Superengine fire on allcylinders

Fri 17th Aug, 2007 in Features

Perth band Superengine will unleash debut album Shadows Meet later this month, with a heavy touring schedule on the cards. We caught up with bassist Jon Fernandes to find out what’s happening with the band…

the album’s ready, can you give us an idea of what you’ve put into it?

Well a full length release has been a long time coming for us. This is the result of about five years of a constantly evolving lineup and constantly changing influences on our music. We started pre-production in June ‘06 and finally finished the album in full in July ‘07 – at the expense of some of our emotional and financial fortitude! Musically, we have tried to present a collection of our songs which we think will work as a cogent piece. We’ve tried to make an album which flows.

Your live shows feature a huge variety of instruments, how has recording reflected that approach?

We actually have EVEN MORE instruments on the recording believe it or not! We went for a very layered textural approach on the whole – and obviously a band like us will always love the medium of the studio – just for those extra vocal overdubs and the ability to add a few different timbres on the same melody etc. Unfortunately we are often at the mercy of small desks with our live show – and it can be difficult to get our intended sound across, so it’s nice to actually put the instruments exactly where they should be in the mix.

Are there any instruments you’d secretly love to add to the mix?

Yeah, We’d love to have put strings in and some more choral type sounds – but that can wait until the next album… I really like the idea that this album has a definite tonal palette. The similar textures hopefully have a ‘binding’ effect on the album as a whole.

The rich, retro pop you’re known for is something Perth seems to do pretty well, do you feel like you’re part of a ‘scene’?

Well… Hmm… In a sense I guess. I mean there are quite a few pop bands we love to play with, but in terms of fitting in with a scene? I don’t really know…

Several of you have different projects taking up your time… how hard is it to all get in a rehearsal room and play? Does it only happen when the planets align?

Well… no not really. Superengine rehearsals are pretty set, the planets quite naturally align every Thursday night at 7pm… Most of us consider the band their first and foremost project – but there’s no harm in moonlighting is there? Just ask Bruce Willis!

A lot of your recent photos feature all six of you in white coats. Are you scientists, doctors or butchers (or all of the above)?

Actually our drummer is doing his PhD in Physics, so he’s a scientist who’s about to become a doctor! As for the rest of us, we are hoping to open a butcher store in Leederville quite soon. We’re going to call it ‘Shadow’s Meat’. You must come down sometime!

You’ve been known to dress for the occasion before, are the white coats ever going to play a part in your live show?

Well… You’ll have to wait and see! We do like to add a visual aspect to our shows though it’s always nice to dress up!

There’s also a comment on there about the inverse pyramid formation… that and the title of your last release indicate you’ve got a bit of a thing for the number three. What’s the story there? Is there even a story?

Well in the words of De La Soul (who themselves stole the words) ‘Three is the magic number’...

What are your plans when it comes to cracking the east coast scene? Do you feel any pressure to ‘make it’ in order to justify all the work that went into the record?

Well in sense, I mean, we need to pay off the album somehow! ‘Cracking the East Coast’ would be nice, (not as nice as cracking the rest of the world) but in any case, the work that went into the album is already justified by the lessons we’ve learned along the way and by our desire to start working on the next album. Having said that, we do love the thought of touring and hopefully will be soon!

Shadows Meet is released on August 25. For more details check out www.myspace.com/superengine.