0:00:00 > 0:00:00- 888
0:00:00 > 0:00:02- 888- - 888
0:00:08 > 0:00:11- Rarely are you given - the opportunity to witness...
0:00:12 > 0:00:17- ..the development of a work of art - from its inception.
0:00:17 > 0:00:23- The Super Furry Animals is a group - of lively and incredible musicians.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26- A pop group in the most - sweeping description of the word.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31- A beast filled with imagination, - creative and musical ability.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35- Their intention is to compose - a film soundtrack.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37- The film doesn't exist yet...
0:00:37 > 0:00:40- ..but it will explore - the essence and sense...
0:00:41 > 0:00:45- ..of the mass of water, - fire and rock that we call Earth.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52- To reach the summit - of this ambitious mountain...
0:00:52 > 0:00:54- ..they will need assistance.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59- That aid comes from the prominent - musical Sherpa - Charles Hazlewood...
0:01:00 > 0:01:04- ..principal conductor - of the National Concert Orchestra.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10- Good to see you. Are you well?
0:01:10 > 0:01:16- The Super Furries visit Hazlewood's - home for the first time...
0:01:16 > 0:01:21- ..near the ancient and mythical - Avalon in south-west England.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25- Hey, man, how are you? - Good to see you.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29- Hazlewood is a musical explorer - - a modern-day Madog...
0:01:29 > 0:01:33- ..in a ship - crafted from sound, music and song.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41- To aid the discussions...
0:01:42 > 0:01:46- ..he shares exotic spices and fiery - water amongst the band members.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50- Have some - it's really good. - It's like petrol.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55- The Super Furries have put - their faith in Charles for this job.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04- PIANO MUSIC
0:02:09 > 0:02:11- In the sense - of a movie soundtrack...
0:02:12 > 0:02:14- ..you can rearrange it - and slow it down.
0:02:15 > 0:02:20- There's one big idea which spends - the whole film being expressed.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25- Once Upon A Time In The West - - there's only three tracks.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27- Yeah, God, and Vertigo.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30- It's like four notes.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33- That's all it is - the whole film.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35- Played on different tempos.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38- And different harmonies - morphing around.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42- You could find a central theme...
0:02:42 > 0:02:44- ..and then play it in gunpowder...
0:02:46 > 0:02:49- ..and strings.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54- To create an orchestral soundtrack - for an imaginary film...
0:02:54 > 0:02:57- ..they need to assemble - a real orchestra.
0:03:04 > 0:03:10- Charles assembles a group - of gifted classical musicians...
0:03:10 > 0:03:15- ..each one a member of the country's - most highly renowned orchestras.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18- Spain
0:03:25 > 0:03:29- Curiously, - since the Super Furry Animals...
0:03:29 > 0:03:33- ..have spent so much time together - over the years...
0:03:34 > 0:03:39- ..they've developed an almost - invisible synchronized energy.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44- It allows ideas - and inspiration to flow...
0:03:44 > 0:03:47- ..from one member to another.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05- It will be difficult - to find a way...
0:04:05 > 0:04:09- ..to share the invisible flow - with musical strangers.
0:04:09 > 0:04:14- Despite the remarkable creativity - of the classical musicians...
0:04:14 > 0:04:19- ..the balance of this journey - will be fragile from the outset.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24- The first sessions will be an - attempt to find the common ground.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29- Unfortunately, not everyone speaks - the same musical language.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34- The band discusses verses, choruses, - bridges and middle eights...
0:04:34 > 0:04:38- ..the essential building blocks - of pop music.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43- The classical interlopers - discuss the same elements...
0:04:43 > 0:04:47- ..with terms more classical - in origin - A1, B1 and so on.
0:04:56 > 0:04:57- Where did you get it?
0:04:57 > 0:04:59- Where did you get it?- - In a furniture shop.
0:04:59 > 0:05:00- A furniture shop!
0:05:11 > 0:05:13- BIRDSONG
0:05:20 > 0:05:23- Italian horror. Italian horror.
0:05:24 > 0:05:25- Zoe started doing it.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27- Zoe started doing it.- - She's started?
0:05:29 > 0:05:32- Cian tries - to catch the notes he needs...
0:05:32 > 0:05:36- ..but like butterflies, - they flutter away from his grasp.
0:05:37 > 0:05:38- You started mimicking it.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44- It seems the classical interlopers - are chained to their training...
0:05:45 > 0:05:47- ..unable to grasp his simple vision.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50- Sneering.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52- That's the face.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03- It sounds like - the death of Buster Keaton to me.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12- UPBEAT ELECTRIC GUITAR MUSIC
0:06:32 > 0:06:34- EERIE HUMMING
0:07:16 > 0:07:19- It's different every time - - the gaps between every beat.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22- A different chord every time.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30- The most useful word is "iawn".
