Superbloom had us hooked with their latest acoustic release ‘Paper & Stone’ so it felt like the right time to have a chat about the single as well as their being as a band, their dreams and their goals!
Who are you and how did your band come to be?
“We’re Robert James (vocals and guitars) and Sam Lidington (drums and percussion); two friends from North London who share a mutual love of music. We used to play at one of our local venues, The Green Room in Welwyn Garden City, in separate bands when we were kids. This was back in the day when people went out to gigs on a Tuesday night, just for fun! We had a lot of mutual friends and ended up playing in a band together. Many years and musical projects later, we started Superbloom.”
What do you like most about being in a band and what keeps you going?
“One of the main things that drives us is live performance, but unfortunately, due to the pandemic, this hasn’t really been possible up to now. This has been a real challenge and we’ve had to find other ways to stay motivated and get our music out there. We’ve focussed on writing a body of recorded material over the past couple of years and have met / worked with some hugely talented people along the way. I think it’s this interaction with musical professionals that’s motivated us. We’ve also had great feedback and support from our fans throughout our first four releases, which helps drive our ambition. We’re so pleased and proud every time someone reaches out to tell us they’re enjoying what we’re doing, it means the world.”
Can you tell me a little more about your latest release and the inspiration behind it?
“Paper & Stone (Acoustic) is an unplugged version of our previous release. The original song went down really well with our fanbase and we felt there was scope to take it further, and in a different direction. We saw an opportunity to demonstrate our musical versatility and connect with a different audience. As we wrote the arrangement of the acoustic track, we envisaged string sections mirroring some of the key melodies of the original song, but we didn’t want to follow the current trend of producing a full orchestral version. We’re really pleased with the balance we’ve struck. The elegant string parts add depth and dynamism, whilst leaving space for the core instrumentation to flourish. We learnt a lot working with such dedicated and talented session players, which made us value the experience even more.”
What do you hope your music does to those listening to it?
“In my opinion, the best songs are the ones that make you feel something, regardless of genre or style, so I hope our music moves people in some way. Whether that be to instil happiness, sadness, anger, or inspiration, I just want people to feel emotionally driven by it. A huge amount of effort, energy and passion goes into our songs, and I hope this comes across to the listener.”
What are some of your goals and dreams regarding your musical career?
“We understand how difficult it is to achieve sustained success in this industry. There are so many amazing bands out there, and a huge amount of them go under the radar, which goes to show how fierce the competition is. Our goals and dreams don’t revolve around money, material possessions, or even playing in front of thousands of people (although of course that would be nice). We just want our music to fulfil it’s potential. Whether that means being listened to by one person, a hundred, or a million people, we want to make sure it reaches as many ears as possible. In the short term, our aim is to keep creating and delivering regular, quality content that people enjoy, and as long as we can look back and feel proud of what we’ve made, we believe the rest will follow!”
How do you hope to get there and who will you need for it?
“I’m a bit of a control freak, so I like to do as much of the ‘leg work’ as possible, which includes more than just the creative elements. Having said that, I’m under no illusions that achieving our goals requires the input of other industry professionals. We’re lucky to have many talented friends with different expertise (producers, photographers, videographers etc) who support us in what we’re doing, which is invaluable. We’ve also met several people since starting this project who’ve helped push us to the next level. We’re hugely grateful for this. I think collaboration in music is more important now than it’s ever been, particularly with the rise of social media. The impact of people sharing our music with their friends can’t be underestimated, and it’s something we like to encourage people to do. We’d also like to collaborate with other artists in the future. I like the idea of two bands working together to help each other grow their fanbases, and it’s definitely something I’d like to explore.”
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