Q&A: Supermann on Da Beat

Supermann on Da Beat is a Scottish disabled South Asian music producer bringing a blend of influences, across genres to create unique tracks without borders. Blending production from rock bands like Nirvana with artists like JID, Lil Peep, XXXTENTACION, Kanye West, Scarlxrd & Nas to bring a fresh perspective to the UK scene.

He's had a meteoric rise in Scotland’s hip-hop scene since teaching himself production skills by watching YouTube videos during the pandemic. His prodigious output has seen him collaborate with artists around the world including CHEF THE RAPPER, Kapil Seshasayee, Viv Latifa, Genesis Elijah, Grim Sickers, Mic Righteous, as well as US based KruddTheGuru & Rockie Fresh.

This week sees the release of his debut spoken word EP ‘Breathe’, we caught up with Sanjeev to find out all about it, as well as more about his accessibility advocacy in Scottish music venues, and dream collaborations.

Your debut spoken word EP 'Breathe' featuring the track 'Fight For Our Freedom' is out this week, can you tell us a bit more about it?

'Fight For Our Freedom' is a track about societies unconcsious bias towards disabilities as well as the need to collectively move as one to make change. I believe that to really make change we need unity and collaboration to learn from each other. 

Lyrically the track goes deep on the continuous fight for freedom against the power & greed that surrounds us at all levels of government around the world. It’s a protest song at its heart & it’s a clear sign that we as a global collective don’t plan on stopping our pursuit for global freedom. ‘FIGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM’ represents a movement, the need for change & a turning point in our approach & perception of disability. 

Sonically, the single combines trap, punk & metal elements together to bring a new sound & is inspired by artists like Rage Against the Machine, Linkin Park, Scarlxrd & XXXtentacion. I really love blending genres & this is an example!

You are very well known in Glasgow and Scotland for your work with Hip Hop Scotland, as well as being an activist for disabled artists and accessibility issues in venues (and in the music industry in general), in your last AOTW you spoke about some of the highlights of this work putting on accessible shows, has much changed in and around Glasgow when it comes to being more accessible?

I don't think there's been a huge change in physical access in venues, although I have noticed a change in awareness and mentality. I think this is important because you can only fix something when you know the issue exists. I'm hoping this will lead to a physical change in access soon. I think it's slowly improving, but I know it will take time, and I'm not expecting change straight away, because this is just one of many issues that need to be addressed in the UK and Worldwide.

You're a huge grassroots advocate as well and work with some incredible upcoming acts in Scotland, who are you enjoying listening to? And who do you think could become the next big thing in Scotland?

That's a really difficult question because I work with so many artists, but I'm really enjoying listening to Eyve, Joell, AjForty7, Phro, P Caso, Sean Focus, Paque, Becky Sikasa, Kapil Seshasayee, Randombrownkid. & Bee Asha just to name a few! In terms of upcoming artists and the next big thing, i'm loving artists like Ace Vision, Madani, Aine Currie, 55, Dxims, Mind23t, Enji, Alx Romance, SeeYouTmr, Ilyas at the moment and I think every single one of them have huge potential. There's honestly too many to name but there's so much diverse talent coming from Scotland right now which is amazing. 

I really love finding new artists in Scotland, and I'm always digging on Instagram and Spotify for unknown artists that I think people need to know about. There's so many talented artists on our door step, so I'm always looking to promote local artists and get as many people to local shows as possible!

Tell us your three desert island albums.

Another super tough question because I listen to so much music, but I would say:

Bob Marley - Exodus

Nirvana - Nevermind

Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 

If you could collaborate with anyone on future music, who would it be?

I would say Nas or Kendrick Lamar because they continue to motivate me every day with their music, vision & forward thinking mentality. They are both the definition of legacy, authenticity & longevity which is so inspiring to me & something i'm aiming to be as an artist/producer.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians who are looking to establish themselves in the Scottish music industry? You've also been a speaker and attendee at Resonate in the past, do you find this an important resource for producers, promoters, and students looking to start a career in the industry?

I would say keep working hard, consistency is key, going to local shows to see & network with local artists in the scene, use social media to your advantage and get to know people in DM's on a personal level, and going to industry events like Resonate to learn about the industry itself. Conferences like Resonate are vital for younger artists to find out more about releasing, management/PR opportunities & more. It's definitely something I recommend for any artist in the scene at any level. 

And finally, what can we expect to see from Supermann on Da Beat in the rest of 2024? Do you have any announcements with Hip Hop Scotland you want to share?

For the rest of the year i’ll be releasing singles every weeks across genre, releasing a number of EPs and hopefully performing more with my collaborators across the year. Also there's some cool collabs with a couple of UK legends as well as tracks with artists outwith the UK! 

In terms of Hip Hop Scotland, our next show is CMPND at SWG3, Poetry Club on May 17. Keep an eye out on our Instagram for some big announcements coming very soon. It's going to be a really exciting year!

Follow Supermann on Da Beat here.

