Interview: Little Grim - GigslutzGigslutz

As Ripple Red Presents… Gold fast approaches, we catch up with the final band on the lineup… Little Grim.

How would you describe Little Grim in 3 words?

We suck at this one… Instead I’ve just used Jeremy’s tinder bio:

Single, sexy and available

Last time we spoke to you was August last year – what’s happened with you since then?

Things took quite a turn last year. I really struggled with some internal battles and was finding it hard to get out of bed. I felt a huge pressure building that finally broke me and led us to take a break from writing or gigging. For months I didn’t play anything and just focussed on my mental health and getting things back on track. After making some changes in my personal life (and with a lot of help and support of friends and family) I feel stronger than ever and with a wave of new inspiration to boot.

The band have since been in the studio recording the overdue EP we originally set out to finish last year. Though the songs are the brand we wrote following the meltdown the year before.

You seem to be pretty much constantly gigging – when do you find the time to make music?

The band share a restless energy to want to polish up new songs and get onto writing the next. We’re constantly thinking about writing new music – so much so that I’ve been caught quietly murmuring melodies and lyrics into my phone on the train and had some weird looks from people on the street who can see me singing into my phone by myself.

We spend nights of the week burning the midnight oil, laying down tracks for new demos which we can share with each other. Once we’re in the rehearsal room, it’s good that we’re all familiar with the songs beforehand so we can straight into writing them.

You also seem to be out seeing other new music a lot – who should we be listening to?

Well…

The first recommendation I’d give is Confidence Man. Any show that involves light up shoulder pads is bound to be good, but they put on an incredible live show of sassy attitude and quirky dancing: something I think we can learn a lot from.

Another artist that really caught me off guard was Matt Maltese. I caught a free show of his down at the Five Bells in New Cross and instantly loved the smooth style of his music and the quick witticisms in his lyrics. The show was super minimal and if you’ve been to the venue you’ll know that the stage inside the pub looks like it was built for 1920s cabaret with a gold curtain and fairy lights. It’s one of my favourite places for live music and married up beautifully to his sound – no frills, just top quality with a suave delivery bursting with personality.

You describe your music as music you can dance and cry to. What is it the evokes both emotions? And how do you maintain such a specific sound across all your tracks?

We’re a very rhythm focussed band when it comes to the initial part of the writing process. The drum and bass play a big role in laying down something that will get your hips shaking, whilst the guitars and keys tend to show something of a much more delicate and reflective nature. Once combined with the sombre tones of the vocals, we find a contrast that sits nicely between a touching sentiment and grooving beat. Whilst we strive to make every song unique from one another, we are conscious of striking this middle ground each time.

‘Infectious’ was your last release, in November. When is the next release due?

We’ve just finished off two new songs and have 3 more soon to come later this year.

‘Silence’ has just had the music video finished and will be coming out very soon…

And what’s next for Little Grim?

I’ve quit my day job to focus 100% on music and the band will be coming first.

We’ve been heating things up, playing shows on our local circuit around Peckham/New Cross. From there, we’re going to book some bigger shows in the rest of London with a view to break out into Brighton, Bristol and Manchester. We’ve been rehearsing non-stop to make our live show shit hot, and are so excited to share the new music we’ve been spending all of our time on.

We plan to release more music this year than last and now that we’re fully focussed, it’s going to be our priority. We might actually do a music video with our faces in it for a change too!

Ripple Red Presents… Gold takes place at The Amersham Arms on 19 July.
Tickets/more info – https://www.facebook.com/events/381875702317703/