SUPER-Hi x Luke Spiller Connect on “Somebody That I Used To Know”
Luke Spiller x SUPER-Hi is a tale of reimagination, collaboration, and creative spirit—the kind of magic that happens when great artists look to the musical past to build a brighter future. Since “Following The Sun” dominated airplay across Europe and Oceania just a few years ago, Super-Hi’s George Tizzard & Rick Parkhouse have become the go-to for transforming any track into a sun-soaked daydream, tailor-made for summertime rendezvous, escapades, and celebrations. Coming from similar spheres as internationally acclaimed UK artists, SUPER-Hi and Luke Spiller first made waves nearly a decade ago when they co-wrote The Struts’ breakthrough single "Could Have Been Me.” Spiller's unmistakable presence, onstage and off, feels plucked straight from rock’s golden era, radiating the star power of a “once in a generation” performer—a hybrid of Freddie Mercury, Justin Hawkins, and Mick Jagger. What might seem like an unlikely pairing is, in reality, the meeting of two acts who know exactly how to make nostalgia feel brand new—and “Somebody That I Used To Know” marks the moment their artistic universes fully align.
Gotye’s modern classic, “Somebody That I Used To Know,” is steeped in melancholy, tender to the touch, a raw testament to a heartbroken, embittered lover that once took the world by storm. But after fourteen years, the dust has settled, making room for a fresh take on the enthralling original. Spiller’s vocals channel all the pain, confusion, and anguish of someone lamenting the ruthlessness of a partner they once held dear—now sprinkled with SUPER-Hi’s signature summertime shimmer. With their combined talents and complementary strengths, this reimagined track becomes wholly engrossing, capturing the contemplativeness and nostalgia that often color the heat-soaked getaways SUPER-Hi conjure so effortlessly. In this universe, the wounded narrator’s words glow with a faint ember of warmth, soaring over the breezy melody and bright synths like a bird rising above the ocean, into a pale blue sky. Rather than a torrent of anger and despair, his sentiments reveal new layers of meaning—peeling back to show a person everyone has been at least once before: someone deeply hurt, yet determined to stand tall in the wake of a relationship's cruel finale.
Presenting a music video shot entirely in black-and-white—devoid of color—is quite unexpected for a group known for whisking listeners away to sun-drenched paradises. But that’s exactly the kind of experimental, effusive energy an emerging legend like Luke Spiller brings to the project. The stripped-back visual becomes a perfect blend of both collaborators’ identities: a melancholic, polished montage featuring the enigmatic singer, elevated by SUPER-Hi’s daydream-come-to-life aesthetic. Here, Spiller embarks not just on a psychological journey, but a physical one—cruising along the English backroads in search of clarity. He isn’t chasing a mysterious figure or longing to turn back time. It’s just him, his headphones, and the sea—and somehow, that’s enough to stir up every powerful feeling he’s been trying to outrun. At the end of the day, he’s still a lover scorned, a man drifting far from shore, grasping for a way to drown out the memory of “somebody that he used to know.”