Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author.
26 Facts About Gruff Rhys
2.
Gruff Rhys formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip.
3.
Gruff Rhys won the 2011 Welsh Music Prize for his album Hotel Shampoo, which was followed up by American Interior in 2014, accompanied by a film, a book and a mobile app.
4.
Gruff Rhys is considered a figurehead of the era known as Cool Cymru.
5.
Gruff Rhys was educated at Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen, Bethesda, Gwynedd, North Wales and was awarded a degree in art at Manchester Metropolitan University.
6.
Once his brother left home, Gruff Rhys only had access to a right-handed guitar.
7.
Today, Gruff Rhys still plays left-handed on an upside down right-handed guitar.
8.
Gruff Rhys pointed out that all the songs that night had been in English.
9.
On 24 January 2005, Gruff Rhys released his first solo album, Yr Atal Genhedlaeth, on the Placid Casual label.
10.
On 4 March 2011, it was announced that Gruff Rhys would be playing at Glastonbury 2011.
11.
In May 2014, Gruff Rhys released his new work, American Interior, a combined project of an album, a film, a hardback book and an app for mobile devices.
12.
From December 2015 to January 2016, Gruff Rhys fronted a co-production with National Theatre Wales titled "The Insatiable, Inflatable Candylion", featuring songs from Candylion and several new tracks.
13.
The musicians appearing with Gruff Rhys were Lisa Jen Brown, Sweet Baboo, Emma Daman Thomas and Kliph Scurlock.
14.
On 21 April 2016, Gruff Rhys released a new song entitled "I Love EU", a song praising the European Union ahead of the EU Referendum on 23 June 2016.
15.
Gruff Rhys released his fifth album, entitled Babelsberg, on 8 June 2018.
16.
In 2007 Gruff Rhys launched a new electro-pop collaborative project with Boom Bip under the collective moniker Neon Neon.
17.
Gruff Rhys has featured on the Myspace remix track "I'm Not Lying" by Goldie Lookin' Chain.
18.
Gruff Rhys eats carrots on the Misty's Big Adventure album Television's People, continuing the vegetable relay started by Brian Wilson on Smile.
19.
Gruff Rhys collaborated with influential hip-hop group De La Soul on a Gorillaz track titled Superfast Jellyfish.
20.
On 17 December 2011, Gruff Rhys joined Manic Street Preachers on stage during the band's 38 song A Night of National Treasures one-off live event at the O2 Arena in London to provide the lead vocals for the song Let Robeson Sing.
21.
In 2011 Gruff Rhys composed the music for the successful iOS and Android game Whale Trail which has been an iTunes game of the week.
22.
In 2016 Gruff Rhys composed and sang "I Love EU" to support the Remain campaign in the UK European Membership Referendum.
23.
In 2014, Gruff Rhys composed the film score for Set Fire to the Stars about Dylan Thomas and starring Celyn Jones and Elijah Wood.
24.
In September 2015, Gruff Rhys won the 2015 BAFTA Cymru award for Original Music for the score.
25.
Gruff Rhys formed ieie Productions with his partner Catryn Ramasut in 2006 to produce film and television projects.
26.
In July 2015, Gruff Rhys received an Honorary Fellowship from Bangor University.