Together in electric dreams

"What does a band called Super Extra Bonus Party sound like?” I hear you cry. On first impression, there are three options: they’re either an off-the-wall kitsch band who’d do great in Japan, a Germanic bleepy duo, or they’re something wildly different from any of the ‘The’ bands backcombing their hair. Thankfully, it’s the latter.

“The name reflects the fun of the band,” says the troupe’s unofficial spokesman, Cormac Brady. “We wanted to be slightly crude and we wanted a name with balls. Also, we like being next to Super Furry Animals in CD racks.”
Not surprising – the two bands share a common love of carpet bombing the unsuspecting listener with an array of sound effects, changes, and, well, everything including the kitchen sink.
“Being ‘out there’ isn’t something that we do on purpose,” he explains over a cup of coffee in Hot Press HQ. “It stems from the way we work. We’re all about ideas – if anyone in the band wants us to try something, we’ll never say no.”
The band’s democratic nature comes from their roots: Cormac, Stephen Fahey, Michael Donnelly and Gavin Elsted met at school in Newbridge, Co. Kildare and now the former three live together in Terenure with their visual artist, famed blogger Nialler9. Conor Henry and Steve Conlan, meanwhile, were long-time friends who joined after the album was recorded.
Rodrigo Teles, the Brazilian MC (yes, the Brazilian MC!) was a relative newcomer to the collective.
“Mike met him randomly at Sin-é in Dublin one night,” explains Brady. “He found out Rodrigo was an MC, Rodrigo found out that we played some tunes, so he came to jam one night and it really worked.”
The only problem with having a Brazilian member is the logistics of tearing him away from his home country – something which they realised would be an issue when they were asked to play the recent Mantua Festival.
“We knew we had a good slot months in advance, so we were able to save up. All the money from supports slots with bands like Bonde Do Role, we put in a kitty to help bring Rodrigo over.”
Did the show go to plan?
“The festival was really muddy – I fell into a ditch at one point – but we were playing at 2.30am on the main stage so we had about 800 people watching us. It was a blast.”
The eponymous album, released in April, was recorded with live instruments but also relied on technology to replace many of the sounds heard. That wouldn’t sit well with music purists, I suggest.
“Let them think what they want,” Conor insists. “You get purists who resist change in every form of art – there’s photographers who won’t use digital cameras, for example. I don’t agree with that type of thinking at all. To me, a sound’s a sound and I don’t think people look down on the album thinking ‘oooh, that’s a synthesised synthesiser’. In truth, it sounds similar and a real synthesiser’s a lot more difficult to get through a door.
“Technology’s definitely removed a lot of hindrances in the recording process. And the very point of Super Extra Bonus Party is that we make music without barriers – that’s why we don’t stick to one style of music. So whatever helps us achieve that is to be celebrated in our books.”
It’s with this very philosophy that they’ve used a number of guest collaborators. Dublin chanteuse Nina Hynes makes an appearance, as does human beatbox White Noise, Paul O’Reilly from electronic troupe Channel One, and Iain Defector from Kill City Defectors.
“We only knew Paul before, so we were blown away when everyone agreed to guest on the record,” Brady explains.
Any other highlights from what will hopefully turn out to be their formative years?
“The album was amazing to make and we love live shows, but my most favourite part is being able to continuously work with a solid unit of mates. Without this creative outlet, I think a lot of us would be going round the bend. We rehearse as often as we can. Sometimes we go into a studio, but mostly it’s our kitchen – which is a problem when you have eight people in a band!”b

Super Extra Bonus Party play the Cula Festival, Wexford (28 July); Time, Naas (9 August); The Voodoo Lounge, Dublin (10 August) and Roisin Dubh, Galway (16 August).