Introducing: Superseed

Hailing from the industrial underbelly of Bristol, this four-headed rock’n’roll beast first erupted in 2017, delivering a no-frills, all-thrills assault powered by duelling frontmen David Edgar and Ben Taylor. With Keith Bowers’ bass growling like a muscle car in heat and Matt Colley pounding the skins like the apocalypse is overdue, Superseed don’t just play rock — they detonate it.

1. Tremor was cooked up in your DIY studio, the Freq Factory—how did working in your own space shape the sound and spirit of the new record?

This time round we wanted to make a more raw and honest live sounding record. Our first record was also recorded at the Freq Factory but I was learning the ropes and therefore it was more polished sounding and had a lot of added extras like keys, synths, brass and guest vocalists. Tremor attempts to capture the sound of the band live in the room and having your own space allows you to spend more time rehearsing and nailing the songs before you start to record them. We could also take our time trying out different amps, snares, guitars etc so time is a big factor in having your own space. 

2. Your music pulls from some serious heavyweights—MC5, Sabbath, QOTSA, the Pistols—but still feels uniquely yours. What’s the secret to making those influences collide without sounding derivative?

I think although the songs I write and the way I play guitar/sing has been heavily influenced by the bands mentioned above, each member has his own influences and playing style that makes the songs more uniquely Superseed sounding. 

3. You’ve earned a reputation for explosive live shows across the UK. How does the energy of the stage bleed into your studio recordings—or vice versa?

I think we are a very tight, loud and powerful band live and ‘bleed’ is the operative word here as we were less afraid to drive the mic levels hard in the studio to get that live n loud power across on the record.

4. With dual vocals and guitars from David and Ben, there’s a lot of firepower up front. How do you strike the balance between chaos and cohesion when writing and recording?

Me and Ben have been good friends for many years and we have both sang together on various recordings in the past so that helps a lot. Although our voices can sound similar sometimes which is great when we want to blend them together for big harmony choruses etc, Ben has a unique way with words and how he sings them so I like to hold back and give him space for that to shine whenever possible. He’s very quick in the studio and also the nicest bloke I know so recording him is a breeze.

5. Tremor feels like a statement record. What do you want fans—old and new—to walk away feeling after they’ve been hit by it?

I think we want more fans to venture out to see us live, not only to witness our fitness but to also support the other bands we play with and the venues we play at. This record shows us in a more honest, live and hard rockin’ light so if you like what you hear on record you will definitely enjoy the live show so come along to a gig soon and let’s have some fun!