Gwyneb Iau" are "strangely charming, chiming pop music with a twist", Mwng is hampered by its "bare-boned production". Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
, however, described the album as a "sensuous sonic journey" with an "organic, woody, mystical atmosphere" that compares favourably with the overly-produced sounds of the band's previous records. The magazine went on to suggest the album's only flaw is that it "manages to lose its way for a while [...] in the middle", thanks to the poor sequencing of its tracks.
Nude as the News stated that, although the record is "more reserved" than the band's previous releases, it "conjures up images of the Welsh winter in which the songs were recorded" and fits in with the group's "unique vision." Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
described the album as a "sad, beautiful record", but expressed concern that the Super Furry Animals had moved away from the pop of Guerilla and called on them to deliver another release in the vein of the band's 1996 single "The Man Don't Give a Fuck
The Man Don't Give a Fuck
"The Man Don't Give a Fuck" is a song by Super Furry Animals, twice released as a single by the group.It is based round a sample from the Steely Dan song "Show Biz Kids" - "You know they don't give a fuck about anybody else"...
". Nevertheless, Mwng was ranked number 24 in the magazine's "Albums of the year 2000" feature. Website SonicNet described the record as a slightly retro album that sees the Super Furry Animals "refashion the past into the present". Art Sperl, writing for Rock's Backpages
Rock's Backpages
Rock's Backpages is an online archive of music journalism, sourced from freelance contributions to the music and mainstream press from the 1950s to the present day. The articles are full text and searchable, and all are reproduced with the permission of the copyright holders. The database was...
in December 2000, stated that although the album "[gathers] from the past", the band's influences are channelled "into a truly organic maverick pop". NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
described Mwng as an antidote to the "preservative pumped-junk" music that they felt was prevalent at the time of the album's release, and placed it at number nine in their album of the year list
NME album of the year
Every December, British music magazine NME compiles a list of what it considers the best albums of the year. It was started in 1974. The list is usually published in one of the issues sold before Christmas – in 2006 it was published in the issue for December the 9th...
for 2000, calling it the group's best record. The magazine also described the album as the most accessible Super Furry Animals release, despite its Welsh-language lyrics. Rhys has stated that he considers Mwng to be a "really pure record".
Accolades
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Rank | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melody Maker Melody Maker Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody... |
United Kingdom | Albums of the year 2000 | 24 | 2000 |
| NME NME The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles... |
Albums of the year 2000 NME album of the year Every December, British music magazine NME compiles a list of what it considers the best albums of the year. It was started in 1974. The list is usually published in one of the issues sold before Christmas – in 2006 it was published in the issue for December the 9th... |
11 |
Track listing
All songs by Super Furry AnimalsSuper Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band that lean towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. Since their formation in Cardiff, Wales in 1993, the band has consisted of Gruff Rhys , Huw Bunford , Guto Pryce , Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band...
unless otherwise stated.
- "Drygioni" (EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: "Mischievousness") – 1:23 - "Ymaelodi Â'r Ymylon" ("Joining with the Peripheries") – 2:57
- "Y Gwyneb Iau" ("The Younger Face" or "The Liverface" or "The Thursday Face" or "The Jupiter Face") – 3:54
- "Dacw Hi" ("There She Is") – 4:18
- "Nythod Cacwn" ("Bee Nests") – 3:46
- "Pan Ddaw'r Wawr" ("When The Dawn Breaks") – 4:29
- "Ysbeidiau HeulogYsbeidiau Heulog"Ysbeidiau Heulog" is 2 minutes 51 seconds long and is in the key of B major. The track begins with an intro with a lead guitar melody, which plays twice, accompanied by drums, bass, distorted rhythm guitar and saxophone...
" ("Sunny Intervals") – 2:51 - "Y Teimlad" ("The Feeling") (David R. EdwardsDatblyguDatblygu was an experimental Welsh rock group in the 1980s and early to mid-1990s, now regarded as a catalyst of the new wave of Welsh rock in the early '80s.-History:...
