Superorganism

The London-based collective Superorganism pulls together an eclectic mix of left-field pop, hip-hop, electro-pop, indie rock, and hyperpop into a bright yet eccentric sound, further colored by the slacker poetry of lead vocalist Orono. Their 2017 single "Something for Your M.I.N.D." triggered a small-scale online frenzy whose momentum carried into the self-titled debut album, while 2022’s World Wide Pop revealed a tighter focus after several departures.

The project originated with four members of the New Zealand-formed, London-based indie rock band the Eversons—Mark Turner, Christopher Young, Tim Shann, and Blair Everson—who, after nearly a decade together, abandoned conventional indie rock for a freer approach built on synthesizers, samples, hip-hop, and electro-pop. In early 2017 they recruited 17-year-old Orono Noguchi, a Maine resident they had first encountered during a Japanese tour stop, to record vocals for a new demo; the track “Something for Your M.I.N.D.” proved so compelling that they launched Superorganism as a fresh entity. Noguchi relocated to London, where the group occupied a large shared house and expanded its lineup with Ruby, B, and Soul. At the same time the former Eversons adopted stage names—Turner became Emily, Young became Harry, Shann became Tucan, and Everson became Robert Strange—while shifting his role to visuals and videos. Communal living enabled round-the-clock experimentation, yielding the 2017 double-sided single “It’s All Good”/“Nobody Cares,” another modest online hit that led to a contract with Domino Recordings. A third single, “Everybody Wants to Be Famous,” preceded the March 2018 release of the debut album. Intensive promotion followed through online concerts and radio sessions, culminating in a 2019 headline tour supported by CHAI. Later that year the band contributed “Hello Me & You” to The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part before stepping back from public view.

Their return single for the second album appeared without Robert Strange, Emily, and Ruby. The remaining members enlisted producers Stuart Price and John Hill—the latter a Grammy winner for his work with Cage the Elephant—to refine the earlier sound into a sleeker, more streamlined version. World Wide Pop arrived in 2022, featuring guest appearances by indie-rock figure Stephen Malkmus, Japanese pop artist Gen Hoshino, French vocalist Pa Ji Ma, American rapper Dylan Cartlidge, and returning tourmates CHAI.