Image by Jordan Hughes //

We caught up with Ruby from Superorganism to get the lowdown on what it’s like being in one of the most peculiar bands around.

It’s not often you meet a band with members from Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the UK, though that’s exactly the makeup of bubblegum-pop band Superorganism. Their unique and complex backstory seems to involve a lot of chance, travel and a couple of internet wormholes.

“A bunch of us have known each other for a long period of time, some us a short period of time… Mostly meeting online via music forums and a couple by mutual friends,” singer Ruby says. “A few years ago some of the members were in a different band, touring in Japan and they met [frontwoman/singer] Orono, who had discovered the band by a youtube algorithm…”

“A few years later we were like let’s start a fun new project, and Orono had been posting some really cool demos on Soundcloud, so we sent a demo over to her and within half an hour she sent back ‘Something For Your M.I.N.D.’”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPS-Cq4uMFs

The track would become the first Superorganism single and currently has racked up around 12 million plays on Spotify and YouTube, with audiences around the world lapping up the groups sugary electro-pop sensibilities as well as their colourful aesthetic which is designed in-house by the group’s visual artist Robert Strange. Hell, they even have made their own whale logo that reflects their coming together.

“Someone posted an online article about all of these whales gathering somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, we started talking about that, and then Emily drew the logo with the whale which is a cool big beast that is kind of a superorganism itself,” Ruby says.

The group presently all (bar one) live together in a house in East London which you would think would mean they are able to write music together and collaborate constantly without the constraints of being in different countries, though that’s not the way Superorganism works.

“Everyone is still holed up in their rooms sending files to each other,” Ruby says. “The thing that’s made it heaps easier is there are no time zone differences. So at least if you’re sending a file to someone across the hallway, they’re not in a different time zone and we’re all on the same page.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZhQEqIX07U

Having already covered plenty of Europe and the US this year, the group will be heading back to the states again before they hit our shores for their Splendour performances and a couple of sideshows which they are very excited about.

“We’re really looking forward to Meeting our Australian fans. I’ve never been to Splendour before and I’ve heard so many good things about it. Orono has never been to Australia before so it will be cool times for her. For a couple of us it will be great to visit back home and have some family time,” Ruby says.

Often coordinating dances and costumes (including raincoats), we can expect a vibrant and colourful Superorganism show with Robert Strange cooking up some special eye-candy for lucky punters. “He has got together the best stage show for you guys. It will be awesome. You’ll be able to see some really cool visuals and yes, we do have our raincoats. I hear that we will need them for Splendour as well,” Ruby laughs. “We’ve got some dancing… whether or not it’s professional, I don’t know, but it’s lots of fun.”

Superorganism’s self-titled album is out now and you can grab tickets to their Australian sideshows here.