0:07:30 > 0:07:31- What's no?
0:07:31 > 0:07:33- What's no?- - Na.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35- "Iawn" means OK.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41- We can use it as an answer - or a question.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43- Iawn? Iawn.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47- Iawn? Iawn. Iawn!
0:07:47 > 0:07:49- Depending on your mood.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52- You can get it down to... uh!
0:07:52 > 0:07:57- Once you get fluent, you can - get it down to almost nothing.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04- Voyage
0:08:05 > 0:08:07- PIANO AND STRINGS
0:08:23 > 0:08:24- # Ba-ba-ba-ba #
0:08:25 > 0:08:26- OK.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32- Cian, that's that. - We've got your left hand here...
0:08:32 > 0:08:38- As the old adage goes, - nobody trips over mountains.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41- It is the small pebble - that causes you to stumble.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46- Pass all the pebbles in your path...
0:08:47 > 0:08:51- ..and you will find - you have crossed the mountain.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03- The language differences between the - band and the classical musicians...
0:09:04 > 0:09:07- ..are but pebbles - on this journey upwards.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10- Aren't they?
0:09:10 > 0:09:13- The drums are in and it starts - to get more rhythmical.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15- We need that quaver thing.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05- Bunf tap-tap-tapping the dulcimer...
0:10:05 > 0:10:08- ..wooden birds hop across a drum...
0:10:08 > 0:10:13- ..Italian horror films - and the death of Buster Keaton.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16- Signposts to guide the musicians...
0:10:17 > 0:10:20- ..to a destination not yet known...
0:10:21 > 0:10:23- ..as Cian's raindrops fall.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26- Cian's raindrops fall.
0:10:29 > 0:10:30- .
0:10:32 > 0:10:32- 888
0:10:32 > 0:10:34- 888- - 888
0:10:40 > 0:10:43- Gradually, - in this new musical galaxy...
0:10:43 > 0:10:46- ..the paths - of the Super Furry Animals...
0:10:46 > 0:10:49- ..and the classical interlopers - begin to merge.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01- PSYCHO-ESQUE VIOLIN
0:11:01 > 0:11:03- As they work on the track Killer...
0:11:04 > 0:11:08- ..the focus is on Gruff's remark - about Italian horror films.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13- They start - to forge a unified sound...
0:11:14 > 0:11:18- ..turning the rehearsal room - into a cacophony of amazing sound.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34- # Once I was a killer
0:11:36 > 0:11:38- # I killed time
0:11:40 > 0:11:43- # Once I was a killer
0:11:44 > 0:11:47- # I killed time
0:11:49 > 0:11:51- # Once I was a killer
0:11:54 > 0:11:56- # I killed time
0:11:58 > 0:12:00- # Once I was a killer
0:12:03 > 0:12:06- # I killed time #
0:12:21 > 0:12:23- You've got to think horror.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28- Think of a horror film.
0:12:31 > 0:12:32- Screams.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34- SHE SCREAMS
0:13:16 > 0:13:18- VIBRATING CHIME
0:13:22 > 0:13:24- Cheers.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28- SCREECHING
0:13:29 > 0:13:31- It's amazing.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39- I'll take a bit of water out of it.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41- Is there water inside?
0:13:42 > 0:13:45- Yes, that's what makes the... - that's what makes the bend in it.
0:13:52 > 0:13:57- But some pebbles are larger - than others on that winding path...
0:13:58 > 0:14:00- ..towards creative and musical unity.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03- To avoid stumbling is difficult.
0:14:05 > 0:14:11- Sometimes, a grimace can reveal more - than a thousand words would.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16- As Gruff and Daf - step into the shadows...
0:14:17 > 0:14:21- ..eye contact is avoided - and musicians gaze at the floor.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03- But sometimes, the land is fertile.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06- The Super Furry Animals - and the classical interlopers...
0:15:07 > 0:15:09- ..are in harmony...
0:15:09 > 0:15:13- ..with sounds like a babbling brook - trickling downstream.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20- Yes indeed. Yes indeed.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26- Everyone and everything is good.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37- It's going on the E Minor, yeah?
0:15:37 > 0:15:39- One, two, three, four.
0:15:39 > 0:15:45- But then, suddenly, the interlopers - strike out on their own...
0:15:45 > 0:15:48- ..leaving the band - scratching their heads.
0:15:52 > 0:15:53- Where can they be going?
0:15:53 > 0:15:55- Where can they be going?- - C Minor.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01- This isn't the route - we all agreed upon.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11- F minor!
