‘Our music in one word: knife’: An Interview with Superfood (17/03/2014)

I caught up with Superfood, the little known indie band sky rocketing to fame, currently supporting We Are Scientists on tour. We discussed frozen grapes, Thomas the Tank Engine and Black Moth Super Rainbow in an interesting, if slightly crazy interview.

So your support slot for We Are Scientists is coming to a close, how has it been so far for you guys?
Ryan (guitar): Brilliant
Dom (vocals and guitar): Great
Ryan: Excellent
Dom: Beautiful

Loving the adjectives here!
Dom: Yeah, it’s been really good actually. It’s been really fun and easy going
Ryan: Magical

They’re a good band to be around then?
Ryan: Definitely
Dom: Very welcoming
Ryan: They have a beautiful merch lady as well
Dom: He’s been hitting on her the whole time
Ryan: I was drunk the other night and I told her that she made me feel nervous
Emily (bass): Awh

Beautiful! So London on Thursday?
Dom: Thats right yeah! London is Thursday

Excited for it?
Dom: Yeah! Oh yeah! We can’t get drunk because we have to do an XFM session the next day
Ryan: Really?
Dom: Yeah, we have got to go straight back to the hotel after for our live XFM session

That’s cool!
Ryan: It should be awesome!
Dom: Looking at you like… He did 3 all-nighters this tour. We lost him in Manchester
Ryan: It wasn’t in Manchester
Dom: We lost you, you didn’t come to the hotel at 3
Emily: We went for lunch, cinema, and you still weren’t here
Ryan: I’m just trying to be really rock and roll

For those who haven’t seen you live, what can we expect from a live show?
Dom: Just the worst show they’ve ever seen

Nice! Set expectations low!
Dom: Just not a very good time. You’re probably just going to come away thinking ‘that was bag of… shoes’

Really selling yourself haha!
Ryan: A terrible show, it’ll be terrible, probably be some tears

Tears? Wow, thats emotional!
Emily: Crying, because it’s so bad
Carl (drums): Bring a sick bucket

Your new EP, MAM, was released earlier this month, on the 3rd March? Tell us a bit about it?
Dom: It’s just the first couple of songs that we wrote, just the first bunch of songs. Just us being told a day before that we’ve got to go record an EP and recording an EP. It was a bit of a rush, but I think it came out alright! Its just there and its good!

It’s good to have some material released?
Dom: Yeah, yeah, and just yeah…

So your debut album is… finished? I think? Not quite?
Dom: No, not finished. It’s on the horizon! You know when you’re about half an hour away from your house after you come back from holiday? It’s like that.

Will it follow the same vibe as MAM, or will you go in a new direction musically? Or are you just letting it flow?
Ryan: I think we’re going to a bit of a new direction. I mean not massive
Dom: Yeah, not massively
Ryan: But like, those were the first things that we kind of wrote so obviously we’ve spent a lot of time together and wrote a lot of songs, so its just kinda natural and trying not to be repetitive

Could you sum up your sound in a few words?
Dom: Wise

Wise?
Dom: Juggernaut

Juggernaut? Ok…
Ryan: Mystical

Mystical, I like it!
Dom: Fist

Mystical fist?
[all laugh]
Dom: Knife, I think knife sums it up. Our music in one word; knife.
Ryan: If our music is a fruit, it would be a frozen grape

Frozen grape?
Dom: Have you ever had frozen grapes?

