Yoohoo SUPERGLU
SuperGlu – “This Is Only The Start!”
Bursting with guitary joy and dynamics from one of the smallest towns in Britain (Manningtree, Essex), SuperGlu were an instant new favourite with TheZineUK fave since catching them at ever-influential End Of The Trail stage at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton this Spring. By the same time next year, they will have appeared at South By South West in America (more on that later). Since that first sighting weaved them into our picture book chapters, we've been keeping an eye and ear out for news, videos and to catch them live again. So much happened this year, that the band would be hard pressed to pick out some highlights, but they kindly did an interview and, told us of some;
(blossoming; photograph by Mila Austin).
TheZineUK :
Hey, SuperGlu, what were some of your moments of this year?
SuperGlu:
“Headlining the BBC Introducing Stages at Reading and Leeds festival were pretty amazing – insane to think we have only been a band for two years.
Closing Latitude Festival on Keith Allen’s Stage was also pretty wicked... The crowd was mad – completely going for it. I think one guy even passed out. In fact the whole day was hilarious as we spent it running around the festival site handing out flyers / sticking up signs of our set time everywhere – very DIY!”
We believe that DIY is the future, so nothing wrong with that. Maybe not being part of a big city's trendy music scene has helped to set the sparky pop, SuperGlu, rock sound apart. Pulling in four directions gives their songs (and story) added scope and their infectious live set defines them made for festivals. Speaking of which, are there any that SuperGlu themselves would particularly recommend?
“Latitude for sure!! As a festival it has so much scope for up and coming / hardly known bands. You could be wondering around the woods at 2am and come across a little acoustic act with only one or two other people watching... yet next year you see that same acoustic act on the BBC Introducing Stage or played on Radio 1... It’s a got such a great vibe as well – everyone comes together as one...despite how cringe that sounds.”
To be honest, it sounds like what a festival should be, especially at a time when there is so much treasure under radar in all musical genres. We asked SuperGlu; are there others that you would also like to play in the future?
“As ever – The Great Escape is so much fun so we would love to be back there in 2017. It’s always pretty sick to play back in my Uni town (Brighton) as well – because I used to visit all the venues such as Green Door Store as a student, and they hold some pretty special memories for me. I remember getting done up and going to gigs on a Thursday night – yet now I’m the one in the band, looking down at the crowd, thinking how young they all look...." ..."On a large scale – Glastonbury. Since being in the band it has always been a dream and if it came true that would pretty much be my life fulfilled.”
Never say never. Spring/Summer 2016: There's a Pixies tint to 'Weekend' which is taken from the debut EP 'Horse' (Antigen Records)
Ben Brown (vocals / guitar), Krista Lynch (vocals / bass (and interview, thank you!), Ben Ward (drum / vocals) and Alex Brown (guitar / vocals) have come a long way in only two years. We wondered about the experience of their first live show?
“Hah! That was back in December 2014. It was in a tiny room upstairs at St Judes in Ipswich. Not only was it the bands first gig, but my FIRST ever gig. I spent the majority of the set staring at the floor looking like a plank of wood.
Saying that, it went incredibly well. Richard and Graeme from BBC Introducing Suffolk were there, which soon led to all things good, such as our first big festival appearance. Lots of love and thanks to those guys.”
Like Glastonbury dreams, BBC Introducing are definitely a theme of our 2017 Ones To Hear artists, most of whom are DIY. Obviously these are landmark supporters of new music, but a lot of the near future has been created by the hard work of artists getting off their arses and, with family and friends, making things happen in the first place. After that, it's a case of luck and fate, but it helps to have the goods, song wise, and drive in the first place. Sussed National and Independent media alike have already come on side quickly, so we asked; “Do you feel that cottage industry DIY,could be a fairer future model for the self employment economy to support new music?”
“Hmm. There is certainly a hierarchy of so called ‘DIY’ bands at the moment – its kinda the same bands going on tour with each other and appearing in the same magazine- more support slots are needed to be given to up and coming bands to give them a chance to get out on the on the road. Make the circle wider rather than it closing in on itself...!”
Let's hope that happens. TheZineUK story is music movement situationism, so we don't know what's coming next, but are encouraged that some of the artists in this tapestry have weaved into each other. For instance, End Of The Trail, met through booking their artists for ArtBeat music socials, Superglu through playing the label's stage at The Great Escape in May this year.
A week after playing at London's Tooting Tramshed, the band were on the south coast at a big weekend that is often likened to a SXSW for the UK.
The Great Escape is Europe's biggest international festival of new music and @AltEscape is the industry/media best scouting convention
TheZineUK were already excited to be repping with End Of The Trail, which is one of the the nation's key independent labels. As a stage, it is consisistently busy the moment the doors open, due to reputation and always a fun place to catch up with familiar faces and friends.