Q&A: Erin Hephzibah

Erin Hephzibah is a musician, artist, and events manager based in Scotland. Beginning at the age of thirteen, Erin’s musical career has seen her support talents like Paolo Nutini, Martin Stephenson, Jill Jackson, and James Grant. She has performed all over Scotland. From community music festivals like Prestfest and FrewFest to iconic Glasgow venues like, King Tuts, St Luke’s, and Oran Mor. In 2017, her musical prowess saw Erin cross the pond to perform at Tartan Week in New York City. 

With a career spanning over a decade, Erin finally released her debut EP ‘Harebrained’ last week and we could not be more excited over a release. We caught up with Erin to find out more about her songwriting, debut EP life, and dream collaborations.

Tell us how you started out creating music and about any projects you are currently working on.

Music has always been a part of my life, my mum noticed from early on that I was writing songs and constantly singing so one year Santa got me a guitar and the rest is history. My step dad, Drew McCormack, was very active in the Renfrewshire & Ayrshire music scenes which meant I’ve met and performed alongside some amazing artists and songwriters from a young age, I’ve been very blessed. Currently, I’ve just released my debut EP Harebrained - which features 3 original songs that are very close to my heart. I had the wonderful opportunity to record with British music legend Martin Stephenson and work alongside multi-instrumentalist Craig Goodwin. I also perform in other bands and projects, including Johnny Barr, Frank’s House and I recently began writing with students from DJ Trevor Reilly’s ‘Digital Hereos’. I have some other exciting projects in the works but I’ll keep quiet about that for now.

Your debut EP 'Harebrained' is almost a week old, how has the reception been? What was it like writing and bringing this EP to life?

Harebrained has been approximately 8 years in the making. I wrote these songs when I was 17/18 but at the time there was a lot going on. My sister had began to get seriously unwell, I was involved in other musical pursuits and had started at Glasgow School of Art - so my own material had a pin stuck in it. After the pandemic, when art school and other projects had ended it gave me the chance to focus on this material again and these songs felt like a good place to start. After holding onto them for so long it feels amazing to have finally released them and people seem to genuinely be enjoying my music so I couldn’t ask for more.

Can you walk us through the meaning of the three tracks on the EP, 'Raggedy Ann', 'Destroying Dandelions', and 'Year Walking'?

The first track ‘Raggedy Ann’ is a Co-Write with my younger sister, poet and disability activist Georgia Francis. Georgia has multiple chronic health conditions but back when we wrote the song the only diagnosis she had at that point was M.E or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. A magazine called M.E. “Raggedy Ann Syndrome” in the mid 1980s to highlight the fatigue and loss of muscle power. Georgia was inspired by that and looked into the character of Raggedy Ann more. She discovered the creator of Raggedy Ann, Johnny Gruelle, had an ill daughter, Marcella, who died at 13. Many of Gruelle’s stories about Raggedy Ann were inspired by watching Marcella play with dolls. Georgia wrote a poem, They Call Me Raggedy Ann, exploring her own experiences with illness through the personification of the doll. Together, we turned the first draft of that poem into a song. Destroying Dandelions is a very personal song that explores difficulties within relationships that although personal I’m sure many people can relate to. Year Walking is based on an archaic form of divination in Scandinavian folklore called Arsgang that loosely translates to Year Walk. From first learning about it I became fascinated with this story as it played into imagery and narrative that inspires me like mythological creatures, magic and the supernatural.

Tell us your three desert island albums.

Hozier’s debut self titled album, as a 14 year old it was on repeat so really brings back to that age when I worried less about what others thought of my songwriting. The The - Soul Mining. I love this album beyond words and could listen on repeat. Etta James - At Last. The entire album is pure art but I could listen to ‘A Sunday kind of Love’ forever without getting sick of it.

If you could collaborate with anyone on future music, who would it be?

In the Glasgow scene at the moment there are many amazing artists I would love to collaborate with but the first one that comes to mind would be Becca Starr. Her music is inspiring and her drive is infectious. On a larger scale I would love to duet with Hozier. His song ‘In a Week’ is one of my absolute favourites and definitely inspired my songwriting.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians who are looking to establish themselves in the Scottish music industry? 

My advice is to be authentic and generous. The creative industries have been hit hard after the pandemic and cost of living crisis so it’s good to get out there, meet and work with other artists and build up our creative communities.

Lastly, what can we expect to see from Erin Hephzibah this year?

I’ve got a lot on at the moment and plenty to come. I briefly mentioned above what’s going on currently and there are some future projects that I can’t divulge yet as it’s in early stages but hopefully you’ll be seeing a lot more of me - including more releases, some exciting collaborations and more! I have an April tour coming up to promote the release of Harebrained! I’ll be joining Martin Stephenson & The Daintees in England for three dates and then it’s back up to Scotland for a gig in Venue38 in Ayr, then The Poetry Club at SWG3 in Glasgow. Tickets available now!

For tickets and more, follow Erin here.