The Great Famine with Grandeur - An Interview

Pós punk cascudo, agressivo, sem espaço para melancolia, o negócio dos caras do Grandeur é outro, caminham pelas trilhas abertas por gente como Killing Joke, Modern English e Psychedelic Furs, este último, principalmente pela similaridade da vozes.

Os caras estão em vias de soltar seu novo trabalho, "The Great Famine", que trará doses ainda mais cavalares de rigidez negra sob uma ótica de escapismo eminente.

Perfeito para noites intermináveis, sugiro ficar de olhos e ouvidos atentos com o Grandeur.

***** Interview with Grandeur *****

Q. When did Grandeur begin? Tell us about the history...
Grandeur began about a year ago. I had some dark little pop songs and made some very rough, lo-fi demos of them. We ended up releasing it on cassette. I made 100 and they all went pretty fast. The sound has evolved since, but the main idea is the same. We're a two-piece; guitar/vox and bass. We use a percussion track with the synths on it. It can be a challenge to get the sound right in a live setting, but at this point, I prefer it to a full band and can't imagine we'd change that dynamic anytime soon.

Q: Who are your influences?
I listen to a lot of different types of music. I grew up mainly on punk, hardcore and some new wave, but the influences for Grandeur are pretty simple: The Jesus and Mary Chain, Killing Joke, Psychedelic Furs, early Modern English and a little known Scottish synth band from the mid '80s called Secession.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
That's a tough one. In no particular order I'll say:

The Clash - London Calling,
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands,
Generation X - s/t,
Laughing Hyenas - Life of Crime,
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs.

And I base that on the idea that those are 5 albums I can listen to anytime without skipping a song.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Playing live is why I got into music in the first place. It's a chance to step outside yourself for an hour a day. It becomes a little more challenging as you get older with more responsibilities, but it's still the main reason I write and record.

Q. How do you describe Grandeur sounds?
Big, dark, warm, oddly hopeful and sometimes aggressive.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Like most songwriters and musicians these days [and I don't know that I'd call myself either], I've got a studio in my home. I'm no great producer and my gear is kind of outdated, but I know enough to get my ideas across. Again, I grew up on hissy 3rd generation cassette dubs of records that were already poorly produced, and that never stopped me from loving a great song. The magic is in the substance, not the sheen of the production. I am pretty much constantly tracking new ideas, anytime of day, most days of the week. Some see the light of day, some do not.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I have to be honest, I'm not too knowledgeable on new bands. I like Cold Cave, and know Wes from our hardcore days, but even Cold Cave has been around for close to a decade, I believe. Excellent new bands are springing up all the time, so I'm sure I'll find them.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Springsteen's Atlantic City.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We're going to put out a full-length album this summer. If we can get a label interested, then great. Otherwise we are happy to release it ourselves. We'll be playing all over this summer and plan to go to Europe and maybe South America soon after. If any bands or promoters want to help out, please get in touch.

Q: Any parting words?
Thanks, Renato, for the interview, and in parting I'd just encourage people to go out and see bands, see your cities at night, talk to people face to face. We're all involved in our own little microcosms of digital connectivity. Leave your iphones at home and live life. Experience the real world and all the noise, light, dark and life it has to offer.
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Thanks

https://soundcloud.com/grandeur-official