Meet: Manchester Punks Supera Morza

Manchester punk/grunge band Supera Morza are making waves after releasing three singles of their unique brand of post grunge punk mix. Backseat Mafia caught up with the band to find out where they come from, where they are going and the importance of music teachers in schools.

Give us a potted history of the band

Josh – The band began under a different name in 2015 as high school students playing in our high school band rooms in Bolton, Myself (josh), Jack and Finn playing in Manchester as much as we possibly could. In 2019 Harry joined us and then during lockdown Supera Morza was born.

After recording demos at home, in 2021 we released our debut single ‘SCRUBBER’ song that represented how we and many others felt about the state of government in 2020 which was followed up with our second single ‘ROADKILL’. Both songs were played by Gemma Bradley and Jack Saunders on Radio 1, BBC radio 6 and also being named Radio 1 future artists. In September Supera Morza played a sold out show at The Castle, Manchester and played across the north west. After another headline show at Yes Basement Supera Morza released the 3rd single ‘I’M WORKING IT OUT’ on March 4th and most recently played a headline show at Gullivers, Manchester.

Who inspired you to start making music

Jack – I think In terms of bands there are too many to count but my school teacher and guitar tutor Sam Packwood and Simon Zachey were always influencing me when I was younger to the point where I knew I wanted to do it as a career. They were both incredible at their instruments so I think they just made me take it more seriously than I did in them early days of learning music

Josh – I had a drum tutor at high school, Rick Hughes, who really made me see an option to take in life and opened my ears to incredible music that made me realise what sort of drummer I wanted to be.

Harry – I’m gonna say for my inspiration Mike Dirnt as when I started bass he everything I wanted to be as a bass player at that time.

Finn – I’d have to say green day’s Billie Joe Armstrong. Green day and nirvana was pretty much all I listened to between the ages of 14 and 18 so Billie Joe armstrong’s songwriting and musicianship definitely sculpted the way I play, write and even listen to music overall

And the one or maybe two records that inspired you artistically

Josh – 2 records that I can think of that I looked to for artistic inspiration would be Royal Blood’s self titled record and Glow on by Turnstile. Thatcher’s drumming was unbelievable and growing up made me want to play drums like that, especially since our sound as of now is heavier and the same with Daniel Fang (Turnstile), his drumming was so infectious, I still find myself hearing those grooves as iconic drum parts months after I heard the record! Both drummers really do bring the drums back to the forefront and it’s been a while since I’ve heard a drummer do that!

If you’re trying to explain who you sound like to someone that’s never heard you, what do you say

Jack – when I explain to someone what we sound like I usually ask if they’ve ever really listened to 90s Grunge, or some of the new punk bands that are around and I just try and compare some of our sounds and tracks to them – hopefully sparking some interest

Tell us about your new single

Jack – Our 4th single ‘Dull’ is our first release under a label which is really cool to think, we tracked this at Red City in Manchester with David Radahd-Jones who just got our sound instantly when we started to work with him. The song itself has themes and feelings of dissociation and just not taking the world around you in sometimes, the song has gone through a few changes in terms of speed and structure but the lyrics are pretty much the same as when I wrote them the first time round. It’s a narrative of a character Dull and I think he’s someone that a few of us can relate to.

Where can we get hold of it

Harry – You can get a hold of it on all major streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube etc We have no physical copies of our music out yet but it’s something we’d like to definitely do later down the line or in the near future

Tell us how you write

Finn – Well Jack is the main songwriter in the band, he’ll either come in with a fully finished track that we’ll all make parts for and develop further, or he’ll come in with maybe a riff or a chorus idea etc and we’ll just turn it into a song collectively. Recently we’ve been writing so much, so I’d say the main way we’ve been writing our recent songs is by just all getting into the rehearsal room together and firing ideas around – and then Jack will write lyrics for it when we’ve got a decent structure and foundation.

Tell us about your live show and how much have you been missing it recently

Harry – As for live shows, it definitely feels great to be back gigging and doing shows again. I think for every musician or band the lockdown sucked uno it wasn’t an enjoyable time, it was just this dull grey period where nothing happened. Not just for the fact of no live shows but also due to the fact recording and rehearsing also became cut off. So it’s like everything we did as a band ceased to be and was put on hold. To be back doing it all that again though feels really great not just for us as a band but also for the audience, cause equally people have missed going to shows and watching live performance’s. Its still an on growing struggle though cause it’s taken time for venues and bands to get back into the flow of everything again and with the current living crisis it’s definitely put a strain on things but we’re just happy to be recording an gigging again there’s nothing like it.

What can we expect from you in the near future

Finn – So we recorded Dull in early May, and we’ve had a lot of stuff going on since then hence why there’s such a huge gap between the recording and release – so that’s due to come out early September. Beyond that, we’re planning an EP which will hopefully come out sometime early next year, we’re also desperate to get a couple of London, Leeds and Liverpool shows at some point this year as well as a couple other Manchester headlines. In all honesty we don’t really know what to expect, we’re just happy to be keeping busy and making music that we love.

Tell us your favourite records that’s rocking your headphones / tour bus / stereo

Jack – Definitely 3rd Secrets recent self titled debut album has been on my playlist non stop, it’s just a sick album front to back.

Josh – one record on 24/7 in my car at the moment is Comfort To Me by Amyl And The Sniffers

Harry – Favourite record at the moment is Time and Space by Turnstile

Finn – Glow on by Turnstile , mainly because it’s revolutionising hardcore punk music at the moment, combining melodic hooks with really heavy riffs and it’s interesting to hear

Check out the band’s track Roadkill, below: