Eli Superflyy on his debut album ‘Motor’
Brought to life by post-punk indie producer Steven Marr (Kane Strang, Juno Is, Night Lunch, Die! Die! Die!), Eli Superflyy takes a darker turn from the playful nature of his previous works with this long awaited project, exploring new sonic landscapes and contorted sounds with sprinkles of influence from acts such as King Krule, Arctic Monkeys and Kane Strang.
Hey Eli! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat to us about your new music! First of all, we'd love to know about your musical journey from when you first started singing and making music?
Hey! Thanks for the interview! From the age of 5, I knew I loved music. After seeing Arctic Monkeys "I Bet That You Look Good on the Dance Floor" on C4 back in the day, I knew I wanted to be in a rock band. My mum was the driving force behind me picking up music. She and my dad bought me my first guitar when I was about 5, and then started getting lessons after school shortly after. I didn't like lessons - was super shy and didn't like to practice lots haha. I liked mucking around and coming up with my own chord shapes and songs. I did this until I was about 11 or 12, then I formed my first band at primary school. Aaron, my drummer now, was in that band - it's pretty cool because this means that we've been writing and playing together for about 15 years now. This was the first project I wrote music for.
Fast forward to high school and played in a few bands, but really got into songwriting in year 13 when I moved to Wellington High School. At that time, Mac Demarco was my biggest influence, and he showed me that you could write and record music at home. I had always thought it was this super complex and mysterious thing recording music, but when I found out I could record my guitar through an $8 interface, use Logic Pro Drummers, and record vocals through my earphones, I was away. Since I was 17, music has been the most constant part of my life, and writing music is the best diary or journal I've ever tried to keep up with.
So good! And congrats on your debut album 'Motor'! How did you land on the name of the album and what were the central themes you delved into lyrically for this project?
The name came about one day when I was on the bus and there was a sign for an art or photography exhibition, I think the exhibition was called ‘Motor’ or ‘Engine Room’ or something along those lines. For a while, I had a little red Supreme Coffee notebook that I carried around, and I would always write in cool words that I saw or heard, and ‘Motor’ was one of them. Honestly, I thought ‘motor’ was just such a cool word to begin with. It actually ended up meaning a lot to me in the end, and the meaning of ‘motor’ really stuck out as this thing that you share with someone or an expression of how much time has passed - how can we keep this motor running? Has my ‘motor’ come to the end of it’s life? The idea of a motor and the feeling of time passing by was a central theme for a few of the tracks. Other tracks are time capsules for a feeling once felt, or they are just a creative expression of made-up stories based upon a feeling I was holding at the time.
Love it! What were your main artistic influences for the songs on this album?
There are a few here - the main ones would be Arctic Monkeys, Kane Strang and maybe a bit of P.H.F. I've listened to Arctic Monkeys every year since I was 5 or 6, so it's pretty impossible for it not to have a profound impact on my songwriting. The other main influences would have to be New Zealand music in general, my friends or artists and bands I look up to in the local/national scene. I would say my music now is heavily influenced by it and is an interpretation and expression of it.
We absolutely love the anthemic sound of your track 'No No' which is one of our favourite songs of the album! Can you tell us about the inspiration behind this track?
I was listening to a lot of Deftones and shoe gaze/heavy rock stuff at the time. Although it's sort of the complete opposite of those, in my head, they are very connected to this song. I was experimenting a lot with different pedals, guitars, amps and production techniques when I wrote the demo in 2021. I was very into the music my friends Nic and Reuben were making, and I guess I had them in mind when I was making this track, maybe with the guitar riffs and the production techniques. I guess meaning and story-wise for this track, I wrote it during the second lockdown here in Aotearoa, and was, like everyone else, very lonely and missing normality and friends/loved ones. This was an expression of that time, and I think it embodies the feelings I had pretty well.
Plus we think the song 'Thunderbolt' is incredible! What was the writing and production process like for this one?
I wrote this one on the same day I wrote the final track on the album too. I wrote them one Sunday whilst I was living up at my parent's place. I wrote I would say half of this album there. I wrote this song initially on the acoustic guitar, and I didn't really think it would be anything more than that. I ended up taking it to band practice, and that's when it became more than a random acoustic Sunday song. I would say the lead guitar line is the most important part of the song. I owe that one to Baxter Perry, who played guitar alongside me on this record. He has such a unique and amazing guitar style, and he always amazed me with everything he did on this record. In terms of production and arrangement, it is a very simple song. There are two or three guitars, bass, drums, a bit of synth and some vocals. The colour comes from the production side, and I have Steven Marr to thank for that. He made the swirling guitar sit really nice in the track and had the idea to reverse the guitar melody in the outro to give the track some interest and also bring that real melancholic and nostalgic sound.
What were some of your highlights and/or core memories made throughout the journey of making this album?
Spending a full 7-day week in the studio with Steven Marr and the band was such a crazy experience. We were doing 12-hour+ days in the studio to get all the drums, bass and guitar done for 8 out of 9 tracks of the album. There were so many funny memories and jokes made, but they were all to the detriment of losing our minds because we were spending some time in one room together. The wheels definitely fell off towards days 6 and 7, but we made it all work. Steven and I came out best mates, and the band was so stoked that we all got everything done and tried a whole new way of recording music. It was a gauntlet of a week but was such a memorable experience that I will hold on to forever.
Wow, amazing! And who are some of your favourite NZ artists right now and are there any songs in particular that you especially love?
Office Dog is a massive one for me at the moment. Their album start to finish is insane, but the track ‘Spiel’ would have to be my favourite off of that album. Recitals are also a favourite of mine and their track ‘Rock Dove’ is amazing. Anything that my mate Christian Dimick does is mind-blowing too. His track ‘Souvenir’ by Awning has a special place in my heart.
Lastly, if you could say one thing to every person in the world, what would it be?
Do those things you think of doing but get too shy or nervous to try. It will work, and if it doesn't, at least you tried and now know it's not meant to be. Stick your hand up for everything too, even if you think you might not be any good at it.
Thanks so much Eli! Make sure to catch his show at Meow in Wellington on Fri 23 August and keep up with him on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Spotify or Apple Music.
