The Terror Of Cosmic Loneliness

Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals has long taken an interest in illuminating hidden corners of South America, especially after travelling the continent and investigating its Welsh diaspora for the documentary Separado! – so it perfectly fits his M.O. to bring Sao Paulo eccentric and dissident voice Tony Da Gatorra to a wider public. Gatorra is a TV repairman and inventor of an eponymous instrument, a guitar-like creation covered in buttons which trigger electronic percussion and basic synthesiser sounds. This instrument’s ragged-edged harmonics, and his rudimentary approach to rhythm, create sounds which bear a striking resemblance at times to both The Stooges and Suicide. But importantly, this music is completely built from first principle, not out of reverence for past icons – and the combination of Da Gatorra’s Portuguese ranting and Rhys’s softer English musing bubbles with unique character.