“When I was growing up everyone had record players and most people had tape players. The nicer cars had a tape player so I grew up in a golden era of mixtapes—that we would make from records—and later, CDs. I have collected records since before I can remember.”
“I remember being in a department store and my mother agreeing to buy me a record when I was very young. I picked out the one with a dalmatian on it, it turned out to be Rush. When I was in junior high, trips to the record store became regular and religious events. I looked at every record and wanted to absorb all of it. I was very careful with which ones I bought but they were no listening stations, so it was always a risk. Hence the Beatles, they were a sure bet.
There was a record called Hit Explosion and another one called The Beat put out by K-Tel Records that were huge influences to me when I was growing up. They were collections of hit singles with songs like “New World Man” by Rush, “Stepping Out” by Joe Jackson, “Vacation” by the Go Gos, “Young Turks” by Rod Stewart. I loved that music very much. Records were expensive though, so I listened to the radio for a lot of my musical pleasure – and also bought tapes.
I collected the Beatles records, tons of early hip hop (that got lost at my second and final DJ gig in 6th grade). My older brother Jon was into tapes and had all of the Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, Genesis, the Who, and Led Zeppelin. So, that music has always had special mystery and allure to it—it was the music of my big brother who I naturally admire.
I listened to the Beastie Boys a bunch at one point in the process of making our new record Escape Velocity. I love the interplay and the bounce they get, as well as all the different places their music goes.
But for the most part I let each song that we make assume its own identity and I try to honor that spirit and let the influences show up on their own, like ghosts or jokes.”
—Stuart Bogie
Superhuman Happiness’ Escape Velocity is in stores now via Royal Potato Family. On vinyl.