) – 4:40 - "Sarn Helen" (named after the Roman roadSarn Helenright|thumb|250px|A section of Sarn Helen near Betws-y-coed.Sarn Helen was a Roman road in Wales, running from Aberconwy in the north to Carmarthen in the south.It was some 160 miles in length...
) – 4:18 - "Gwreiddiau Dwfn" / "Mawrth Oer Ar y Blaned Neifion" ("Deep Roots" / "A Cold March on the Planet Neptune") – 7:57
Bonus disc, Mwng Bach, included with American CD release
All songs by Super Furry Animals.
- "Cryndod Yn Dy Lais" (English: "Trembling in Your Voice") – 2:48
- "Trons Mr Urdd" ("Mr Urdd's Pants") – 4:37
- "Calimero" (named after the Italian cartoon characterCalimerois an Italian/Japanese cartoon about a charming, but hapless anthropomorphized cartoon chicken; the only black one in a family of yellow chickens. He wears half of his egg shell still on his head...
) – 2:23 - "Sali Mali" (named after the Welsh children's book and television characterSali MaliSali Mali is a popular Welsh children's book and television character, originally created by author Mary Vaughan Jones and illustrated by Rowena Wyn Jones during the 1960s and 1970s. Many Welsh-speaking children learnt to read by reading Sali Mali books....
) – 4:35 - "(Nid) Hon Yw'r Gân Sy'n Mynd I Achub Yr Iaith" ("This (Isn't) the Song That's Going to Save the Language") – 3:53
Personnel
Band- Gruff RhysGruff RhysGruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, performing solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals who obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He also most recently formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008...
– lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
on "Nythod Cacwn" - Huw BunfordHuw BunfordHuw "Bunf" Bunford is the guitarist in the rock band, Super Furry Animals.-Biography:...
– lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, backing vocals - Guto PryceGuto PryceGuto Dafydd Pryce is a bass guitar player in the band Super Furry Animals.The name Guto is pronounced in Welsh....
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Cian CiaranCian CiaranCian Ciaran is the keyboard player in the band, Super Furry Animals.Ciaran is the brother of Dafydd Ieuan . He plays keyboards, electronics and occasional guitar, drums, steel drum and vocals...
– keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, harmoniumHarmoniumA harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
, backing vocals - Dafydd IeuanDafydd IeuanDafydd Ieuan is the drummer with the band, Super Furry Animals and The Peth. He currently lives in Cardiff with his wife Debbie, and their two children Cai and Lleucu....
– drums, backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Gary Alesbrook – trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
- Matt Sibley – saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
- Can Pierce – clapsClappingA clap is the sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often in a constant drone to express appreciation or approval , but also in rhythm to match sounds in music and dance...
- Llyr Pierce – claps
- Gorwel OwenGorwel OwenGorwel Owen is a Welsh producer and musician. He has worked with Datblygu, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Super Furry Animals and Hwyl Nofio. He is also a member of Pondman with his wife, the poet Fiona Owen.-Discography:...
– Stylophone
Recording personnel
- Super Furry Animals – productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
, masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced... - Gorwel Owen – production, engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, mixing (Ofn Studios) - Greg Haver – engineering (Famous Studios)
- Michael Brennan Jnr. – engineering (Real World StudiosReal World StudiosReal World Studios is a residential recording studio in Box, Wiltshire, England associated with the Real World Records Ltd. record label founded by rock musician Peter Gabriel...
) - Stuart Hawkes – mastering (Metropolis)
Artwork
- Pete FowlerPete FowlerPete Fowler is a Welsh artist best known for his artwork for the Welsh band Super Furry Animals. He is a freelance illustrator and "monster creator" inspired by Japanese art, folklore, myths, psychedelia and super nature...
– illustration - John Mark James – design
Album chart position
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
11 |
External links
- Mwng.co.uk explanation of lyrics in English on partially working official album site