SUPERORGANISM

It’s a small world, so the saying goes, and the internet is only making global connectivity simpler and quicker. Getting together in a garage and rocking the heck out will never go away, but increasingly locality is becoming less of a requirement to collaboration. We’ve seen bands come together by sharing files and co-writing across countries and continents before (Ms Mr famously emailed snippets of their tunes back and forth during the writing process for example) but so far we’ve not had anything quite on the scale of Superorganism.

Made up of eight members (so far, we’re promised there are more to come) and spanning numerous locations in the US, Japan, England, Australia and Korea, we like to think of them as being a bit Polyphonic Spree meets Tron.

Fronted by 17 year old Orono (originally from Japan, currently living in Maine) beats and vocals etc are shared across the collective. So far there is just the one track (though plans currently include a possible EP, a psychedelic video and world domination) and it is an absolute gem.

There’s a laidback wonderfulness and retro feeling vibe about ‘Something For Your M.I.N.D’ a kind of mid-90s fuzziness that evokes Bran Van 3000 or Len. It’s almost like it’s stoner-dance, a wobbly higher state of consciousness for the millennials as they bathe in hazy afternoon sunshine perhaps. The beat walks with a casual, almost lazy swagger as Orono’s vocals are like a mantra laid over backing vocals that sound like they should be a sample. Small, subtle electronic touches and guitar sounds round out this marvellous hybrid, conceived in the internet and let loose on the world with a smile and a shrug of happiness. If we are indeed living in The Matrix, we may just have found the one.

Words by Adam from Alphabet Bands

Tipped by Charlotte Holroyd from Bitter Sweet Symphonies