Supraluxe
Self-titled
It's almost spring in Minnesota. We generally only get two months of summer and maybe 1 month of spring, so we treasure every once of that sunlight and the feeling you get when you're positive the snow will hold out for at least 10 weeks.
For me, spring means A&W car trips, sunroof permanently open and a shimmery, shiny pop album that encourages flowers to bloom, rabbits to hump and brings a smile to your face even when trapped on 494 commuting hell.
This year, that album is Supraluxe's self-titled debut. It's from a Minneapolis trio -- Rich Pearson, Jim Risser and Bob Burns -- who all have "normal" jobs but have been dedicated to a standing weekly jam that evolved into this album.
Supraluxe is a straightforward pop rock album with too many bright spots to point out, and just listening to the lush chordal melodies and dreamy pop hooks, you wouldn't know the disc was recorded in a basement on home recording equipment with drum loops. With influences ranging from Elliot Smith and Rundgren to Bacharach and Steely Dan, Supraluxe has that musical maturity of my dad's Cali-pop rock collection with a freshness of style he'd never appreciate, but I do.
What I like best is that I can leave the album on repeat and not get annoyed. Also of note, is the group's prevalence on Podcasts across the nation, particularly for a group who doesn't tour (read the interview for more info on this).
We sat down with the group to talk about DIY recording, happy accidents and the wide open marketing opportunity that is Podcasting. Read on...
Supraluxe is an unusual Twin Cities band, what's the back story?
Supraluxe was always intended to be a "recording only" project. As "mature" guys (OK.......we're friggin' old) with kids and jobs, we felt we wanted to focus our efforts because of time constraints. We knew that live gigs were fun, but ultimately disappear into the ether of history. We wanted to make something (an album) that would last and be a testament to our ideas, likes and passions.
Loving the lush sounds of Rundgren, Steely Dan, Elliot Smith, etc, we took our time and tried to realize every song's potential. The entire process was one steep learning gradient because we'd never attempted a DIY project of this scope, alone or together.
So what was the writing process like as it evolved?
We started with nothing but some song sketches, then the collaborative melting pot moved into action. We allowed each song to roll around in our sonic palates for as long as each needed, often coming back to a song long after it was "completed" to explore some whim. More often, ideas presented themselves spontaneously and intuitively, without any conscious effort, just "Holy crap, where'd that come from?"
These were some great successes, a few disappointments and countless obsessive conversations about trying to get each song as right as we could make 'em. Finally, our recording program (ACID) overloaded, accepting no further input or adjustments, leaving many adjustments and ideas unaddressed -- the album was mandated as DONE.
Got it. So do you guys really all have boring day jobs?
Jim's a doctor, Bob is an arts funder and Rich "works with computers."
Given the mentions of computers, this album is incredibly tight. Did you mix it yourself?
Bob Burns (keyboards and la la's) was exclusively responsible for the drum programming and mixing. He rocketed past all our expectations, as he had minimal experience with electronic recording and mixing. The tightness is a pretty conscious effort to make the transitions as smooth as possible and is probably a product of working with drum loops. There were clearly limitations working with drum programming, but we tried to make the songs feels as "live" as possible. Again, we started with basically nothing in the way of experience or expertise in digital home recording, so at each step of the way we were like "Hmmm, what happens if we try THIS" - the proverbial throwing noodles at the wall methodology. Each member has strengths, and this was Bob's. He's a lot better at it than he'll own up to.
I can attest to that. It's one of the tighter albums I've heard locally this year - loops or not. Now onto the music, who are your influences?
There are a lot here. As above. Rundgren, Elliot Smith, Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Kiss, Burt Bacharach...it really is a long list. We all come from slightly different areas but there's a huge overlap in taste. We're always on the prowl for cool new stuff, but you are what you eat, and we ate the sounds we grew up with.
The album has a lot of great musical interplay between genres with a lot of bright pop outbursts. What exactly were you going for?
Many happy accidents happened here. We'd like to tell you all of this was intentional, but we just kinda made stuff up as we went. The songwriting was very hook-laden, so we just tried to maximize the vibe of each tune. Ultimately, we were going for that mix of happy-sad pop that blends catchiness with exquisite melancholy. Sometimes songs take on lives of their own, going places you never in a million years thought they would. People in our position wrestle with all that all the time, and it can become complicated and political in a cooperative environment. We have a level of trust that allows the free expression of ideas. If someone likes or doesn't like an idea, he says so, and we either expound on it or move on.
