Grouplove

Wed 27th Jul, 2011 in Features

When FasterLouder is patched through to Hannah Hooper, one-fifth of American indie act Grouplove, the band has just finished sound-checking for their show in Seattle. For five friends who met in Greece and came together again in the USA to start making music together, the past few years have been pretty busy.

With successful tours through both Europe and the US already under the LA-based band’s belt, Grouplove are now preparing to make their maiden voyage to Australia to perform at Splendour in the Grass. Not bad for a group of mates who only formed their band in 2009.

You guys formed in 2009 and since then, Grouplove has taken off phenomenally both in the US and in the UK. What’s it been like going from just a group of friends making music, to being noticed and welcomed on such a large scale?
It’s been unexpected and really incredible. This has been the most humbling experience for all of us, because we’ve all been trying to do art independently for years, and the fact that five friends can hang out and make music and make art work and do this together has been really great.

You’ve already done some pretty impressive tours through Europe and the US. Has the constant touring changed the creative dynamic of the band? You’ve got so many more influences coming in when you’re on the road; surely that’s a good thing?
Yeah it’s been really exciting. I mean, for me personally, because this is my first time singing or doing anything musically, every day has been a learning experience. But we’ve had a really incredible group of people that we’ve always toured with and whether we’re watching their show or jamming with them or whatever, it’s just been incredibly important for our development.

Has there been any particular moment over the past year that’s stood out as a moment where you’ve been like “Wow. This is it”?
Well there’s been a bunch of different moments; I’d say every tour, there’s been a moment of ‘Wow’! But the most obvious one for me is the fact that we started in Los Angeles, playing a tiny little Mexican café for our first show and then only a few months later, we were playing The Wiltshire, which is a couple of thousand people capacity with Florence and the Machine. So the first show of that tour was the most incredible and overwhelming feelings I’ve ever had!

The self-titled EP has also been very well received since it was released last year. I read a review where Grouplove was labelled as “a great introduction to America’s latest underground”. What was it like to get such reactions for your debut release?
Well I think, because we started out as friends, the EP was just a recording that the guys who are now our managers heard and was like “Whoa, you guys really should be a band!”. The fact that from the moment they decided we should be a band, they kind of gave us that backing we needed to do it. It’s just been a crazy experience.

Did you expect it to take off as well as it did when it first came out, or were you still in that mindset of it being just five mates making some music together?
You know, I feel like the only time I really realised that we had taken off the way we have is after the show when I’m talking to fans, or someone emails me and tells me that they heard Colours on the radio or something. But really, in between shows and in between moments, I feel exactly the same. We’re all just working hard, so I feel like I should have these moments. Maybe it’s because I’m really busy and haven’t had time to step back, but at the end of the day for us it’s really just about making the songs and having a good a live show as we can.

If we can talk about this whole “American underground” label, what is the US indie scene like at the moment? For a band who is still emerging into the popular radar, is there a noticeable swing towards this sort of music over there nowadays?
I would say, in Los Angeles, we definitely touch upon a scene that’s bright and fun and has that homage to California. But because we’re all from different places, we definitely bring an element from wherever we’re from. I’m from San Francisco, Christian [Zucconi] is originally from New York, Sean [Gadd] is from London and Andrew [Wessen] and Ryan [Rabin] are from LA – so I think that’s something that’s kind of fun. If we go to New York, Christian has that in him, that New York sound and so we can go around and hear, I don’t know, just elements of different bands.

Can you tell me a little bit about how you guys got together to record it; from what I’ve read you were all scattered about in the early days, living in different states etc.
Well yeah, we were all scattered! So yeah, we all met in Greece, which is already weird; we were all there on this residency for different reasons and Christian and I went back to Brooklyn and Sean went back to London and Andrew and Ryan were back in LA. So a year later, we’d all been staying in touch like old camp buddies who were reminiscing about the times that we had together. So we all just decided that we needed to go to LA and see one another, it really wasn’t even about making music yet, we just really wanted to have a reunion. It wasn’t that easy, everyone was working jobs and doing things, but once we finally all reunited, we all started playing music and Ryan, who is also our producer and drummer, set up a little studio and we were just hanging out as friends and recording the songs. We didn’t have a band name, we didn’t play any shows or anything, it wasn’t until these two friends of Ryan’s heard the material that they were like “You guys should really be a band”! It’s just awesome.

Yeah, it sounds like it came together quite naturally and smoothly which is something you don’t hear a lot of.
It came really naturally, which is why we finished recording our LP a few months ago… We really tried to record it as friends in the same style, just hanging out without the idea that it had to be a specific genre or something. We’re not that kind of band at all.

I think that’s why your sound is somewhat so ‘refreshing’ I think, especially in the latest batch of bands that I know I’ve started to hear coming across from overseas. You can really hear the natural sounds coming through it and I literally think that’s why it’s taken of so well.
That’s so good to hear. I feel like the more honest people are and the less they really want it but they’re just genuinely doing something from a truthful place, it’s going to come out in a good way.