FEATURED ARITST
Caspar Grant
London, United Kingdom
BACKGROUND
Caspar Grant is an MC, producer and multi instrumentalist who has been on the UK music scene for the past two decades. Making himself known across the board from Birmingham to London, his music combines cinematic, satirical lyricism with forward thinking production with aim to stimulate body and mind. I'm down, where do I sign up? In this article I'll be reviewing Caspar Grant's track entitled 'Capricornucopia' as well as catching up with the man himself in an exclusive interview. What more could you want? So, let's get into it then.
REVIEW
Caspar Grant comes in heavy with his track entitled 'Capricornucopia'. "Capricornucopia" is a lyrical HIIT workout that will get you onto the dance floor through its catchy instrumental and hard hitting lyrics. A choppy violin synth gives us a serious but jokey feel which sets up the theme of the track. There are several vocal flows going on in this piece which I really love before breaking into almost a chant. Stating that "everything's been done before" I got the impression that this artist is bored of mainstream themes in life. This really shows in his musical creativity. I like how free the artist sounds in his production style, it's a mix of satire, freedom and experimentalism all combined into a hard hitting hip-hop based masterpiece. I feel as though the artist really went with the flow of things on this track without mass amounts of planning but at the same time, has created something genius from the rawness that comes with that. I think this track is great, it's different, it's relatable and most importantly, it's fun for the listener. So, if you want to hear it for yourselves (I think you do) then click the link below, get it added to your playlists and you're guaranteed to be uplifted. I really enjoyed listenering to this one. Oh, and make sure that you scroll down to catch my interview with Caspar Grant where he discusses his movements for the rest of the year. Did somebody say an album?...
INTERVIEW
What would be your ultimate achievement for your latest single? Is there a particular vision that you had when putting the song together?
This single was the product of a fairly unorthodox process. The lyrics were written and recorded to a different beat and I really wanted to use them for the album and after much searching I was put on to Dusty Ohms by an Australian producer called Able8 (who did two beats on the LP) and he built the instrumental around the bars.
However, I thought the beat was too dope to just sit like that, so I rerecorded the verses with a slightly different style of delivery and I’m of the opinion that the result was pretty magical. I had the basis of the hook from doing the track live (over the old instrumental) and adapted it melodically to the new beat and when I was listening back to it I had one of those “This is a hit” moments and I knew it had to be a single.
Doing the song live it would always be the set closer, that blend of precision spitting and high energy. I really wanted to capture that essence of shelling it on stage in the recording. The point of the song is that it combines what you might call party rhymes with something more existential and abstract and in that sense I think it’s a pretty succinct representation of what I’m about, as lyrically dense as it is. So in answer to the question I guess if I have a goal in mind for the single it’s that it would be able to move a room whilst being all the more rewarding in the headphones, and that either one would give people a pretty clear picture of my personality and approach to art.
Where can we find the track? Links to socials and distribution handles
You can find me of Instagram @caspargrant on twitter and facebook @caspargrantraps. “Capricornucopia” is available to stream on all platforms and the video is hosted on the Andwhat?LDN youtube channel so go and hit that up.
When did you first realise that you had the potential to be an artist? Is there a memory that has stuck in your mind as the turning point for you?
Honestly it’s really hard to say. I always loved music so much from as far back as I can remember and started trying to write songs when I was about seven. When I started secondary school I had got the hang of it and I was gigging by my mid teens and getting respect from the older music heads I knew. By my late teens I was completely dedicated to Hip Hop and met several already practising artists, including Zaeb Dust (who was called What Supreme back then) and we started a group and did tonnes of shows, moving crowds and getting props from our peers. I could go on and tell you all the other stages of the journey but I guess the point I’m trying to make is that there wasn’t really a point where I wasn’t making songs and I always felt confident performing them to people so being an artist in that sense of it was just something I always did from a really young age.
How would you define your sound?