Favorite track and why? Go!
Jim's fave: "Marmalade:" My best lyrics. Beautiful guitar part by Rich. Amazing solo by guest guitarist Jeff Budin. Seamless production by Bob.
Rich's fave: "Boyfriend:" The most realized and complete musical expression on the disc.
Bob's fave: "Big Comedown:" I like the Partidge Family ending.
You guys have done a great job marketing yourselves through Podcasts. Can you talk more about that and how other local groups could use this new medium to their advantage?
Podcasts are a relatively new thing, the term was only coined a couple years ago, but they're just recordings, usually mp3s, that people record and make available for others to download. Because podcasting is so new, the fact that there is very little in the way of standards and the fact that the internet is basically anarchic means that people are experimenting with sounds, bands, formats, etc., and they're totally open to fresh ideas. Supraluxe is getting played on podcasts simply because we're ASKING to get played on podcasts. When you dump as much as we did into a project like this, you can't just set up shop and not put up a sign. Soliciting play is nothing more than putting up a sign. But it's also an indication of how others see your work, because the ratio of asking to be played vs actually getting played seems largely tied to the quality of the "product", and we've gotten more yeses than nos so that's encouraging. We keep a running list of each podcast we appear on our blog. The Internet has opened things up for us in ways we couldn't have imagined a few years ago, and podcasts are just one area we're pursuing.
Other news/upcoming album/gigs?
We're focused on the next batch of songs right now, so live performance isn't on the radar. Yet. Our busy lives and perfectionist tendencies are at odds with the time and effort required to reproduce these songs live, although many of them would totally kill, but for now it's not on the table. We are practicing with a live drummer -- an amazing musician named Bill Lee -- so the next album will have a looser more organic vibe to it and will probably lend itself to live performance better than the first CD.
You can purchase the Supraluxe's self-titled debut at CD Baby
Supraluxe
Self-titled
It's almost spring in Minnesota. We generally only get two months of summer and maybe 1 month of spring, so we treasure every once of that sunlight and the feeling you get when you're positive the snow will hold out for at least 10 weeks.
For me, spring means A&W car trips, sunroof permanently open and a shimmery, shiny pop album that encourages flowers to bloom, rabbits to hump and brings a smile to your face even when trapped on 494 commuting hell.
This year, that album is Supraluxe's self-titled debut. It's from a Minneapolis trio -- Rich Pearson, Jim Risser and Bob Burns -- who all have "normal" jobs but have been dedicated to a standing weekly jam that evolved into this album.
Supraluxe is a straightforward pop rock album with too many bright spots to point out, and just listening to the lush chordal melodies and dreamy pop hooks, you wouldn't know the disc was recorded in a basement on home recording equipment with drum loops. With influences ranging from Elliot Smith and Rundgren to Bacharach and Steely Dan, Supraluxe has that musical maturity of my dad's Cali-pop rock collection with a freshness of style he'd never appreciate, but I do.
What I like best is that I can leave the album on repeat and not get annoyed. Also of note, is the group's prevalence on Podcasts across the nation, particularly for a group who doesn't tour (read the interview for more info on this).
We sat down with the group to talk about DIY recording, happy accidents and the wide open marketing opportunity that is Podcasting. Read on...
Supraluxe is an unusual Twin Cities band, what's the back story?
Supraluxe was always intended to be a "recording only" project. As "mature" guys (OK.......we're friggin' old) with kids and jobs, we felt we wanted to focus our efforts because of time constraints. We knew that live gigs were fun, but ultimately disappear into the ether of history. We wanted to make something (an album) that would last and be a testament to our ideas, likes and passions.
Loving the lush sounds of Rundgren, Steely Dan, Elliot Smith, etc, we took our time and tried to realize every song's potential. The entire process was one steep learning gradient because we'd never attempted a DIY project of this scope, alone or together.
So what was the writing process like as it evolved?
