Everything Everything are back today with their brand new single “Supernormal” – the band’s first new music since the release of acclaimed 5th studio LP RE-ANIMATOR last year.
Alongside the new song, the band releases yet another innovative music video, created by the band’s own Jonathan Higgs, who also steered the videos for RE-ANIMATOR cuts “In Birdsong“, “Planets” and “Arch Enemy” last year. The video for “Supernormal” is a testament to Higgs’ newfound digital animation skills; crafted and refined throughout the global pandemic, using software such as Blender, Mixamo, and MakeHuman.
Speaking to the process of making this video, Higgs reveals, “At this point I’d learned texturing, modelling, rigging, animating, how virtual cameras and lights work, so the path to creating ‘Supernormal’ was a matter of putting it all together, alongside some new experiments in physics simulations. The idea was to make dozens of tiny, explosive shots of action, ugly and extreme naked characters being distorted, surreal objects and animals, over-saturated colours, bright lights; all these impossible, grotesque images coming at you far too fast to comprehend. I adjusted and experimented until I saw things that excited or disgusted me, then repeated the process over and over again until I was satisfied.”
“‘Supernormal’ is about supernormal stimuli; highly exaggerated triggers that create a stronger reaction in us than evolution ever intended. Our animal brains can’t help but reach for the bigger, brighter, tastier, sexier, bloodier, more intense experiences. I wanted to create an extremely overwhelming experience in this song and video, it’s about being a slave to our instincts no matter how extreme they become.”
RE-ANIMATOR, emerged to widespread critical acclaim last summer with many hailing the band’s visionary cocktail of intricate experimentation and immediately accessible art-pop. The album went on to chart at #5 in the Official Albums Chart in the UK- the band’s joint highest charting position equalling 2013’s Arc and 2017’s A Fever Dream.
The band’s fifth album was created in two stages. A year of writing and demoing was followed by two weeks recording at RAK last December with producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Sharon Van Etten, David Byrne). He complemented the band’s back-to-basics nature by encouraging them to record quickly and decisively. It’s a looser, organic sound that heightens their focus on the fundamentals of songwriting.
Inspiration came thick and fast: wonderment at the wider world despite the horror of its politics; existentialism, the prolonged, if fading, youthfulness of being in a touring band; and the ominous threat of climate change. All things which contribute to a sense of one door closing while another stands ajar.
Everything Everything celebrated the release of the album by playing two innovative virtual reality concert events. The ‘Everything Everything: Virtual RE-ANIMATOR shows heralded a new standard in the world of interactive music events. The band’s set was complemented by a range of visual elements, drawing on the video content and aesthetic of the RE-ANIMATOR campaign, as well as aspects that were inspired by their first four albums. Fans also embraced its interactive real-time experiences, which allowed them to meet the band and other fans, wear virtual merch and even fly around the virtual amphitheatre environment.
RE-ANIMATOR’ follows 2017’s ‘A Fever Dream’, which debuted at #5 on the Official UK Albums Chart. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize as well as two Ivor Novello Awards, and the band celebrated by playing their biggest headline show to date at London’s Alexandra Palace.
“Supernormal” is out now.
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