Supercrush - Sound In The Signals Interview
For anyone who isn't familiar with Supercrush. Can you tell me a little about how this project got started? I know you were in a few bands prior to Supercrush. What inspired you to start this project and pursue this sound?
Mark: Well, prior to Supercrush I was playing guitar in a group called Modern Charms in San Francisco. After leaving California and putting Modern Charms on hiatus I still wanted to continue making melodic guitar pop music of some kind, so I came up with the idea of forming Supercrush. The plan was to write songs that sounded pleasant and were about pleasant things. I know that sounds like an obvious concept, but for the vast majority of my years playing music I have been writing songs that deal with some of the more unpleasant emotions and aspects of life. It was extremely refreshing to start a project with a totally new approach. As for the sound itself, it is an expression of some of my earliest musical influences. I grew up in the 1990's and was exposed to a lot of the great alternative rock, "grunge", brit-pop, etc. of the era. So it comes very natural for me to write music in this style.
Your debut 7" featured a great vibe. "Lifted" has a great sound and is a really cool song. What was the songwriting process like for the song and how long did you work on it?
I wrote it a few years ago now so I can't remember all the details. I think I was experimenting with a new tuning on the guitar, and as often happens when I do that, a song just sort of effortlessly emerged from that particular tuning. I recall it was summertime when the song was forming and I was living in my van at the time so I would sit in the van with the sliding door open and play the song on my guitar.
The "Lifted" 7" got rave reviews and a lot of people called it one of the best songs of 2013. When you wrote the song did you know you had a gem or was it kind of a surprise to see people react so overwhelmingly positive to it?
Tough question. I often wonder the same thing about my favorite songs by other artists. It's tough to answer because I don't think I was really thinking about it in those terms at the time, it's only in retrospect that I can think of it in this way. At the time I was just pleased with how the song sounded to my ears and was excited about a new project with wide open songwriting potential. That's always the most exciting stage of a band or project for me.
I read you are currently in the studio working on some new music. When do you think we'll hear the new music and what can fans of the older material expect from the new stuff?
Yes, we have a new two song single all recorded and mixed. We are just waiting for it to be mastered and then we will release some new music to the public. It's actually a little different than the first record. Still very much melodic guitar based pop music, but this time it's a little less fuzzy sounding. More jangly, poppy, and syrupy than ever before. So it's a slightly different approach, but with the same goal: crafting pleasing pop tunes. It's a simple idea. I hope people will like it.
The artwork for the "Lifted" 7" is really cool and when I saw it I just instantly liked it. Who came up with the artwork and why did you decide to use it?
Thanks, I'm glad you dig it. I came up with the concept and shot the cover photo and my friend Ole Johnson helped me execute the layout and fine tune the design. I just wanted a sleeve that complimented the music: bright, colorful, happy, and romantic.
What all is in the works for you guys for the last half of 2014?
We're gonna get this new single out and then slowly begin work on the next one. The idea is to do a series of four two song singles and then collect them all onto one 12" with two additional songs. That will take some time, but we'll get there eventually.
I guess that about wraps it up. Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Do you have anything else you would like to add?
Thanks a lot for the interview and for taking an interest in my music.
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