We started with nothing but some song sketches, then the collaborative melting pot moved into action. We allowed each song to roll around in our sonic palates for as long as each needed, often coming back to a song long after it was "completed" to explore some whim. More often, ideas presented themselves spontaneously and intuitively, without any conscious effort, just "Holy crap, where'd that come from?"
These were some great successes, a few disappointments and countless obsessive conversations about trying to get each song as right as we could make 'em. Finally, our recording program (ACID) overloaded, accepting no further input or adjustments, leaving many adjustments and ideas unaddressed -- the album was mandated as DONE.
Got it. So do you guys really all have boring day jobs?
Jim's a doctor, Bob is an arts funder and Rich "works with computers."
Given the mentions of computers, this album is incredibly tight. Did you mix it yourself?
Bob Burns (keyboards and la la's) was exclusively responsible for the drum programming and mixing. He rocketed past all our expectations, as he had minimal experience with electronic recording and mixing. The tightness is a pretty conscious effort to make the transitions as smooth as possible and is probably a product of working with drum loops. There were clearly limitations working with drum programming, but we tried to make the songs feels as "live" as possible. Again, we started with basically nothing in the way of experience or expertise in digital home recording, so at each step of the way we were like "Hmmm, what happens if we try THIS" - the proverbial throwing noodles at the wall methodology. Each member has strengths, and this was Bob's. He's a lot better at it than he'll own up to.
I can attest to that. It's one of the tighter albums I've heard locally this year - loops or not. Now onto the music, who are your influences?
There are a lot here. As above. Rundgren, Elliot Smith, Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Kiss, Burt Bacharach...it really is a long list. We all come from slightly different areas but there's a huge overlap in taste. We're always on the prowl for cool new stuff, but you are what you eat, and we ate the sounds we grew up with.
The album has a lot of great musical interplay between genres with a lot of bright pop outbursts. What exactly were you going for?
Many happy accidents happened here. We'd like to tell you all of this was intentional, but we just kinda made stuff up as we went. The songwriting was very hook-laden, so we just tried to maximize the vibe of each tune. Ultimately, we were going for that mix of happy-sad pop that blends catchiness with exquisite melancholy. Sometimes songs take on lives of their own, going places you never in a million years thought they would. People in our position wrestle with all that all the time, and it can become complicated and political in a cooperative environment. We have a level of trust that allows the free expression of ideas. If someone likes or doesn't like an idea, he says so, and we either expound on it or move on.
Favorite track and why? Go!
Jim's fave: "Marmalade:" My best lyrics. Beautiful guitar part by Rich. Amazing solo by guest guitarist Jeff Budin. Seamless production by Bob.
Rich's fave: "Boyfriend:" The most realized and complete musical expression on the disc.
Bob's fave: "Big Comedown:" I like the Partidge Family ending.
You guys have done a great job marketing yourselves through Podcasts. Can you talk more about that and how other local groups could use this new medium to their advantage?
Podcasts are a relatively new thing, the term was only coined a couple years ago, but they're just recordings, usually mp3s, that people record and make available for others to download. Because podcasting is so new, the fact that there is very little in the way of standards and the fact that the internet is basically anarchic means that people are experimenting with sounds, bands, formats, etc., and they're totally open to fresh ideas. Supraluxe is getting played on podcasts simply because we're ASKING to get played on podcasts. When you dump as much as we did into a project like this, you can't just set up shop and not put up a sign. Soliciting play is nothing more than putting up a sign. But it's also an indication of how others see your work, because the ratio of asking to be played vs actually getting played seems largely tied to the quality of the "product", and we've gotten more yeses than nos so that's encouraging. We keep a running list of each podcast we appear on our blog. The Internet has opened things up for us in ways we couldn't have imagined a few years ago, and podcasts are just one area we're pursuing.
Other news/upcoming album/gigs?
We're focused on the next batch of songs right now, so live performance isn't on the radar. Yet. Our busy lives and perfectionist tendencies are at odds with the time and effort required to reproduce these songs live, although many of them would totally kill, but for now it's not on the table. We are practicing with a live drummer -- an amazing musician named Bill Lee -- so the next album will have a looser more organic vibe to it and will probably lend itself to live performance better than the first CD.
You can purchase the Supraluxe's self-titled debut at CD Baby
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