0:16:12 > 0:16:13- C minor.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15- F minor.
0:16:16 > 0:16:17- G.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36- Stick that modulation right - at the end when it's really steamy.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40- There's a while - between drums and percussion.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44- Gruff tries to relieve - the tension with a game.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47- Drums versus percussion.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54- It's an excuse to make a racket. - I have the world's loudest whistle.
0:16:54 > 0:16:55- WHISTLE
0:16:59 > 0:17:01- WHISTLE
0:17:03 > 0:17:05- WHISTLE
0:17:06 > 0:17:10- Once again, - everyone and everything is good.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14- Gruff, have you got a guitar run - we can work on?
0:17:15 > 0:17:18- Good morning, how are you today?
0:17:18 > 0:17:19- Uh, yeah.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22- # Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
0:17:23 > 0:17:25- # Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo #
0:17:26 > 0:17:30- Sometimes, it's worthwhile - reaching out to the fringes...
0:17:31 > 0:17:34- ..to search - for something different...
0:17:35 > 0:17:38- ..if only to confirm - and highlight...
0:17:38 > 0:17:41- ..the value - of what you already have inside.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49- This realization may well be the - desired outcome of these sessions.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54- If so, maybe it's all been - a roaring success.
0:17:56 > 0:17:57- Maybe.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09- # Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba #
0:18:09 > 0:18:14- Charles Hazlewood and the Super - Furries meet up in Cardiff Bay.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21- They meet up with Costas...
0:18:21 > 0:18:26- ..a notator and keeper of the books - of inspiration and innovation.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31- Carefully, he's recorded - every note and chord...
0:18:32 > 0:18:35- ..played during the sessions - at the Urdd Centre.
0:18:36 > 0:18:41- Now, all together, they try - to re-arrange the sessions...
0:18:41 > 0:18:45- ..to create - some kind of unified composition.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52- I don't know how soon - the A3 should come in...
0:18:53 > 0:18:56- ..if there should be - an A1 before the A3...
0:18:56 > 0:18:59- ..or if the other arrangement - in A1...
0:19:00 > 0:19:01- ..should...
0:19:02 > 0:19:06- My thinking is you would need - another A1 before the A3.
0:19:06 > 0:19:13- During the process of trying to - create an orchestral arrangement...
0:19:13 > 0:19:16- ..the language barrier - is once more a problem.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19- A1, B again and then A3.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23- A1, B1, A2 and so on.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26- It should be a simple process.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29- A sound is a sound - and an ear is an ear.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35- Everyone play the main riff - to start with...
0:19:35 > 0:19:37- ..and then splinter off.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42- Is that the plan? Everyone - in unison to start and then...
0:19:42 > 0:19:44- HE SINGS A MELODY
0:19:47 > 0:19:49- STRINGS REPLICATE HIS MELODY
0:19:53 > 0:19:55- Sax and violin and everything.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58- It's better with two.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09- The birth of Morocco - is a slow struggle.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14- Every breath is a battle as it - struggles to form a personality.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43- The classical interlopers...
0:20:44 > 0:20:50- ..proceed with gusto, - chasing Cian's whirling dervish.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53- But all attempts prove futile...
0:20:53 > 0:20:56- ..and Morocco is laid to rest.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08- In time, it will be - resurrected and reshaped...
0:21:08 > 0:21:11- ..for the Super Furry Animals' - next album...
0:21:12 > 0:21:13- ..Dark Days/Light Years...
0:21:14 > 0:21:17- ..remodelled into - The Very Best Of Neil Diamond.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25- # Radio cassette plays on
0:21:26 > 0:21:29- # As the kitchen crushed
0:21:31 > 0:21:32- # Just the very thought
0:21:33 > 0:21:35- # Trust but verify...
0:21:39 > 0:21:41- # Bap-ba-ba-ba
0:21:43 > 0:21:46- # Bap-ba-ba-ba #
0:22:06 > 0:22:07- Where next?
0:22:10 > 0:22:14- Maybe, somewhere in the future, - you'll be walking in Carmarthen...
0:22:15 > 0:22:17- ..Bethesda, or even Cardiff...
0:22:17 > 0:22:21- ..and you'll hear someone - whistling a chorus...
0:22:22 > 0:22:26- ..which sprouted - from the roots of these sessions.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29- Who knows?
0:22:29 > 0:22:32- Who really knows?
0:22:35 > 0:22:38- Let's have a cup of tea, cup of tea!
0:22:38 > 0:22:40- No!
0:23:13 > 0:23:15- S4C Subtitles by Simian 04 Cyf.
0:23:15 > 0:23:16- .