There’s quite a few links that join the members of Perth funk-fired-disco outfit, Supathick, together.

Christian Zappia (guitar) and Regan Dale (percussion) met at Bunbury High School, while Marley Donan-Cook (bass) and Josh Chan (keys) became friends when they were both attending John Curtin Senior High School in Fremantle. Along with drummer Josh Wright these young musicians would soon go on to grace the stages of Perth in acclaimed bands Demon Days, Almond Soy and Wooly Mammoth.

Combining their previous experiences in the realms of jazz, hip hop and electronica the band that would soon be known as Supathick had their first jam session in 2018. They immediately hit a solid funk/disco stride, working on a song Zappia had brought along which eventually became their first single release, I’m There, in early 2020.

Supathick’s debut EP, Dinner And A Film, was released in August 2020, and featured the vocal talents of Saskia Brittain (Dulcie) on first single, I’m There; Kaitlin Keegan on The View and Leah McFetridge on Here & Now while WA hip hop Kween Hyclass and vocalist/producer Your Girl Pho both feature on 100 Miles.

The release certainly caught the attention of Pilerats, who described Dinner And A Film as ‘four tracks that sit well within the Supathick universe despite being fleeting in sound and textures; the group using the EP to show that even if they move between different sounds and flavours, there's a common core that keeps everything in check and distinctly them - that being this romantic, soulfully rich funk sound’.

2021 looks supa-promising already. Supathick have been nominated for four WAM Awards (Best EP, Best R&B/Funk/Soul act, Best Music Video and Best Keys player) and will tour nationally with Great Gable throughout autumn. Four single releases will be rolled out, with the first of these, July, to be released on March 18, featuring acclaimed WA hip hop artist, Adrian Dvzuke.

As ever, Supathick will remain as a tight five-piece outfit with a collective open mind for experimentation and collaboration. Expectations will be left at the door.

“As soon as you go into a session with expectations then you open yourself up to disappointment,” Zappia concludes. “There could be something really good in front of you, but if it’s not what you expected to hear, you’re setting yourself up to miss it.”

Just don’t miss Supathick in 2021.