Superfluid formed around 3 years ago, with members including Doofmeister NIL and brain-the-size-of-a-planet Gribbly (founding members), the delicate tank-like enigma Abunai Hito, resident *scritch*scraatcher* DJ Luke, the mysterious fanboy racer Graeman and new-comer DRi posing as the resident beat-nut rhythm freak.When speaking to DRi I found out a few very interesting facts, hither-to-fore unbeknownst to all and sundry, about their rig, performing and touring.

Starting by quizzing DRi on the equipment used by superfluid to create their superfly sounds (listing of equipment can be found at http://www.superfluid.com.au/studio.htm); he stated that the studio and live rigs are two different worlds entirely so it’s hard to generalise their methods. “We do however horde gear and old records chasing specific sounds. Any tool that helps is loved too, such as my MPC sampler, which I use to sequence, trigger samples from my percussion pads and lately even control visuals! Laptops are our friends these days too, so we can use sequencing programs such as Ableton Live and some other crap for our visuals”.

“We’ve got fat racks of synths and compressors and outboard stuff but gear is gear though, the real trick is getting to know each other and how WE use the stuff… so we’re kinda at a point in performance that we know each other well enough to not need to think like “oh shit… is Luke going to drop that scratch now or in 8? I know when Luke is gunna scratch the ‘sup beeatches’ scratch cause it’s always when I’m about to grab the mic… yeah a DJ’s sense of humour. Take him please.”

It’s always interesting to find out whom or what inspires an artist or group, and with Superfluid, it’s no exception.

“We all actually met pretty much over a passion for a certain type of breaks and lounge funky-ear goodness. The Ninja Tune label is a big influence. It’s hard to sum up some favourite albums that have inspired but I can say a short list such as Beatles’ ‘Sgt Peppers’, Mr Scruff ‘Keep it Unreal’, Beastie Boys ‘Pauls Boutique’, De La Soul ‘3 feet high and rising’ and even Miles Davis and Yoko Kanno for all you Jazz and Anime heads out there. I come from a few punk bands too so there’s stuff like Refused, Sepultura and Mr Bungle running around in my head. Wouldn’t have it any other way”.

Working as group, it can sometimes be difficult to conglomerate each individual artists ideal into one singular group output. I asked DRi about this and was pleased to find this is not so much the case with Superfluid.

“It’s not so hard actually. It helps when you all know what to aim for, that’s the important thing. Our DJ likes his hip-hop, Abunai Hito likes the instrumental stuff, and NIL… NIL is a freak. Cable internet helps to swap files, cd-rs fly around like a mad ninja’s shuriken and the new studio bears witness to a few tantrums sometimes. You gotta have some tantrums though. NIL and I near had a fist-fight about congas once. It’s all about learning each others limits”.

With Brisbanes history of being somewhat removed from the scene in the other two Eastern States, and thus, being Brisbane based, I thought it relevant to ask how this effects the Superfluid sound and in what sense.

“A good question because your surrounds definitely shape your sound in pretty profound ways (says a geek who did essays on this shit). I mean we’ve all lived in a suburb called New Farm, which is part of the Valley, where we play most local gigs. In the street our dj and I live, there’s about two live acts and countless DJs. So I mean you’ve got that immediate cross-pollination of ideas, of the venues we play and the record stores we shop at. Having lived in many cities in many countries we are all influenced oddly as a whole. Gotta say I love Brisbane though, for better or for worse.”

“In our various guises we’ve done stuff with and for people like Tipper, Truelove and other internationals. Craig Anderton mentored me for a little while which was incredible, and I got to talk to Yoko Ono about the process of making music in the public eye which was really really abstract. Locals such as Foreign Technology, TOR and MFP constantly amaze us too. Seriously, I’d be shocked if many locals have heard of these guys but they are utterly fantastic. Like us they did the “release overseas” thing first for some reason. No one expects locals to be any good… Bastards!”

It helps a little to understand the direction a group wants to take by finding out which other artists they’d most like to collaborate with. When asked thus, DRi replied “There are four on our list we are talking with now. All I’m going to say is Sage Francis, Gruvis Malt, Mr Scruff and Ugly Duckling. As for why? Well they all write great music with a slightly subversive element and a lot of humour. Given the retrospective chance I would have loved to have worked with people like Miles Davis and Curtis Mayfield. Alas… that’s not happening in a hurry”.

With Superfluid having been out and about for a few years now, rocking many a bar, club and Party floor, I asked DRi to have a good hard think about which gig he looks upon with the most affection.

“Hot, dark and about a metre from me was a statue of some pagan totem pole holding a glowing fizzy rod of light. Yes it was the last Advent’jah (once a Brisbane only tradition, now travelling to many other states). Amid the smoky haze of a packed room, plenty of happy ITM faces and other delightfully wack mofo’s jumped around to some of our newest and oldest tunes. Very hot and sweaty and for once everything went perfect with our gear and we had more fun then we’ll ever let on. Thanks to whoever were there you made our night, in more ways then one heh heh!”.

“Its not quite an answer to your question but the RNA has always been an amazing place to play a gig at events like the Easter Advent’jah Festivals. I guess we’ve played pretty much everywhere over Brisbane by now and it’s hard to single out favourites. Each is enough different to be unique and a little challenging, such as Rics with people centimetres from your face”.

While Superfluids premiere release ‘8 Bit Crunch’ was released on Creative Vibes in ‘02, the boys have been very busy releasing tracks on various other albums including ‘Beats & Squelch 4’ and of course the ‘Dragonflight ‘99’ compilation. The latest in this line of releases is their contribution to the Electronic Artists Society Compilation (which can be heard at http://www.superfluid.com.au/audio/LODOSS.mp3), I was curious how the group decide which track to put on the album.

“Like NIL joked on our website we actually do put a lot of time in understanding the music of other cultures. One of my best friends introduced me to Serbian/Balkan folk music so we worked up a track with elements of that. Just came together really quickly. These little tracks are fun to write in between releasing albums because you can experiment a bit on compilations.”.

Getting a gig, getting signed, getting released can be full of pitfalls and many artists and groups often have no idea how to make this all come about, so I asked DRi about his memories of how Superfluid fared when trying for the same.

“Ohh boy. Well first problem was we were crap. We slugged on like everyone else over the years, playing doofs and warehouses and maxing out the credit cards on gear and stuff. Gigs got bigger, we got on plenty of compilations and radio and so on. There came a point where we had an album to release and agreed that we only really wanted to aim to release it on Creative Vibes. Abunai Hito and Nil did a great job fleshing all that out. We still get a little kick seeing our album in stores you know… with the artwork and all that. It doesn’t come easy, especially in a city that people knock as being “too small”, and with the venue and crowd turnout problems Brisbane is known for. Haha! I mean in a hard-house city who woulda thought some funk shit would get gigs? None of this happened by accident so it’s pretty much testament that anyone can get out there with enough time and effort I guess”.

Superfluid will be playing March 15th at .Lucid When asked how much the group are looking forward to this, DRi concludes “Warmed to the cockles of our heart. We get to act like rock stars for a night before its back to washing dishes at home”.

“Support the local producers and get their groupies!”

Superfluid – Brisbane’s very own band of beat-loving pranksters are set to play .Lucid at Manning Bar (University of Sydney), March 15th, with other acts including Endorphin and The 5000 Fingers of Dr.T.