Gruff Rhys Braves Armageddon and Animojis in New ‘Selfies in the Sunset’ Video
Gruff Rhys doesn’t let the apocalypse prevent him from vainly taking his own picture in the new video for “Selfies in the Sunset,” a duet with Lily Cole and the closing track off the Super Furry Animals singer’s latest LP Babelsberg.
In the Ewan Jones Morris-directed video, a nuclear Armageddon unfolds around them, but Rhys and Cole are more concerned with finding the right emojis and Animojis to capture the moment rather than soak in their last minutes on Earth.
“A couple of years ago I noticed some smiling, healthy looking young people taking selfies in front of a particularly spectacular sunset, I turned around to walk away only to see another sunset in front of me,” Rhys said of the song and video in a statement.
“I realized the first sunset was just the glow looming above a chemical plant. Still, the selfies would have looked like they were taken in California. (We weren’t in California). It got me thinking about Armageddon. Maybe people will be taking selfies till the very end. They’ll be pretty spectacular and will feature the golden colors of the Sunset. With the acceleration of climate change maybe it is the end. A slow painful process not an event.”
Rhys previously collaborated with Cole when the supermodel was working on her own music. While that initial team-up didn’t yield any music, Rhys said he “invited her to help me finish this song in any case, as she has a greater insight into the world of imagery.”
“This isn’t a judgmental song about selfies – selfies aren’t the problem. They bring joy into this precarious life. It’s just a really sad song,” the singer added.
Rhys will embark on a North American tour in support of Babelsberg in October.
Gruff Rhys Tour Dates
October 5 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz
October 6 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
October 8 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott
October 9 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
October 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
October 11 – Washington, DC @ DC9
October 12 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Funhouse
October 13 – Columbus, OH @ Ace Of Cups
October 14 – Chicago, IL @ 1st Ward at Chop Shop
October 16 – Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
October 19 – Vancouver, BC @ The Fox Cabaret
October 20 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza
October 21 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
October 23 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
October 24 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo