Supercaan infuses warmth into instrumentation
that conveys vitality and urgency to accompany lyrics that are politically
aware and socially insightful. “Zoetrope” begins with an 18-second, 3-step
intensity buildup that crests when the percussion enters. The song does take a
breath before its midpoint, but is primarily high energy. Still, the lean in
the direction of lower frequency instrumentation and deep vocals lends a warmth
to “Zoetrope.”
From
the lyrical perspective, Supercaan describe “Zoetrope” as “a sharp observation
on the double standards of the people in the top echelons of society who ‘get
to set the rules’ but ‘play by different rules.’” The band does not shy away
from exploring political and social topics. Supercaan attempts to provide
solace and answers in a world that’s not so clear. It helps that the members have
diverse backgrounds. The five members are from London, Birmingham, North
Shields and Denbighshire, Wales.
“Zoetrope”
is a techno-flavored Post Punk single from the band’s upcoming album “A
Tiger Walks the Streets.” We admit to having to look up the meaning to the
title – a “zoetrope is a 19th-century optical device consisting of a cylinder
with a series of pictures on the inner surface that, when viewed through slits
with the cylinder rotating, give an impression of continuous motion.
The members of Supercaan are Greg Milner
(vocals), Tom Whitfield (synth, lyrics), Stuart White (drums), Justin
Januszewski (bass) and Ralph Frost (guitar). The band started as a trio in 2003,
when Milner, White and Whitfield met at university. Januszewski and Frost began
joining the others for live shows and are now fully under the Supercaan
umbrella. Interestingly, “Zoetrope” was built “brick by brick”, with each band
member recording his part remotely.
“Zoetrope”
by Supercaan
From the press release for the upcoming album:
On Supercaan’s introspective second album, ‘A Tiger Walks the Streets’, the band come face to face with their biggest anxieties for the world. “It’s about the things you look at in society, things that worry us about bringing kids up in this world, and what we are leaving behind for future generations,” says lyricist Tom Whitfield.
In a time where society feels increasingly fragile, polarising and detached, the five-piece’s sophomore offering attempts to make sense of a world where we don’t have all the answers. “We wanted this album to feel like there was something cutting through to the listener,” adds Tom.
It all started with an email Greg sent to Tom following a two-year hiatus: “I want to write an album. I don't know how I'm going to do it, I don't know who's going to do it. But that's what I want to do.”
That was the start of Supercaan, a band name inspired by provocative British author J.G. Ballard’s dark thriller ‘Super-Cannes’. Taking inspiration from groups like Canadian indie collective Broken Social Scene and late ‘90s Nottingham rockers Six By Seven, Supercaan refined their ambitious sound to one that pairs anthemic indie-rock and soaring electronic landscapes, strewn with bubbling, nostalgic synths.
Propelled by Greg’s sonorous, ruminative vocals, the result is a brooding sound big enough for the weighty questions each song tackles. “We ask ourselves how big and bold can we go in that space of a four to five minute indie-pop song,” Tom says. “We’ve always liked artists that have made albums where it feels like you don't want to skip a track because it's all part of a story. That's what we’ve tried to do with Supercaan.”
The band started working on ‘A Tiger Walks the Streets’ in the first lockdown in March 2020. “The Dropbox folder was poppin’!” Greg jokes. By November that year, the group were able to get into the studio in Birmingham to record their individual parts. “Recording on our own gave us more time to really focus on the sound we were bringing to the album, from start to finish,” Greg adds. “We all knew the story the album was trying to tell.”
Their grand ambitions for the second album also meant recruiting two new members, Ralph and Justin on bass and guitar. “I think it's given more of a raw physicality to the music,” Tom says. “It's heavier, quicker. It's a bit darker, a bit broodier.” While their debut tackled the past and regret, Supercaan are looking forward for the first time, grappling with the uncertainty that the future brings while asking whether our society is progressing or regressing.
The record gets its name from a line in their existential, skittering track ‘Nagoro’, about the shrinking, rural Japanese village of the same name that’s filled with eerie scarecrow dolls. “I saw that village as a metaphor about how we think we're progressing in society, but are we actually any happier?” Tom says. “The lyrics talk about jobs being lost to automation and modernization, and the tiger represents that regeneration. But it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good thing.”
It’s an album name that also sounds like it could be a children’s book, calling back to the idea of the band growing older and more reflective. “It’s looking at society with that slightly naive wisdom you've got as you get older, rather than that youthful optimism that we might have written with in our 20s,” Tom says. It’s a concept that also matches the cover art designed by Greg – spray painted toy baby blocks that evoke ideas of both childhood innocence and the rigid structure of our world.
These themes are explored throughout the new album, with each song serving as a fable in the collection. The propulsive, urgent first single ‘Zoetrope’ is a sharp observation on the double standards of the people in the top echelons of society who “get to set the rules” but “play by different rules”. A track built “brick by brick”, with each band member recording their parts remotely, Six By Seven’s lead singer and the band’s “hero” Chris Olley adds another dimension to ‘Zoetrope’ in a remixed version of the song.
Then there’s the multi-layered, synth-laden ‘Ricochet’ which tackles the complex hypocrisy of vanity. “You're criticising other people for being vain, but then you're exactly the same as them,” Tom says. ‘Everything Collapses’, meanwhile, is a reflective slow-burner that builds to a heart-swelling crescendo, navigating the loss of former band member Sam Norris, who tragically died in a car accident. “That’s the song I’m most proud of that we’ve ever written together,” Greg says.
As Supercaan enter a new era, ‘A Tiger Walks the Streets’ offers perspective in a time that has left so many of us jaded. In an elusive search for the answers, Supercaan unearth their biggest, boldest sound yet.
On Supercaan’s introspective second album, ‘A Tiger Walks the Streets’, the band come face to face with their biggest anxieties for the world. “It’s about the things you look at in society, things that worry us about bringing kids up in this world, and what we are leaving behind for future generations,” says lyricist Tom Whitfield.
In a time where society feels increasingly fragile, polarising and detached, the five-piece’s sophomore offering attempts to make sense of a world where we don’t have all the answers. “We wanted this album to feel like there was something cutting through to the listener,” adds Tom.
It all started with an email Greg sent to Tom following a two-year hiatus: “I want to write an album. I don't know how I'm going to do it, I don't know who's going to do it. But that's what I want to do.”
That was the start of Supercaan, a band name inspired by provocative British author J.G. Ballard’s dark thriller ‘Super-Cannes’. Taking inspiration from groups like Canadian indie collective Broken Social Scene and late ‘90s Nottingham rockers Six By Seven, Supercaan refined their ambitious sound to one that pairs anthemic indie-rock and soaring electronic landscapes, strewn with bubbling, nostalgic synths.
Propelled by Greg’s sonorous, ruminative vocals, the result is a brooding sound big enough for the weighty questions each song tackles. “We ask ourselves how big and bold can we go in that space of a four to five minute indie-pop song,” Tom says. “We’ve always liked artists that have made albums where it feels like you don't want to skip a track because it's all part of a story. That's what we’ve tried to do with Supercaan.”
The band started working on ‘A Tiger Walks the Streets’ in the first lockdown in March 2020. “The Dropbox folder was poppin’!” Greg jokes. By November that year, the group were able to get into the studio in Birmingham to record their individual parts. “Recording on our own gave us more time to really focus on the sound we were bringing to the album, from start to finish,” Greg adds. “We all knew the story the album was trying to tell.”
Their grand ambitions for the second album also meant recruiting two new members, Ralph and Justin on bass and guitar. “I think it's given more of a raw physicality to the music,” Tom says. “It's heavier, quicker. It's a bit darker, a bit broodier.” While their debut tackled the past and regret, Supercaan are looking forward for the first time, grappling with the uncertainty that the future brings while asking whether our society is progressing or regressing.
The record gets its name from a line in their existential, skittering track ‘Nagoro’, about the shrinking, rural Japanese village of the same name that’s filled with eerie scarecrow dolls. “I saw that village as a metaphor about how we think we're progressing in society, but are we actually any happier?” Tom says. “The lyrics talk about jobs being lost to automation and modernization, and the tiger represents that regeneration. But it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good thing.”
It’s an album name that also sounds like it could be a children’s book, calling back to the idea of the band growing older and more reflective. “It’s looking at society with that slightly naive wisdom you've got as you get older, rather than that youthful optimism that we might have written with in our 20s,” Tom says. It’s a concept that also matches the cover art designed by Greg – spray painted toy baby blocks that evoke ideas of both childhood innocence and the rigid structure of our world.
These themes are explored throughout the new album, with each song serving as a fable in the collection. The propulsive, urgent first single ‘Zoetrope’ is a sharp observation on the double standards of the people in the top echelons of society who “get to set the rules” but “play by different rules”. A track built “brick by brick”, with each band member recording their parts remotely, Six By Seven’s lead singer and the band’s “hero” Chris Olley adds another dimension to ‘Zoetrope’ in a remixed version of the song.
Then there’s the multi-layered, synth-laden ‘Ricochet’ which tackles the complex hypocrisy of vanity. “You're criticising other people for being vain, but then you're exactly the same as them,” Tom says. ‘Everything Collapses’, meanwhile, is a reflective slow-burner that builds to a heart-swelling crescendo, navigating the loss of former band member Sam Norris, who tragically died in a car accident. “That’s the song I’m most proud of that we’ve ever written together,” Greg says.
As Supercaan enter a new era, ‘A Tiger Walks the Streets’ offers perspective in a time that has left so many of us jaded. In an elusive search for the answers, Supercaan unearth their biggest, boldest sound yet.
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