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Superfluid
are a 9 piece group with members hailing from Australia, UK,
Canada, USA and Germany with most of the live performance
aspect taking place in Australia. The crew specialise in
producing hip hop beats incorporating elements of breakbeat,
electro, jazz, downtempo, funk, turntablism all melded
together to produce highly listenable coherent music. Members
of Superfluid have also been responsible for releasing hard
house tunes and remixes embraced by the likes of Judge Jules
and Nick Sentience to name a couple. Not limiting themselves
to rocking huge crowds at live shows, the group also
participate in a wide range of activities such as motorbike
racing.
Superfluid have just released their
self-titled debut album, a double CD effort with disc 1
comprised of heavy hip hop tunes and loungey downtempo pieces
while Project Vectrex on disc 2 is an exhibition of hard
hitting original breakbeat compositions and compiled as a mix
CD.
Sampling plays a big part in the Superfluid sound
as they lift samples off old black and white movies, quirky
sci-fi shows, hip hop lyrics and this is well documented in
the first CD. Tunes like Cosmic Penguin and Pam's On
Pills are perfect examples - samples blended highlighting
the group's quirky sense of humour which sit atop heavy beats
and big basslines (especially in Cosmic
Penguin).
Skill Tester MMIV is a 4-man
turntablist showdown between Waxmaster Wayne, DJ Kuya, L33T
and Tor with each member using the weapon of their choosing be
it vinyl, Final Scratch and CDJ1000!
Uptempo hip
hop/big beat/breakbeat gets explored on tunes like
Frequency Response which incorporates an electro
bassline and distorted guitar hook with vocodered hip hop
vocals. Brisbane's Blue MC sings and drops MC lyrics on the
uptempo jazz meets breakbeat Speedway Star.
Towards the end of CD 1, the album moves into deeper
downtempo territories, with tunes such as Science Of
Sound with it's laidback jazzy noodlings, sci-fi effects
and spacey synths. Middle Eastern influences can be heard on
Lodoss SF vs The Drunken Samplist as they combine eastern pan
flute arrangements with ethnic female vocals and
turntablism.
Project Vectrex on CD 2 is a mix of
uptempo breakbeat featuring older Superfluid tunes and also
remixes of tunes from CD 1 from Superfluid themselves and
friends. As they group has displayed on the first CD, anything
goes and here they combine elements of electro, trance, techno
with breakbeat sensibilities.
The CD opens up with two
"licks" both on a huge crossover hard trance meets breakbeat
tip. Cardassia's mix of Hard Ass Lick sees a squelchy
acid lick mingle with robotic vocals and a funky drum beat.
The Muppet Respect mix of Big Phat Lick goes on a
deeper trip featuring more electro squelch and chopped up hip
hop vocals.
Nil's Brutal Deluxe is remixed by
Vectrex and incorporates 80s bboy electro beats, distorted
rock guitar riff all held together by an electro hook.
Veritech Defender 2049 sounds very much influenced by
the sounds of Fuel Records' Tipper with it's spongey bass line
- quirky FreQ Nasty bass meets Squarepusher production style
with a hip hop outlook on top.
2-steppy beats can be
heard on Proxima 3 - typically 2-step as well with
highly syncopated stabby kick drums sidle with soft snares and
short staccatto like hats with plenty of synth stabs and they
return to this with the Vectrex remix of Want It by
Lectrolux vs Nil.
Overall the two CDs exemplify
Superfluid's passion for the eclectic. Each tune varies from
the next in noticable fashion be it funk, hip hop, disco,
breakbeat, techno... I could go on, but there would be no need
to. For those who feel that electronic music is tending to
sound a little "1-note", Superfluid invite you to their realm
where anything is
possible.
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