Countdown to TREMOLO Shoegaze Music Festival 2024 // An Interview with SUPERGLOOM

• Thanks so much for the interview. Let’s trace the band’s roots and story. 

The band started as a fun project during the pandemic. We initially experimented with a couple of Queens of the Stone Age covers before trying our hand at writing original music.

• What are your main influences and inspirations?
  

Our early influences drew from bands like Deerhunter, Grizzly Bear, and Queens of the Stone Age. As the band has developed, we have been more influenced by songwriters and artists such as Elliott Smith, My Bloody Valentine, Pale Saints, Cocteau Twins, Autolux, and Judee Sill.

• How would you describe your sound?

Our sound combines the classic wall of sound elements of shoegaze with dream pop and alt-rock with a heavy emphasis on songwriting. We like luscious vocal harmonies and catchy melodies. 

• What does the word ‘shoegaze’ means to you?
  

 To us, shoegaze encapsulates lush, dense, ethereal, and sometimes heavy music. Lots of textures and an endless combination of effects to create that desired wall of sound. Ultimately, I think what sets shoegaze apart from other genres is the vibe or mood. Despite the washed-out and loud trappings of the genre, there’s an underlying sensitivity and melancholy.  It’s difficult to find that juxtaposition elsewhere.  

• Tell us a little about your recording process and how you create your songs.
  

The creation process differs from song to song. Sometimes we write all together in our rehearsal studio, separately, or with just a couple of us. However, for our upcoming debut record, we’ve been focusing on writing songs that are more immediate and with lyrics that cut to the core of the song’s original concept. We often create pretty flushed-out demos of all our songs before going into a proper studio to track the final version. There are often multiple versions of our songs that keep morphing until we are all stoked about the end result.

• Which song(s) are you most proud of and best represent the band?
  

“Glass Ajar”, “Bleed Me Out”, “Cut the Ties”, and all our new songs coming next year. We are excited to debut a few of these at the Tremolo Festival that will be on our upcoming debut album. Keep an eye out for the songs “Kingfisher” and “Shimmer.”

• What kind of old/new music are you listening to? Any current bands/artists that you are excited about at the moment?
  

Some current bands we are excited about are DIIV, Perfume Genius, and Been Stellar, as well as LA up-and-comers Family of Light and Dies. Also been digging various 80’s Japanese ambient music.

• Who would you most like to collaborate with?
  

Producers Shawn Everett, Chris Coady, and Dave Fridmann.

• What has been your best/worst gig so far (both as a performer and spectator)?
  

Our release show for the “Immaterial” EP at the Echo last summer was our best so far. The worst was probably the second show of our tour this Summer in Fresno because of the line-up changing last minute. 

• What are your expectations for the upcoming Tremolo Festival, and what should the audience expect from your performance?
  

Looking to see a ton of cool bands, make new friends, and have a great time. I don’t know what the audience should expect from our performance, but hopefully they dig what they hear haha. 

• What are your plans for the future?

At the beginning of the New Year, we are going back into the studio to begin tracking our first full-length album. We couldn’t be more excited to get these songs out into the world. We look forward to writing, evolving, and hopefully getting new ears on our music more and more. We would like to tour more of the US and in the future the UK & Europe. 

• Any parting words?