When you’re an artist and stuck in lockdown, what do you do with yourself? Write music of course! That’s what London quartet Little Grim have done, and the output is ‘A Chock-Full of Fun’.
The single is the first of a number of songs which will feature on the band’s quarantine EP, which they will be releasing over the coming weeks. The song is available on their Bandcamp page where all proceeds will be donated to the Save Our Venues campaign which aims to protect over 400 independent music venues from permanent closure during the pandemic.
We had a chat with frontman Joseph Murphy to get the lowdown on the new single. Many bands have been staying productive whilst stuck inside their homes laying down lyrics and comparing ideas over calls and emails. For Little Grim, comparing notes online has been a simple process.
Joe said: “Lockdown has been up and down for us. Whilst we are used to spending loads of time making music from our bedrooms, it is really strange to not be meeting up to rehearse and discuss ideas.
“But to be honest, I’ve been really enjoying the opportunity to explore new ideas from isolation and experimenting with our production a bit more.
“Working with more electronic beats and synthesisers has been really fun. We’ve been saving our sessions on Google Drive so that anyone else can open it up and drop their own ideas on.
“Emotionally, things have been up and down over the past months, but music has been an amazing escape for us. I can’t wait to be able to rehearse together again, but for now, this set up is doing just fine.”
‘Chock-Full of Fun’ has got trademark funky beats but, overall it takes the band in a new direction. By putting a focus on synths and a minimalistic approach has pushed the band further.
“Whilst we are having to work from home, this is a sound that we are exploring more. And I’m really enjoying it,” commented Joe. “It means electronic drums, synthesisers, effected vocals and lo-fi guitar lines.
“We have new songs that we recorded before lockdown that are ready for release, but we didn’t feel right releasing this time. We really wanted to write something that reflects the current mood of lockdown living and are going to carry on that path. Whether that will bleed into the style once we are back together writing again, who knows! But I am really excited to find out.”
Featured images by Rory James Photography
Whilst experimenting, Little Grim have looked at the production of Billie Eilish and Lorde to achieve a sound that is minimalistic but full of character and creepy. Thanks to some fresh synths, the four were able to tie everything up into a neat bow.
“Jeremy bought a new synthesiser and was on fire coming up with new song ideas and compositions,” adds Joe. “This was one of the first of the ones he shared with me and it was instantly captivating. I was in love with the mood of the track and especially the lead synth line.
“I opened the song up in Logic and started layering ideas onto it. It felt so easy just to keep adding and adding. Initially, I wanted to take inspiration from the production on songs by Billie Eilish and Lorde, something minimal but also full of character and creepy. However, as I started playing with more vocal harmonies and guitar lines, I found a more Warpaint-inspired theme came into play.
“As I started pulling it into more of a spooky vibe, Chris (bass) and Rog (drums) then came back with their own parts, layering back in the funkiness the underbelly of the song which is exactly what it needed.
“Vocally, the song is a mixture of ideas stemming from an obsessive, paranoid voice inside my head. The delivery is also soft due to the fact that my neighbours are now always inside the house all the time and might complain about the noise.”
As for the rest of the quarantine EP, Joe said we can expect something “sleazier, more synth-heavy and all-round more electronic”. There are five tracks earmarked for the EP and you can expect them to all be similar in vein.
