
This interview was done by my wife Olga Antichrist
My husband branded Super-Not's debut album "a perfect cure against insomnia". I beg to differ. That is why I asked the editor if I could do an interview with his Canadian band.
Super-Not is firmly rooted in the Stoner Rock genre and their influences range from Kyuss and Trouble to Metallica. Their debut album is definate worthy your money. Check it out.
1.When and where was SUPER·NOT created ? By whom ??
"Long, long, long, long time ago, before the wind, before the storm", in
Canada, by us 4 of course, easy!
2. Please tell us more about the chosen band-name. What does it stand for ?
When we signed with Yperano we thought that our album "Phlegmatic Sun"
should come under a new band name. We had to change our name, since there
were many bands around with the name that we were using and people were
getting confused. We were really stuck with ideas, so the record company
actually found this name for us.Which is an unusual name, but one that
people can easily remember. I like this name because it has some dose of
irony in it. Definitely not a cliche name by any means.
3. Please give us a presentation of "Phlegmatic Sun" album. The recording,
lyrics, the concept...the full story !!!!
I think that if people decide to analyze our sound, they will probably come
to the conclusion that we are combining elements from Black Sabbath, but
also from Metallica and Kyuss. I have to say that our sound and feel is sort
of similar, but we are not copying those bands. We are trying to achieve our
own distinctive style of music. It seems that we have quite succeeded in
doing so, because the journalists that are reviewing our album so far think
that there is plenty of variety in our album. They say that each song has
it's own identity and that it is not a copy of the previous or the next one,
or of any other band's material and that we are combining modern and
traditional elements in our music. The good thing is that the people who
read those reviews and buy our album "Phlegmatic Sun" then tell us that they
loved the songs, the sound and the overall feel of the album. Of course we
feel very happy and privileged to be receiving such a positive feedback.
Readers that never had the chance to listen to our album, can check out the
available audio samples in the
Yperano Records web page or ask their local store to bring "Phlegmatic
Sun" and their local radio to play some songs. In that way they can have a
better idea of what we are all about.
We worked with Harry Hess, who is the singer and producer of Harem Scarem,
an A.O.R. band. Harry witnessed one of our shows and even though we perform
a totally different style of music than the one that he is associated with,
he was amazed by what he described as "a band with unquestionable
qualities". He then made a research and found all the information that he
needed and approached us with the offer to produce us in Phase One which are
studios that really big Canadian and US bands use for their recordings. So
essentially this was a package deal. The funny thing is that initially Harry
tried to change our sound around. Needless to say he did not succeed. From
what we hear, it seems that we have managed to change his ideas around
considerably. If you listen to the recording of his new band that album has
the ("four on the floor") approach that we have as a band with regards to
how an album should be recorded. So instead of him influencing us, it is
safe to say that the opposite thing happened!
Our music and our lyrics are a representation of ourselves and our
personalities. Some are quite "aggressive", some are slightly abstract and
I am sure that some of the topics that we are dealing with probably look
rather unusual or strange, since they tend to mirror personal thoughts and
emotions. Then we also have straightforward material (both musically and
lyrically), but in some cases one will also find some slightly "technical"
stuff. As in general though, we prefer not to analyze our lyrics and our
music too much. We think that it is better that each one of you gives his or
her own interpretation on what our music is all about. We believe that music
is about emotions, feel and "chemistry", rather than analysis or
mathematics. The listeners of "Phlegmatic Sun" should reach out themselves
and find how our music corresponds with their feelings and emotions.
4. You are, according to the press-sheet from Yperano, a stoner metal band.
What is your view on this label ?
Some people say that we are. I have read reviews that say that we are
"definitely" a stoner band. Well.whatever. If this is what some reviewers
think that is fine with us. We don't really think that we are just that, but
never mind. In any case the most important thing is that people like our
music. As long as they love the music I don't care how the classify us.
5. Is your chosen isolation on the Canadian tundra a kind of esoteric,
misantropic view on life ? This kind of isolation is quite normal among the
Black Metal horde in Norway. Is there any comparision or any contact between
SUPER·NOT and the horde ?
Yes, in comparison, we play much better than the Black Metal bands ha ha! We
have no contacts with the bad, bad Black Metal guys ha ha!
6. What is the concept of your music ?? Which bands has influenced SUPER·NOT
most ?
Play diverse modern Metal and to do things our way. We don't want to
stagnate by copying other bands or by keeping everything so basic that
people can say that we have no identity and sound of our own and that we
have nothing new to offer. I think that it is very boring when you buy an
album where all the songs sound alike. Our aim from the very beginning was
to record a diverse and interesting album and not bore the listeners.
We have been inspired by many bands but not directly influenced by anyone in
my opinion.
7. After the release of "Phlegmatic Sun"; have you done any tours,
festivals, gigs etc. etc. ?
Canada is a very tough market to break. Things are not easy for Metal bands
here. You don't get easily accepted. You have to work hard and in a clever
way, or you will end up playing in front of 5 people and a dog. We are quite
happy that we have managed to create a very healthy fan base and even play
some packed club dates as headliners. But this is not enough. We want to
come over to Europe. It would be great if we could be part of a European
tour. That would be a dream come true for us, but the album needs to do well
first. So it's up to your readers. They buy a really good album and you make
it happen for us. We then have to buy a beer to every person that brings
"Phlegmatic Sun" along and wants to have it signed.
8. What is your view on today's Metal scene ?
I think that just as it has always been in the past, good new music and also
average and boring new music will keep coming out at present and in the
future. There are always going to be just only a handful of bands that
present something totally new and innovative. There will always be bands
like ourselves and our label mates Less Than Human that are inspired by
other bands but instead of copying them they manage to present something of
their own and write good songs and generally present quality and well
recorded albums. But then, you will always get those bands that will try to
cash in at the latest trend. Some bands don't even care to present something
of their own. Either they can not do anything remotely interesting because
they lack of personality to do so, or they prefer to take the easy and safe
road of copying other bands. I think that those bands should not rush in
their effort to record and produce albums. They should take their time and
make sure that they have something interesting to say. Finally we will keep
getting those bands that their only reason for existence is to just
blatantly copy other bands and build their careers on the back of other
people's ideas, vision and success. We have very little respect for those
bands and we urge the music fans not to support their activities. In our
opinion they give music (and themselves) a bad name.
9. For a person like myself; Canada is most known for the three Toronto
bands (and my all time favorite bands) Rush, Triumph and Saga. How is it to
create music in the shadows of these three bands and in particular the best
band this planet has ever seen (Rush) ???
We have a great tradition in Rock and Metal, I agree with you. We don't feel
that we are "creating music in the shadows of Rush, Triumph and Saga" or any
other band for that matter. We take it easy and just do our thing
regardless.
10. What is your future plans ?
Play as many gigs as possible and do as many interviews as possible.
11. Where can SUPER·NOT be reached ? Any mail order list ?
Naaaa, just e-mail our label at info@yperano.com and they will get in touch
with us and you.
12. Is there anything you want to add to this interview ?
Yes. Thanks for the opportunity to do this interview and thanks for liking
our album. I also want to urge your readers to check out our music. Go
listen to the audio samples in
the Yperano Records web page and if you like our samples, just order
"Phlegmatic Sun" from Yperano.