grasshopper (with a small 'g' please) have been an exciting young presence in the Brighton music scene for a couple of years now, which actually seems quite remarkable when you consider how young they still are. We've been keeping an eye on the group for a while, watching them go from strength-to-strength, seeing how an already remarkably well-defined sound has grown and developed. We recently got in touch with the band to sound them out about appearing at Brightonsfinest's Alternative Escape Showcase and they let us have a sneaky listen to some of the new recordings they've been working on, blowing our collective minds. The album these guys are working on is going to be their quantum leap. The production and writing is better than anything we've heard so far from the group, but they're still in the midst of those sessions, so we'll all have to wait patiently for a release date. Lead singer and defacto band leader Javi took some time out from a hectic schedule of rehearsals, recording sessions and, presumably A-Levels, to give us some background on the band.
Do you see yourselves as part of a scene in Brighton and are there any bands you see yourselves aligned with?
When we started we were part of this cool DIY scene at the Blind Tiger Club (RIP), where along with some other young bands like AMI, The Cotard Delusion, and Crisis Warning, we found our feet and played some of our first (and best!) gigs. A lot of the bands involved have gone on to play major festivals and score some great support slots, and starting a band in such a supportive environment was very helpful.
There are too many good Brighton bands to name them all, but at the moment, our favourite bands to play with are Prince Vaseline, Red Deer People, and Man Ray Sky/Seadog – check them out.
You're one of the youngest bands out there on the circuit – how old are you all now?
We’re all still at school/college, but this doesn’t really get in the way- we’re all extremely into the band and music in general. We’ve played in a lot of 18+ venues in Brighton and our ages (currently 14-18) are never normally a problem, although it’s always funny when venues ask us to leave after our set, not realising that we’ve provided half the back-line. It’s quite surreal sometimes, playing festivals at the weekend before going back to school at 8.30 on the Monday.
What's your writing process?
I (Javi, vocals & guitar) normally work out the chord sequences and vocal melody/lyrics myself, before collaborating with Luis (my brother, our bassist) on the bass-line and overall structure of the song. After this, we’ll take it to the others – both Rachel (drums) and Hannah (guitar) are extremely creative musicians and always come up with something ace. I think our songs normally find themselves after we’ve performed them live a fair few times, as the reactions of different audiences helps us see what works and what doesn’t.
Your original guitarist Alex left the band quite recently – how smooth has the transition been and how are things going with his replacement?
The transition has been fine, and we’re all still friends with Alex. Hannah (who joined in November) has been coming to our gigs from the very beginning (and bought the 1st ever copy of our 1st EP!) so has naturally settled on perfectly – she’s just as important a part of grasshopper as the rest of us now.
You guys seem to have a remarkably well defined and somewhat retro sound for such a fresh faced group – what are your key musical influences and how did you get into that stuff?
We all listen to different music – Rachel’s into indie/dancier stuff, Hannah’s more into punk, and me and Luis listen to a lot of post-punk/alternative music, I think this helps make our song’s sound full and interesting. I’ve always been into Factory and 4AD bands like New Order and Cocteau Twins etc. and I'm currently listening to a lot of Stereolab, TRAAMS (I first heard them live and go to see them play whenever I can), Nas’ ‘Illmatic’, and Barry Adamson’s ‘Moss Side Story’, which I stumbled across in my parents’ vinyl collection.
We've had a sneaky preview of some new recordings from you guys recently, how did these sessions compare to recording the Circle Time EP?
We recorded our Circle Time EP with the awesome Ali Gavan, who helped us get five songs down and mixed in about ten hours – they’re brilliant, mostly live versions of the songs, but we weren’t able to spend time properly focusing on certain parts like we have with our most recent recordings (yet to be released). Being able to re-record parts and try out lots of different things in the studio can lead to you doing stuff you hadn’t even considered before, and whilst the newer recordings sound pretty different to the songs live, they’ve got a really cool feel to them which it’d be hard to get in just one or two takes.
Who have you been working with and how did that come about?
David M Allen (producer of The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, The Buzzcocks etc.) was introduced to us by a friend at Bleeding Heart Recordings, and I spent a funny evening with him in the pub last year just chatting about music. He liked us and our sound, so we went into the studio with him for the first time near the end of 2015, and what he’s managed to do with our songs since then is amazing.
You supported The Charlatans, quite a coup, how did that come about and has it led to any more doors opening?
Tim Burgess heard our music through our Twitter, and offered us a few slots at festivals he’s involved in (Kendal Calling, Festival Number 6 etc.) off the back of it. After the festivals, he asked us to support The Charlatans when they played in Worthing last March, which was really good fun – we still get people coming up to us saying they first saw us at that gig and loved our set, which is encouraging.
What's the best show you've played so far and why?
There’ve been tons of great ones – my favourites include a fantastic gig to a packed out tent at Forgotten Fields Festival last year, our support slots with The Charlatans and The Go! Team (the best live band around!?), and a gig in January at The Green Door Store, where we played our newest song 'Obsession / Repetition' for the first time to a great crowd.
If you could collaborate with another artist/band alive or dead who would you chose?
We supported Grant Hart a few years ago and are still in touch with him; I think it’d be great to collaborate with him in a studio at some point. My personal heroes are Deerhunter and the KLF though, and if members of either are reading this, please feel free to get in touch.
Are there any grasshopper side projects we should know about?
Hannah’s part of a few other bands, including the ace Negative Measures, whose De-motivational Speeches EP is coming out soon – I’d recommend checking them out if you like punk/hardcore music.
Do you have any up-coming gigs we should know about?
We’re playing on 11th April at the Rialto Theatre as part of the Bleeding Hearts Club, and then are headlining The Albert on 19th April for The Moonlight Collective, both of which should be brilliant gigs. We’ve got a lot of gigs in May too – on Saturday 7th we’re performing at a Festival of Sound gig at Newhaven Fort which is really cool, and a week later (on the 14th) we’re playing at a Studio 2 night at The Haunt. We’re also playing at the One Church on 20th May as part of the Brightonsfinest Alternative Escape gig, and are in the process of booking another Alt Escape gig too.
When do you think we'll see the next grasshopper release?
We’ve got plans to release a 7” soon – no dates yet, but rest assured, a lot is happening behind the scenes.
Adam Kidd
Facebook: facebook.com/grasshoppermusic
Twitter: twitter.com/bandgrasshopper