I try to keep my approach as open as possible. Making music growing up I always wanted to try an combine all the different stuff I listened to, but most of it tended to lean towards sounds that were more experimental. The thing that attracted to me to hip hop was the freedom of it, the fact that you could formulate your own musical grammar as it were but with a strong foundation to build upon.
As I started really developing my own voice and style with it I realised that the way I approach art is pretty much always through a psychedelic lense, whether that’s the production I work with or in the types of pictures I’m trying to draw with the lyrics. I’d say that the songwriting itself is intended to be humorous and satirical whilst still touching on some pretty heavy and often dark subject matter. So yeah, Caspar Grant the psychedelic satirist, his shit bumps and gives you something to think about with a few decent jokes thrown in.
Cubase, Protools, or neither?
I use Ableton live, but whatever floats your boat is cool.
This might be a tricky one but Studio vs Live - Which do you prefer and why?
Not tricky at all, live all the way. I do love making music in the studio and ultimately it’s the most rewarding thing in the world, creating this definitive version of something that can travel and survive space and time. However, the process isn’t always the most fun. I came from performing live a lot and feel like that’s the fire that my art was forged in, plus I just really love performing and seeing the music connect with people, plus it’s fun to be the one with mic and a license to say what you want.
If you had the opportunity to work with one of your favorite musical artists, who would you most like to collaborate with and why?
Probably Four Tet. I just think Kieron’s music is unreal and he’s consistently put out so many good records over the years, always evolving the sound and trying something new whilst building on his foundation. He manages to make stuff that bangs super hard, is weird and left field as hell and is still somehow accessible to lots of people and I think that’s an amazing achievement. He’s undoubtedly one of if not my favourite producer and I think his sounds has the similar psychedelic scope to it and I would just love to see what he’d throw at me and how we could develop a song together.
Born in Brum? What made you move?
Well, initially it was for my girlfriend at the time. I was fresh out of university (in Devon) and wanted to go somewhere and her being there sort of necessitated my move. It didn’t last. However, I’d had London as somewhere I wanted to be in my mind for a while prior. I’d spent three years in the countryside surrounded by hippies (no bad thing) and wanted something different. I originally intended to just stay for a year, it’s been a lot longer than a year. I got hooked pretty quick I think.
Brummy to Brummy it feels like there's a lot to be done to shine a light on the artists in the city what are your thoughts on that?
I really couldn’t agree more. I’m a little out of the loop these days, but as far as I can see from my experiences of being involved in music there, the city’s musical legacy and the talent it continues to produce, there is something really special and unique about what comes from Birmingham. think that it’s history of being a free town and a place that does it’s own thing is highly linked to all of this.
You’ve had foundational artists from all sorts of genres and artists who’ve pushed the envelope across the board, and yet it still gets such fewer props than somewhere like Manchester or Bristol (or obviously London). I really don’t know why, it’s like the music press forgot about all the big names that came out of there historically and put a ceiling on the number of allotted artists that could break . That being said it’s felt like at times there’s a dearth of opportunities within the city to do things like perform and that paired with things like the way it’s weirdly fractured by poor transport links etc means it’s not always great at shining a light on itself maybe. Don’t get me wrong, there are many super dedicated people doing everything they can to facilitate and nurture Brummy talent and I have so much love and respect for that.
That being said it does feel like Birmingham has more of a presence in music these days, especially if we’re talking about UK rap and grime and drill. Seeing people like Millionz get a huge rep nationally and bring that Brummy cadence to such a big audience and them love it is just amazing. It’s weird how for a long time the Brummy accent had this slight pariah status and for the general public to finally realise how cool and musical it sounds is all types of special.
What are your future plans? What can we look forward to for the rest of 2022?
Plenty more music coming out. In just a few weeks I have another single and video dropping called “Everything’s Been Done Before”, then another single and later on in the summer my debut album “Capricornucopia” is dropping. I have been sitting on some of this music for a minute and it’s so exciting to be finally getting it out there for everyone to listen to. Stay tuned.