French electronic pop duo Super Ficial combine the throwback approach of melody focussed songwriting with haunting chord progressions, making full use of cutting edge innovations in music technology. Started by music-geeks Gregory Cann and Franck Rolland, the duo approaches their tracks with a scientific finesse and polish, studying the audio of their favourite artists as a medium in itself to craft their layered and sculpted arrangements. Now they combine the darker, more minor key themes of emotional dancepop like Depeche Mode and Röyksopp, with hazy pads for a modern twist on their love of synthesis.

 

Both members come from avant-garde musical backgrounds, and their sonic creations draw from far and wide and they enjoy digging into eclectic musical territory for inspiration (Motown, Chic, Underworld, Nine Inch Nails…). With Gregory playing the church organ as a child and guitar as a teenager, and Franck watching his father turn a children’s keyboard into a proper analogue synthesizer, each found fertile ground in the other for musical experimentation.

 

Meeting in the French town of Brest, they developed previous project Cliché and were signed to Chrysalis Music, releasing their single Billy Boy the Space Cowboy with Warner in the early 2000s. With this experience behind Super Ficial, they now aim to take things further in the DIY era and plan to expand to live shows and build a following as they channel the heady teenage experiences of young love and heartbreak whilst constantly searching for new artists to balance their love of classic electronic music.

 

With Gregory also a keen graphic designer, the duo is inspired by graphic arts and have built themselves a colourful image with neon, psychedelic branding to transport the listener to the cutting edge of electronic sound. With a finely-tuned mix of the transience of melody with the intense, deep focus on shaping sound, Super Ficial creates irresistibly catchy yet emotionally complex electropop to capture the special, fleeting feelings of teenage and young adult experience.