Surplus People a weird trio with dignity.
Organic and metallic, the bearded lady is on a date in high-heeled shoes
and diamonded out. Glamour meets an oil slick on a car mechanics floor,
and city meets countryside.
Hypnotic rhythms of bass, organs and samplings are forcing the music
forward, turning it up side down. Voice, trombone and organs build simple
melodies, sometimes on top of each other, rounded off by a strangled
trumpet. Everything is held together by the primitive drum machine; a
swinging, boiling, rhythm box that might be the only human component.
Surplus People are very much appreciated as a live band. Visually they
might look like a circus, with small movements, as they seduce and
demolish, inviting you to a walk in the electronic forest, scaring and
cradling you to feel safe. They encourage a riot.
Magdalena Ågren is singing, screaming and making sounds, sometimes in a
megaphone, trumpet or trombone.
Petra Kiiskinen makes noise and melodies on one or another old organ.
Helena Engarås is playing with the bass, sometimes a madly distorted bass.
