Superorganism’s Harry Lets Us in on Band’s Mystique

Signing to Domino Records mid-2017, the fun pop eight-piece Superorganism has since kept a pretty exclusive profile, playing only a handful of shows throughout the entire year. With the release of their self-titled debut album on 2 March, they embark on a long-awaited cross-continental tour. Co-founder and guitarist, New Zealander Christopher “Harry” Young (pictured top far left) gives Berlin-based English language magazine Exberliner some insight into the band’s mystique.

Exberliner asks Young: “The band met online. How does living together in London now influence your music-making?”

“It’s a pretty small house [in Hackney], considering how many people are living in it. [American singer] Orono’s taken over the living room so we all have to congregate in the kitchen now,” Young says. “We’ve got similar tastes and humour – it’s fun … We’re not geographically tied together, and that’s one of the coolest things about this project.”

“What’s your relationship to the 1990s you borrow from?” the magazine asks. “Not all of you were alive back then.”

“Orono [Noguchi] has just turned 18; she’s the youngest. I’d be surprised if she remembered dial-up internet. The oldest is 32, I think. That plays a role in the creation of the music, because we have a breadth of different experiences,” Young explains.

“We’re introducing each other to different music all the time. Orono can show [New Zealander Tim Shann] Tucan something new and modern, whilst he has knowledge of 1980s metal that she wouldn’t for example.”

Four other New Zealanders are in the band: Mark Turner (Emily), Blair Everson (Robert Strange), Ruby and B. Young, Turner, Everson and Shann also make up Wellington-founded indie pop group The Eversons.

Superorganism plays at Die Cantine in Cologne, Germany on 22 February, followed by Festsaal Kreuzberg in Berlin on 23 February. The band heads to the United States in mid-March.

Original article by Jenny Browne and Michael Hoh, Exberliner, February 2018.