Northern Lites - Themes and Recording

Themes and Recording

"Northern Lites" was written by singer Gruff Rhys about "the weather", and was particularly inspired by coverage of the "terrifying, worldwide, seven-year phenomenon" of the west Pacific El Niño climate pattern on "weather channels" in 1998. The song's title refers to the Aurora Borealis, a natural light display which can be observed particularly in the polar regions, and usually at night. The band were convinced that they had seen the lights before the track was written but, as no-one else was present, they could not get confirmation that what they had witnessed was not simply a "Furry fantasy". Rhys has claimed that he would have called the song "Aurora Borealis" but "Latin song titles are out of the question". Although Rhys has said that the song is "about asking Jesus if he decides to seek his revenge on us, to get it over with as soon as possible and blow us away to the Northern Lights" he has also stated that, although some critics have interpreted the track as being about "questioning one's faith", it is really "just a song about the weather".

The melody of "Northern Lites" was written by Rhys several years before the track was released. The band experimented with reggae and "dirgy rock" styles before Rhys wrote the lyrics and, because they were inspired by adverse weather conditions affecting Latin America, tried playing along to a preset calypso rhythm track which was on his keyboard. The singer has stated that, although he does not think the band have "any right to make Latin-influenced" songs, they did not choose a calypso style for the track in a cynical attempt to "crack South America". The group are not "purists" and feel that Latin music is "part of cultural esperanto".

The track was recorded in the middle of 1998 at Real World Studios, Box, Wiltshire, along with the rest of Guerrilla, and was produced by Super Furry Animals. The band allowed "the music to dictate itself" during recording sessions, choosing to add steel drums on the spur of the moment after seeing the instruments "lying around" Real World during recording. The steel drum parts were performed by keyboardist Cian Ciaran, despite the fact he did not know how to play them.