Oliver Hindle (born 17 November 1988) is an English singer-songwriter and record producer from

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, England, best known for his

solo project A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform Instrumental music, instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely ...

Superpowerless, and YouTube persona, Oliver Age 24. He occasionally releases music under the moniker Boots on Cats and was previously a member of the bands Tetrastar, Scared of Dinosaurs and Spacebars.Broken. He has been recording, producing, releasing and performing since he was 16 years old. As Superpowerless, he produces music combining pop/rock songs with electronic sounds created using synthesizers,

Virtual Studio Technology Virtual Studio Technology (VST) is an audio plug-in software interface that integrates software synthesizers and effects units into digital audio workstations. VST and similar technologies use digital signal processing to simulate traditional rec ...

and circuit bent

video game consoles A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to a t ...

such as

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

and the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

. Superpowerless is best known in

chiptune Chiptune, also known as chip music or 8-bit music, is a style of synthesized electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video game consoles. The t ...

and

video game culture Video game culture is a worldwide new media subculture formed by video gamers. As video games have exponentially increased in popularity over time, they have had a significant influence on popular culture. Video game culture has also evolved with ...

for playing chaotic live shows and for embracing a

do it yourself "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

ethic, self-producing his recordings and self-distributing them through

online social networking A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...

channels. All music by Superpowerless is composed, recorded, produced and mastered by Oliver Hindle. Separate from his studio work, is the Superpowerless Live Band who tour and perform in music videos and promotional material. The current official live members include Oliver Hindle,

Circuit Ben Circuit may refer to: Science and technology Electrical engineering * Electrical circuit, a complete electrical network with a closed-loop giving a return path for current ** Analog circuit, uses continuous signal levels ** Balanced circu ...

and

Callum Whittall Callum is a Scottish Gaelic name that commemorates the Latin name Columba, meaning 'dove'. Callum was popular among early Christians because the dove was a symbol of purity, peace and the Holy Spirit. St. Columba was one of the most influential ...

. The list of previous members and temporary performers is extensive and often unplanned and spontaneous.

Accolades

Superpowerless was the hand selected winner of the 2009 MTV / Vodafone Fast Track competition, As part of the Fast Track prize, Superpowerless re-recorded his winning single "Wasted My Time" with Grammy-Nominated producer and DJ,

Andy Chatterley Andy Chatterley (born 8 May 1973) is a British record producer and songwriter. He is also the CEO of online content protection company MUSO. Life and career Chatterly was born in Jersey, Channel Islands. He attended Victoria College, Jersey. ...

(

The Pussycat Dolls The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the burlesque troupe ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

Diana Vickers Diana Vickers (born 30 July 1991) is an English singer, songwriter, actress and fashion designer, who initially came to public attention as a semi-finalist on ''The X Factor'' in 2008. Vickers signed a record deal with RCA Records and, after to ...

Nerina Pallot Nerina Natasha Georgina Pallot (born 26 April 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and producer, who has released six albums and over a dozen EPs. She was nominated for British Female Solo Artist at the 2007 BRIT Awards and nominated for an I ...

, Blondie), and an accompanying video with director Luc Janin (

Stereophonics Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley, Wales. The band consists of Kelly Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Richard Jones (bass guitar, harmonica, backing vocals), Adam Zind ...

The Fratellis The Fratellis are a Scottish rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom ...

Boy Kill Boy Boy Kill Boy were an English rock band based in Leytonstone, East London. The band produced two studio albums and six singles before splitting in 2008. Their highest charting single was "Suzie", which reached #17 in the UK singles chart in 2006. ...

and

Lethal Bizzle Maxwell Owusu Ansah (born 14 September 1984), known by his stage name Lethal Bizzle, is a British rapper from Walthamstow, London, of Ghanaian origin. He emerged in 2002 as a grime MC as part of More Fire Crew, with their grime single "Oi!" ch ...

). The resulting music video for "Wasted My Time" was played in rotation on mtv in 29 countries. It also became a popular

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

on YouTube.

History

Oliver Hindle played in multiple bands around the

area during his teen years before starting his solo career in 2006. His music gained momentum due to his success with web promotion and national press coverage in

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

. Upon releasing several free promotional EPs and Albums for download, Superpowerless topped the Myspace UK Music Charts. After being commissioned to remix artists such as

The Lonely Island The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). The three ...

