Del Osei-Owusu sits down with artists on the FOTN radar and gets them to tell their origin story over a cup of tea and biscuits. This week, it’s the turn of Grubby and he brought bourbons, the one true biscuit.
Congratulations on the release of Little Fits, how does it feel now it’s out in the wild?

Thank you! Whenever I release something, I always think “this is the one – this is the best thing I’ve EVER done – this is going to be HUGE!” So when the inevitable happens – and the music is largely ignored – it’s always slightly disappointing to be honest.

It’s a nine track project what’s your favourite track?

They are all my little electronic babies! The one that got the warmest reaction was ‘Safe’ – a liquid D&B track. However, I think my favourite is ‘My Nuclear Shadow’ as it sounds so different and has a cool film sample in it!

If your latest release had a secret message hidden in it, what would it be—and who is it meant for?

Funny you should ask that! The title ‘Little Fits’ has a double meaning – the songs are all short bursts – little fits – of musical energy, but it’s also a reference to how hard it can be to get added to other people’s playlists. Very often the response is “sorry, this song is not a good fit”. So, again – little fits.

You are a producer and playlist curator from London how did it all begin for you?

Years ago my Dad wanted to learn to play the piano, so he bought himself a little home YAMAHA synth. Of course, he never touched the thing, so I ended up playing around with it, writing silly songs that I sang along to and recorded on the home stereo. Eventually I got a TASCAM 4 track recorder, then a YAMAHA SY-85 synth, before moving on to Cubase…then Logic. You get the idea. I still have all those old tapes too – complete with my hand-made cover art, lyrics & liner notes!

What did you listen to growing up?

I was/still am a huge Michael Jackson fan. I got every record. I listened to all my parents LP’s & my sister’s singles too, so there was a real mixed bag – and I loved it all! Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel, The Beatles, Dire Straits, ABBA, Duran Duran, The Smiths, U2, and… Barry Manilow, to name but a few.

Being a playlist curator what’s the quickest way to catch Grubby’s ear?

I love finding tracks for my UNDISCOVERED playlists. Potential songs have to have something unique – something that makes them stand out from the (enormous) crowd. A strong, memorable melody is very important, as is production quality. It’s not rocket science!

You’re also part of the new generation of mods for FOTN, what’s your process for listening to the inbox?

The weekly inbox is so diverse and it always has some real gems – I usually find a few tracks for my playlists there. As I go through each entry, I can immediately hear when a track is right for me – it stands out like a sore thumb. Melodic, unique, memorable.

If the story of your life were told through a concept album, what would the opening track sound like—and what would it be called?

Blimey, that’s a tricky one. I’d probably start with a dark, dissonant orchestral piece to build the tension – and it would be called something random and meaningless like “Squiggle Monster” or “Discontinued Leotard”.

If someone listened to your music without knowing anything about you, what do you hope they’d assume about the kind of person you are?

I would hope they wouldn’t assume anything about me, and just enjoy the music for what it is.

What are you listening to at the moment?

I spend a lot of time hunting for songs and considering submissions for my playlists, so I mainly listen to smaller, unknown artists. It’s always surprising to me just how much incredible talent is out there, waiting to be found.

What are you looking forward to doing next?

Getting people to listen to my playlists as much as possible! Also, getting the next Grubby tracks out there. I have a couple that are nearly ready to go – so, at the moment I have that sweet, optimistic feeling you get just before the real world comes along and slaps you in the face.

Grubby’s Playlists