Grim17

“I look like a cartoon biker, I act like a clown henchman, and I sound like a computer puking a whiney average white guy.”

Up n’ Comin’ NI are happy to introduce this week’s artist Grim17, “like my sixteen forefathers before me.”

Music has always played a huge part in Grim17’s life. “I pestered my parents to get me piano lessons as a child, and then, when I entered the most lukewarm teenage rebellion, I rejected the piano for a bass guitar, at fourteen, and jumped from band to band for about ten years. I then did a couple of courses in music production/technology and tried to replace the band with a laptop.
At the height of my bottom rung success I took five years off for depression and substance abuse, but I've been back waist-deep in glitchy, cacophonous idiosyncracy for a couple of years and sober as an addiction to coffee will allow!”

A lot of his inspiration comes from Tom Waites. “I love everything that man does, even the stuff I don't listen to often. He constantly takes risks, tells stories and does whatever the hell he wants.
I like to indulge my own delusions by thinking I try to recreate the raucousness and exploration of rhythm from his later years, but with digital apparatus rather than analogue percussion.” A lot of Tom Waites influence can be heard in the way Grim both writes and produces his own music.

Grim17 describes his music as “electro-blues.” This is because most of the music that he loves can be traced back to the evolution of blues music of the twentieth century, “and I grew up in a house that has a lot of ‘Tears For Fears’, ‘Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’ and ‘Flock of Seagulls’ on vinyl, so that HAD to have influenced the electro part!”

Grim17 claims that his approach to writing and performing music is “learn the basics and a few cool looking tricks and wing the rest.” 

When asked if his music can be streamed through all the major streaming services, Grim17 replied, “It is. Search for Grim17 and you should find a whole heap of my self-indulgent warblings!”

He draws inspiration from the phrase “Paul McCartney could never write piano concerto number two, but I doubt Rachmaninoff could have written Let It Be.”

Like many others, Grim17 doesn’t have a singular process when it comes to songwriting. “These days, I sit at a computer mucking around with samples, synths and my own voice until something emerges that I like.” This has changed. In the past he used to “sit for hours in front of the TV with a guitar until some combination of inspiration/motivation emerges, I call it insptivation.”

While most of Grim17’s music has written and performed solo, he does also occasionally enjoy working with others. “I have a very very talented guitar player that often comes to my ‘studio’ (shed out the back) and lends his fret-skipping digits to my compositions. I have also remixed other artist's music and been remixed by other artists. A lot of my time is spent mixing and mastering for cash, so you make a lot of contacts that way.” 

Drawing inspiration from your own life in your music is natural but discussing it can be more difficult. Grim17 gave a very honest account of his own struggles. “Well, I have struggled with depression and substance abuse; been in and out of various states of mundane and torturous employment and had my fair share of fun, frolics and failures. I also am as, if not more, prone to doom-scrolling as anyone else. So, all of that does absolutely find its way into my music.” It is, however, wonderful to hear that Grim17 is in a much better place, describing his proudest achievement as “getting sober.”

“No one else has my specific experiences, influences and loves. I make an effort to embrace the most inaccessible elements of what I am and do, often to my detriment. But I like the idea of people having to do a little bit of work to get to the good stuff!”

Grim17 doesn’t often perform with others. He describes his setup as “Just me, my laptop, and whatever else I can carry to venues.” And although Grim17 hasn’t been gigging as much as he would like to, he says “Hopefully, I'll be doing more gigs in the coming year.”

Grim17 describes one of his most memorable gigs. “When I was in a hardcore band we supported a band called Black Ice in this massive hall, but only one person turned up for our set. The band we were supporting had this tour manager, though, called Axel. A crazy, grissled, French guy who was soaked in red wine and cigarette ash. He was doing some work on his laptop at the back of the hall when we started, but when he heard us he basically leapt off his chair and started throwing some insane shapes and hollering in front of the stage. We got paid fifty quid for the gig, so we spent it all on whiskey for us and Axel and had a very very messy night.”

So, what’s next for Grim17?

“Opportunities, in my experience, have no respect for people's plans/visions. I plan to do more gigs and build my audience, so keep an eye on my socials and digital presence, if you are so inclined, maybe?”

Make sure you follow him and keep up to date with all his songs, events and gigs: 

Instagram: Grim17again

Spotify: Grim17

YouTube: Grim17music

Bandcamp: Grim17

Deezer: Grim17

Apple Music: Grim17

Musicxusic:

Grim