Halifax group Superfluid Collective released their debut EP, Drop, last month, a heavily instrumental five-song odyssey through a funky spectrum that incorporates influences from the band’s cultural cornucopia; ranging from Bangladeshi music to Iranian jazz.
The album explores our interactions as a species and the impacts we create on a range from the macro to not-quite-microscopic. Superfluid’s Shuvanjan Karmaker elaborates that the album finds its title in the rather humble insignificance of the human condition.
“The title Drop represents our humble contribution in the big ocean, that is music. It resembles that feeling of being human in this vast and expansive universe, and the existential crisis/awareness that comes along with it.”
The jazz fusion sextet of the Superfluid Collective have been creating music since 2017. At their core are the same six members who appear on the album and have kept the group going, but Karmaker explains that once you are a member you are always a member.
As their name suggests,the band not only vary stylistically within a broad range of musical genres, the number of contributing musicians tends to vary with their live performances. Naturally, the band flourish with that abundance of human interaction.
A quick listen to the opening track “Microcosm” is all that is needed to confirm that Drop delivers quality tracks executed with precision. Like many of the tracks on the album, the vocals, though sparse, are stunning, but serve more as embellishments. Like the title suggests, the song is about their music being something much larger than the sum of the band members.
“‘The word Microcosm means ‘a community, place, or situation regarded as encapsulating in miniature the characteristic qualities or features of something much larger,’ explains Karmaker, “which is what Superfluid Collective music represents. […] Just like civil communities, the song was written a collaborative piece between all the members.”
The shared composer credit seems to create equally complex pieces and despite the multitude of creative inputs there is still an impressive cohesion in their sound demonstrated throughout the 5 track EP. Karmaker explains that this is due to their Collective approach as they try to be as collaborative as possible in their arrangements with all the working members.
Karmaker himself is responsible for 3.16 of Drop’s tracks, which does seem to filter in some of the more personal touches of the albums.
The 7-minute long “Second State” is a love song for Karmaker’s partner, based on his memories of a budding romance they experienced shortly after they met. The track starts low key, then alternates between full-tilt, dance-worthy sections and chill beats. The satisfying unpredictability makes every piece feel like a new, intriguing adventure.
“It’s about all the feelings of excitement, doubt, infatuation and eventually a heartfelt and honest confrontation,” says Karmaker.
“Tincture” and “Owls and Bears,” both written by Karmaker, focus on two opposing forces: the destruction of language, culture and traditional knowledge in the former, and differing cultures learning to live cohesively and respectfully beside one another in the latter.
“[‘Tincture’] talks about letting go of our habits and expectations that marginalizes members of our communities, cities and countries,” says Karmaker. “The turmoil, chaos and synchronistic nature of our socio-political life is represented in the shifting rhythms and time signatures of this song, ending with a resolution that plays a blues riff which was initially written over a tabla groove.”
“Vortex,” the sole track on the album to hold an individual credit for Laura Gallant as lyricist and composer, explores where relationships end; not in the sense that they’ve finalized, but when they supersede our sense of self. That being said, it’s one of the more upbeat, if somewhat discordant, selections from the album.
Together the EP serves to highlight the very theme they’ve incorporated; despite being sometimes difficult to navigate, ultimately it has been strengthened through diversity and interaction. Drop is a stylistic cornucopia.
The band are heading right back into recording a full length album this summer and plan to release a single this fall. They also have some music videos in the works, which they are planning to have created in the form of short films.