Biography
Under the direction of multi-instrumentalist Stuart Bogie, the Brooklyn collective Superhuman Happiness came together in 2008. Their sound blended composed passages with improvisational stretches and a pronounced rhythmic drive that lent itself to celebratory settings. The ensemble first delivered a full-length statement via the 2013 album Hands.
Bogie, who handled songwriting, saxophone, and vocals, drew on a shifting roster of more than two dozen players during the group’s early period; among them were vocalist Andrea Diaz, guitarists Luke O'Malley and Ryan Ferreira, keyboardist Jared Samuel, trumpeters Eric Biondo and Eli Asher, bassist Nikhil Yerawadekar, and drummers Miles Arntzen, Ian Chang, and Sam Levin. The buoyant fusion of pop structures and spontaneous interplay found its strongest expression onstage, where the musicians became frequent presences at Zebulon, the storied Brooklyn venue and cultural space, in addition to their appearances at tours and festivals.
Recorded material emerged at a consistent pace and in varied formats, beginning with the 2009 EP Fall Down Seven Times Stand Up Eight, followed by The Physical EP in 2011, and a succession of 7" singles plus web-distributed videos issued between 2010 and 2012. The band contributed to the Red Hot + Rio 2 compilation through a collaboration with Cults and supplied music for the 2011 documentary How to Survive a Plague. While individual members maintained active careers across projects including Iron & Wine, Cibo Matto, and Antibalas, they reconvened whenever schedules permitted to focus on Superhuman Happiness recordings and shows.
After schedules aligned, the results appeared in 2013 as the band’s debut proper full-length, Hands, issued by Royal Potato Family Records. The follow-up, Escape Velocity, arrived on the same imprint two years later and balanced expansive ambition with immediate hooks. Their third album, Beacon, marked the first release on Yeggs Records; the 2018 set featured singer Dia Luna with Bogie, Biondo, Levin, Rubblebucket’s Ian Hersey, Antibalas’ Miles Francis, and additional players, plus guest contributions from Richard Reed Parry, Colin Stetson, and Darkside’s Dave Harrington.
Bogie, who handled songwriting, saxophone, and vocals, drew on a shifting roster of more than two dozen players during the group’s early period; among them were vocalist Andrea Diaz, guitarists Luke O'Malley and Ryan Ferreira, keyboardist Jared Samuel, trumpeters Eric Biondo and Eli Asher, bassist Nikhil Yerawadekar, and drummers Miles Arntzen, Ian Chang, and Sam Levin. The buoyant fusion of pop structures and spontaneous interplay found its strongest expression onstage, where the musicians became frequent presences at Zebulon, the storied Brooklyn venue and cultural space, in addition to their appearances at tours and festivals.
Recorded material emerged at a consistent pace and in varied formats, beginning with the 2009 EP Fall Down Seven Times Stand Up Eight, followed by The Physical EP in 2011, and a succession of 7" singles plus web-distributed videos issued between 2010 and 2012. The band contributed to the Red Hot + Rio 2 compilation through a collaboration with Cults and supplied music for the 2011 documentary How to Survive a Plague. While individual members maintained active careers across projects including Iron & Wine, Cibo Matto, and Antibalas, they reconvened whenever schedules permitted to focus on Superhuman Happiness recordings and shows.
After schedules aligned, the results appeared in 2013 as the band’s debut proper full-length, Hands, issued by Royal Potato Family Records. The follow-up, Escape Velocity, arrived on the same imprint two years later and balanced expansive ambition with immediate hooks. Their third album, Beacon, marked the first release on Yeggs Records; the 2018 set featured singer Dia Luna with Bogie, Biondo, Levin, Rubblebucket’s Ian Hersey, Antibalas’ Miles Francis, and additional players, plus guest contributions from Richard Reed Parry, Colin Stetson, and Darkside’s Dave Harrington.
Albums
Beacon
2018
Escape Velocity
2015
Hands
2013
The Physical EP
2011
Needles & Pins - Single
2011
Fall Down Seven Times Stand Up Eight
2008
Singles
