Gruff Rhys ventures into the American Interior
Two men. Two quests.
Two centuries apart.
Four ways to experience the search for a lost tribe.
Album. Book. Film. App.
Gruff Rhys introduces American Interior – a bold and ambitious multiplatform tale of
adventure set for release in May 2014.
American Interior is a unique project that firmly establishes Gruff Rhys as a captivating
storyteller, blurring the boundaries and possibilities of songwriting, music, literature, film and
technology to create a multisensory experience telling the incredible true story of John
Evans.
In 1792, John Evans, a twenty-two-year-old farmhand from Snowdonia, Wales, travelled to
America to discover whether there was, as widely believed, a Welsh-speaking Native
American tribe - The Madogwys - still walking the Great Plains.
During the course of an extraordinary adventure, Evans wrestled the largest river reptiles ever
seen in the Mississippi, hunted Bison with the Omaha tribe, defected to the Spanish in St
Louis, discovered imaginary volcanoes in Missouri, annexed North Dakota from the British,
and created the map that guided Lewis and Clark on their legendary expedition.
In the summer of 2012, over two hundred years later, Gruff – himself a distant relative of
Evans - retraced the explorer’s route through the heart of the continent by means of an
“Investigative Concert Tour ™" - a series of solo gigs that saw him accompanied by little
more than acoustic guitar, PowerPoint presentation and a three-foot high felt avatar of John
Evans designed by artist and long-time collaborator Pete Fowler.
Brilliantly documenting both Evans’s and Gruff’s odysseys, American Interior is released
across four different formats, each of which explores the story from a distinct angle:
The Album. Released on Turnstile on May 5th, Gruff’s fourth (and best) solo LP features
thirteen phenomenal new songs inspired by Evans’ original journey. Written in part on 2012’s
“Investigative Concert Tour ™", the record is a topographical rock’n’roll masterpiece.
American Interior tracklist: American Exterior / American Interior / 100 Unread Messages /
The Whether (Or Not) / The Last Conquistador / Lost Tribes / Liberty (is where we’ll be) /
Allweddellau Allweddol / The Swamp / Iolo / Walk Into The Wilderness / Year Of The Dog /
Tiger’s Tale
The Book. A psychedelic historical travelogue in which Gruff traces Evans' incredible
journey from North Wales to New Spain, alongside the tale of his own strange American
roadtrip following in Evans' footsteps. To be published in hardback and eBook by Hamish
Hamilton in late May.
The Film. Funny, honest and inspiring, this visual document of Gruff’s 2012 tour sees fiction,
fact, fantasy, myth and music documentary collide. Directed by Dylan Goch, produced by ie ie
productions (the team behind Gruff’s 2010 critically acclaimed film Separado!) and
commissioned by S4C in association with Film Agency for Wales. Due for release in the UK by
Soda Pictures on May 9th. View the trailer here in English: http://bit.ly/1jHXpGf or Welsh:
http://bit.ly/1aH5AzX.
The App. Developed by Storythings, the app (due in May) consists of one hundred separate
entries (including pieces of artwork, animations, prose, film clips and original music) and
creates a unique, immersive version of the John Evans story.
American Interior is an exploration of how wild fantasies interact with hard history and how
myth-making can inspire humans to partake in crazy, vain pursuits of glory, including
exploration, war and the creative arts.
Further details of exact release and publication dates as well as live shows will be announced
shortly. For more information, contact: ellie@stayloose.co.uk