Bonus, we were instantly won over by the insistently grungy pop leanings and energetic delivery of this quartet. Another of the festival promoters (who were at the first social of our Uniqulture road show in Tin Pan Alley, January 2014) had a band cancel last minute a short walk away. Still buzzing we had just witnessed, and mutually optimistic chats after their show, we recommended SuperGlu and they played an extra #TGE16 for Earworm, whose headliners that night were Asylums. Fast Forward in DR WTF's tardis, to December 2016 where Superglu are in London and we get to see them again... supporting Asylums at Tooting Tram Shed! aah, I love this tapestry.
SuperGlu at Tooting Tramshed, London, December 2016
And, yes, this band really are still as much noisy fun as we thought they were earlier this year.
Though sometimes loose limbed and loony on stage, as a musical unit, their set rocks out right and tight.
Fellow music lovers agree noticably, and the decibels of applauding cheers increaseafter each song.
Obviously, from getting this kind of reaction at various points around the land, Superglu are a warm up band who really bring the heat. In an ideal world, who would they like to support on tour in the future?
“I would love love love to tour with HINDS. I keep watching their interviews on YouTube and they seem bloody hilarious and so much fun. They rock out hard as well – which is always good to see in a live performance. I’m digging The Magic Gang a lot too. I’ve seen them a few times in Brighton and I’m a big fan – real excited to see what they have planned for 2017.”
We're really excited about a lot of new, home grown talents right now. We need to be. After the year the planet has had, there's got to be much to look forward to, right? Sound and vision.
This being a Stage Style (gear to wear/play) story, we are dying to ask; Do you have fave clothing / musical instruments for your live appearances? "I wear a ton of clothes from Beyond Retro – I love finding unique garments and wondering who wore them before and the stories they hold... I’m big on the vintage vibe and hence play a DanElectro 56.”
On the subject of preferences, as a touring band, are there any favourite places to recommend? "We went on tour early Feb last year and Hull was probably my favourite gigging experience – it really surprised me as I didn’t realise the music scene was so great there! I think it was a Monday or Wednesday night and the venue we played at (The Polar Bear) was rammed! There was a really good community spirit and it felt as though everyone was in it together to have the best night possible. No standing around looking cool on the dance floor...everyone just let their inhibition leave the room. Including myself..."
We've heard good things about Hull from various sources, and there is definitely a lot of North East action to make that region of England worthy of further investigation. It's buzzing nationwide right now, Essex and East Anglia included. South of England's EastEastenders...
"Local superstars Animal Noise are doing incredibly well – they have just had an amazing summer playing gigs all over the place with their ‘Little Things’ Tour including Hyde Park! The music scene here is so supportive of each other and it’s heart warming to see others getting the attention they deserve – I think everyone is so totally proud of how well RAT BOY is doing at the moment. We owe a lot to venues such as Three Wise Monkeys, Colchester and The Swan, Ipswich who always let us go pretty mad at our gigs, filling as many people in as possible, giving out free Jaeger (thanks Steve), go beyond what’s expected of them on the promotion front and are generally wicked."
Gold stars all round, definitely, for giving venues, promoters and artists alike a good name. Superglu will only be a hotter ticket on their next trip to these localities! Britain is full of amazing venues where some of the best memories are made. With this, and Music Venue Trust/Fightback in mind, do you feel that venues are still a community treasure in this digital age?
"Yeh completely – there’s so many great venues closing down... especially in London. Going to gigs holds such an important aspect of my teenage years and it would be such a shame if the next generation couldn’t experience that. I’m also not keen on ticket prices going up and up and losers grabbing all the tickets then selling them on for double (or more) the price. That sucks. I use the app ‘DICE’ quite a lot and that allows you to sell your ticket to those on the waiting list if you’re unable to go which is pretty cool. Also has no booking fees!"
Good on ya, Dice. Increasingly, new ticketing and promoting companies with ethics are springing up. Get the app via dice.fm - Forward thinking, it's the future! It's looking bright. Over this year, with growing accolades, acclaims and landmark shows, Superglu have grown in prominence, and show no sign of slowing down.The current single, 'Dreams', sounds optimistic in a cynically unglamourous music industry. It was streamed over 35,000 times in it's first week of recently going public.
With new dates building, the band head Stateside to SXSW in March. It's a massive, landmark event, for artists at all levels. South By South West is annual convention on the music world calendar and has given Austin Texas the accolade of world live music capital via entertainment industry conference, gaming, festivals, screenings, parties, showcases and networking shindigs. Manningtree, it ain't, but Superglu will find a way to have a lot of fun there, we're sure, and will fit right in.
Already looking the projection art screening part in the video for 'Rounder'
Finally;
Do you feel that after a couple of years of existence and hard work, SuperGlu are “living the dream” a bit?
"Yeh, completely, but there’s so much more to give and so much more we want to do with the band. This is only the start!" Get stuck in! facebook.com/supergluband/