I Fight Dragons I Fight Dragons is an American chiptune-based Rock music, rock band from Chicago. Their music is a combination of rock with chiptune, featuring electronic sounds made using Nintendo Game Boys and Nintendo Entertainment Systems, a genre also known ...

Wheatus Wheatus are an American rock band from Northport, New York, formed in 1995. They are known principally for their 2000 single "Teenage Dirtbag", which appeared in the films '' Loser'' and ''Bully'', as well as the HBO miniseries ''Generation Kil ...

and Detroit Social Club, Superpowerless quickly secured a place in the world of internet artists. In 2009 Superpowerless songs were featured on the web-based

Guitar Hero ''Guitar Hero'' is a series of music rhythm game video games first released in November 2005, in which players use a guitar-shaped game controller to simulate playing primarily lead, bass guitar, and rhythm guitar across numerous songs. Player ...

clone

JamLegend JamLegend was an online, browser-based music video game, similar to ''Guitar Hero'', developed by American studio Foobrew. As of April 29, 2011, JamLegend ceased all of its activity and closed the site. A list of the artists that contributed has ...

, accumulating over a million plays and topping the charts. He is also known for his wide variety of cover songs and remixes including

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

Aqua Aqua is the Latin word for water. It is used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to: Arts * Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color Business * Aqua (skyscraper), an 82-story residential skysc ...

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2002. It consists of lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tedder, lead guitarist and violist Zach Filkins, rhythm guitarist Drew Brown, bassist and cellis ...

, Jonathon Coulton,

Yellowcard Yellowcard is an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1997 and was based in Los Angeles beginning in 2000. The band is recognized for having a distinct sound in their genre, primarily due to the prominent use o ...

MGMT MGMT () is an American indie rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser. Alongside VanWyngarden and Goldwasser, MGMT's live lineup currently consists of ...

Blink 182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their sound has ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, InTheLittleWood and more. Oliver co-founded the band Tetrastar with artist Jaylyn Coffin in 2010. They were undergoing production of their debut original LP, scheduled to release in early 2012. In December 2011 the band announced that the project was over. Throughout 2012, Superpowerless performed on the

Anime Convention An anime convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activ ...

circuit throughout England, joined on stage by Callum Whittall, Circuit Ben and members of Area 11.

Releases

Superpowerless released his first official single "We Throw Shapes" in May 2011. The accompanying video was entirely animated and produced by Oliver Hindle. The music video was animated using

pixel art Pixel art () is a form of digital art drawn with graphics software, graphical software where images are built using pixels as the only building block. It is widely associated with the low-resolution graphics from 8-bit and 16-bit era computers a ...

and became popular after featuring in many blogs and also published in IDN Magazine. The music video also features a cameo from live band member Jaylyn Coffin. Following the death of

, Superpowerless released an

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit Integer (computer science), integers or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet (computing), octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) arc ...

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

EP called "Moonwalker". The Superpowerless Debut LP, ''Monsters'' was released on 17 November 2011. It features 14 original songs and original artwork by Oliver Hindle. The album was entirely self-recorded and self-produced.

''Britain's Got Talent''

In 2012, Oliver was approached by producers of the show ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...

'' in regards to Superpowerless performing in the competition. After assurance that they would be portrayed in a professional and positive light, Superpowerless was fast-tracked through the regular auditions and given a place in the televised semi-finals. On the day of the audition the band were wearing tin foil costumes and felt all interviews and questions were conducted in a manner intending to portray them in a negative light, reducing their act in to a novelty/comedy routine intended for ridicule and humiliation. The story was published in newspapers, magazines and high-traffic websites/blogs. ''Britain's Got Talent'' made no public statements regarding the issue but the audition and interviews were never aired as part of the show.

Live performances/tours

The Superpowerless live band has toured the UK multiple times, playing over 300 shows.

References

External links

*{{official website, www.superpowerless.co.uk
Superpowerless on Last.fm
1988 births Living people Musicians from Leeds English male singer-songwriters 21st-century English singers 21st-century British male singers