No?
Dom: Well next time, just go get some grapes, put them in your freezer and if you like sorbet and just delicious icy treats. You just pick them up and then they pop in your mouth and they’re just like ughh.. its just
Emily: Little balls of joy
Ryan: Heaven, imagine having an apple sized grape, that would be amazing
Dom: I like when they’re small and theyre frozen and they’re just little balls of sorbet
Ryan: But apple sized grapes

So summer is just around the corner, are you playing any festivals? What is the plan for the rest of 2014 for you guys?
Dom: It’s just touring and trying to put up with each other!
Emily: Pretty standard
Dom: We got Secret Garden Party and Truck Festival so far, I’m sure we will be doing some other ones but they’re all in the pipes
Ryan: They’re all in the secret drawer
Dom: Secret sock drawer

Beautiful! Do you have any dream festivals you want to play?
Dom: Obviously Glasto, that’s it really. I love Glastonbury, so to play there would be good because you’d get a free ticket
Ryan: I’d always thought playing Reading would be cool, because I used to go there so it’d be really cool

You recently did a cover of ‘Fight For Your Right’ by The Beastie Boys, but if they were to cover one of your songs, which song would you choose?
Ryan: Probably the cover version of ‘Fight For Your Right’
Dom: Yeah haha, see how that goes. It would be like Chinese whispers, and then we’d cover that version, and they could the other version
Emily: Never ending
Ryan: Then eventually, we could cover an infinite amount of times then the original would just disappear

What artists have you been listening to lately?
Dom: Black Moth Super Rainbow
…
Ryan: She’s just looking like ‘is that real?’
Dom: Honestly, they’re amazing
Ryan: Baxter Jury
Dom: But Black Moth Super Rainbow is just like….
[all giggle]
Dom: It’s crazy

They sound really real
Dom: If they were to sum up their music in one word it would be [explosion sound]
[all laugh]
Dom: [more explosion sounds]
Dom: Sum up your music in one word [heavy breathing]

So what do you guys think about the whole Spotify debate? Do you agree with it?
Ryan: Uhhh…
Dom: I don’t really mind… What the Spotify thing? Oh I think it’s just that if people want to buy the album then they’ll buy the album. I dont know, it just allows people to listen to it, it doesn’t really make a difference in the scheme of things. The internet is just allowing people to listen to music anyway, on YouTube, you’re going to listen to it somehow. Just having a little bit of income coming in through Spotify is good, its awesome. Obviously theyre not giving enough. I think people get a little bit too worked up about it
It’s just for fans really, it’s always a positive thing if people are listening to your music
Some of the people are buying vinyl as well, its good. If they want it, they’ll buy it. Or buy it on iTunes…

So you say about an online presence, you guys have got Twitter and Facebook. Would you say that was essential to getting fans?
Dom: Not really, when we first started we didn’t have it for ages, and it was better when we didn’t have it. I think there was this mystical thing about you because you’re not on the internet.
Emily: I think a good thing about it is to show you have gigs and stuff going on. Its an easy way to show whats going on

If you weren’t in the band, what do you think you’d be doing? Music or something else?
Dom: Yeah, probably music
Ryan: Yeah, same
Carl: Same
Emily: I wouldn’t, I would be a hairdresser.
Dom: We honestly just put a bass around her neck
Emily: And put me on stage and there I was

Just get up there and play haha!
[phone goes off]
Ryan: Text message!
Dom: ‘Going to be back in Birmingham next weekend (28th) if you want a lift. Paul Floyd’ – that’s a nice thing to say. Awh
Emily: Decent guy!

Any advice for student bands?
Dom: Play, record, write as many songs as possible, I think. Just play
Ryan: Just make sure you actually form a band, just grab your mate and make them learn how to play. You don’t have to play anything really difficult

Do you guys get interviewed a lot?
Dom: We have on this tour, yeah yeah

What is the most common question you’ve been asked?
Ryan: What’s your favourite superfood?
Dom: Or where did the name Superfood come from?
Emily: How did you form?
Ryan: One that pops up loads is what’s your favourite Thomas the Tank Engine episode?

Oh really? And what is it by the way?
Ryan: It’s the one where Percy gets stuck… Wait no, his loads too heavy… I don’t know, can’t remember.
Dom: Percy gets stuck. You remember the show Puff? It was like Thomas The Tank Engine but with tug-boats!
Emily: No, I don’t remember that!
Dom: It was great, it was my favourite
Ryan: I remember Brum
Emily: Yeah I loved that.
Dom: My best mate narrated an episode of Brum!