Joan & The Giants get deep with their optimistic debut EP“we’re always finding ways to change, but always stay ultimately as Joan & The Giants, with that kind of overall arc of the sound with different influences.”
EP Walkthru: Supathick - In The Thick Of It
The recent WAM Song of the Year winners take us through their new sophomore EP track by track.
Posted By Veronica Zurzolo
2 years ago
Photo by Cedric Tang
Supa fresh from taking out the WAM Song of the Year for the Hip Hop/ New R&B category for their collaboration with Adrian Dzvuke; July (ft. Keely Brittain), dynamic genre-blurring group Supathick reveal their sophomore EP - In The Thick Of It.
Featuring previously released singles Love Back (which we covered here) and Own My Mind, the four-track compilation melts the raw songwriting talent of Christian Zappia with the jaw-dropping voice of Keely Brittain, and a collective of some of Boorloo/ Perth most talented musicians. “This second EP, for me, is really about learning to trust my own instincts musically and creatively. Each song lives in its own world and has its own colours, which I think happened more naturally than intentionally.” shares Christian. Whilst lush production and a sharp ear for melody and storytelling is prominent throughout In The Thick Of It, the sophomore release really does evolve from track to track, giving a taste of the diverse range in genre, style, and technique Supathick are capable of.
To celebrate the release of In The Thick Of It (out today), we asked Supathick to elaborate on what went into the making of each track on the EP. Be sure to hit play, and take a read on what they had to say below.
Own My Mind
I wrote this song in one afternoon after hearing If You’re Too Shy by The 1975. I hadn’t written anything that sounded like it before, but I knew I loved the throbbing bass and - truth be told - I’d just figured out how to put a gated reverb on the snare, so there’s that. I sent the track to Blake Rose in LA, and he connected with it real quick. He had vocals finished for it within a week, depicting this trance-like state you can fall into when it feels like your whole life revolves around one person. Thinking about them when you wake up, and when you go to sleep. I think it fit the song perfectly.
Little Bit More
My old man is a wealth of knowledge. One night, he told me that John D. Rockefeller once answered “just a little bit more” when a reporter asked him “how much money is enough money?”… and that guy was FILTHY rich. It stuck with me and I kind of related it to people I knew that didn’t know when
to stop, not necessarily in terms of money, but things like going out when it’s probably not what your mind or body needs that weekend, or trying to impress people. I worked on creating a synth arpeggiator that plays through pretty much the whole song, but has a long form so it hits some interesting rhythms and doesn’t feel too repetitive. After that the song pretty much wrote itself, apart from the second verse which I wrote in the car to the studio to record the song.
Healin’ feat. Al Whiteman
If I’m honest, this one’s just a straight up love song. I started writing it on a three quarter length Nylon string that my girlfriend has bought me for my birthday, the same guitar you hear on the track! It’s about finally finding the love that you feel like you’ve been waiting your whole life for. I sent the first verse to Al as soon as I wrote it (I think the voice memo was called ‘Jack Johnson Love Song’ haha), and the bridge he added into the song fit the vibe perfectly. I love his lyricism, and that section is such a breath of fresh air when it hits. He’s a special guy.
Love Back
This was a momentous track for me, because it was like “hey, here’s a new song and heads up, it’s not really funky at all”. It was a total step into a new direction, but one I think we had to take. It’s still thick, and I kept telling myself that was the most important thing. Supathick isn’t meant to be solely a funk band, or a disco band, we’re meant to be a thick band - whatever that means. It all started with the guitar riff, a homage to another high school love of mine, Last Dinosuars. You should hear the demo I sent Blake for this one… So trashy, but he gave me that “love back” hook, and it spurred me on to turn it into a full stadium-pop song.
Supathick’s sophomore EP In The Thick Of It is out now via Tone City Recordings.
Joan & The Giants get deep with their optimistic debut EP“we’re always finding ways to change, but always stay ultimately as Joan & The Giants, with that kind of overall arc of the sound with different influences.”
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