"It's his first solo record. To me, in a way, it is a funny record. He is such a talented musician and it is quite a modest record in that it is stripped-down – he plays everything on it – and it is just drums, guitar and bass, and, of course, vocals. But, even though he stripped it down you cannot strip away the fact that he is just supremely talented and has got such an incredible use of melody and hooks. I love the attitude. He had a rule that he could only do five takes and when I was getting to know him and was completely in awe of him, I remember asking him ""but what if you didn't get a good enough take?"" He just laughed and said, ""Well, we just put loads of reverb on it"" and I thought that was such an incredible attitude to have. Also, it is a Welsh language record and although Welsh and English are equally my first languages, I have always struggled writing in Welsh. Gruff has just got this ability to write these lyrics that are so meaningful but whole-sounding and faithful. I am totally in awe of his Welsh lyricism. For me, Welsh is such a difficult language to write in and this is my favourite Welsh language record. Since I was 13 I have been a huge fan of Super Furry Animals and of Gruff. He's just an incredible man and being around that wonderful playful attitude in his music is something I am so glad I was exposed to at that point in my life."

"One of my favorite films of all time has got to be Mary Poppins. Well I was old enough to remember it when it came out, but I don’t think I saw it in the cinema, I think I saw it when it eventually came on television. In those days, you had to wait about six or seven years before a film got from the f–king cinemas to the television, and it being Disney, they never actually released their films. It was a very clever policy: They just re-released them every 10 years. I think it’s one of those movies. I was having a very depressing time recently working on a job. I was feeling particularly bad and I put the television on on a Sunday afternoon, and Dick Van Dyke was singing “Chim Chimney” — it just lifted my spirits. Everybody criticized his Cockney accent — and even at the time I probably joined in — and you can criticize his Cockney accent, but you cannot criticize his brilliant comic dancing. It’s f–king wonderful. Oh, it’s wonderful. And the quality of the work: The beauty of that film, the simplicity of it and the way it was made and directed; the charm. The way it appeals to people — it’s the old cliché, you know: Eight or 80. It’s a wonderful piece of work. And it’s magical. It’s one of those films, you know, that you can dip into. If you’re ever feeling low, stick it on and you’ll feel much better. If you haven’t got any illegal drugs, put that on and you’ll be alright. [Laughs]"