If you’ve been on Hype Machine lately, then you probably already know that Scottish import GRUM wants you to dance. From his many remixes including his luxurious 80s take on Lady GaGa’s “Bad Romance” to his own album Heartbeats out May 18th on Ultra – he is accomplishing just that. Oh yes, and he’s also currently on tour with the Twelves – playing this Thursday the 29th at Santos Party House in NYC and in LA on May 8th at V-Lounge with many stops in between. This all feels quite important – so URB caught up with this electronic maestro on what he studied at university, how he makes music and his belief in hedonism…
URB: What did you study at uni?
GRUM: Music Technology. I wanted to learn more about how to produce music, but ended up learning more in my spare time just making tunes on my laptop.
URB: What’s the first album you can remember holding in your hands?
GRUM: That’s a funny one, as I guess my generation grew up without physical copies of music. The first album I really got into was the Stone Roses debut.
URB: You say that the Internet doesn’t feel real to you. What is real to you?
GRUM: Well, it just feels slightly removed in a way…it’s both very personal in that people can message me and I can reply to them, but at the same time its not really ‘real’ is it? Real to me would be doing a massive show where people are really into my music.
URB: How does Linlithgow, Scotland [where you grew up] compare to Edinburgh & Glasgow?
GRUM: Linlithgow is just a small town with nothing going on as far as I’m aware. Edinburgh and Glasgow are 10000x more interesting, albeit subtly different. Edinburgh is my favorite!
URB: What programs do you use on your laptop to make music?
GRUM: I use Logic, plus various plugins. I try to stick to the ones that came with logic but I have a few external ones which I tend to use a lot. Everything is just made on the computer.
URB: What do you mean by pure hedonism? Is that really possible in the real world or just as a concept to be lived out in clubs in the after hours?
GRUM: I think pure hedonism is more a frame of mind, less worrying, more fun. Although if you worry about being hedonistic enough then I guess it misses the point.
URB: What’s next for you in the way of dream collaborators and beyond?
I just finished a remix for Owl City(!) so that should be hitting the blogs soon…I’m also currently working on a few remixes including one for Marina and the Diamonds. At the same time I’m developing my live show so its ready to kick off over the summer festivals. Oh, and my album is out in May!
In terms of collaborations, I’d love to produce some sort of female R&B vocalist. It would also be amazing to go into the studio with one of the productions greats such as Stuart Price or Jellybean Benitez.
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