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Interview met Alex Hall van Grails!

I’m really digging your latest record. I’m not familiar with every release but it seems that you’re progressing and doing something different each time, I’m even catching some soul vibes on Chalice Hymnal. What’s your secret to keeping it all interesting and not falling into ‘crescendocore-clichés’ that are sometimes too common within instrumental bands?

Honestly, the secret is just writing songs. If you write songs, you don't need tricks. It's that simple.

Does the track title Deeper Politics suggest a deeper sense of awareness of what you’re doing as a band in relation to your previous full length? Or just a subtle wink to the fact that politics should go deeper than catching the latest on Fox News?

That's a valid interpretation, sure. I like that. But we're not really a political band. At least not in a literal sense. Any specific political message would have to be adhered to the music like a bumper sticker, which would feel a bit ham-fisted. Or clumsy, at best. The related and self-referential titles are just a fun way to create narrative threads between the records. Fun for us, anyway.

What inspires you the most, what bursts your creativity?

Sex, lies, and videotape.

What made you decide to throw in an extra 7 inch? Songs that didn’t fit the tracklist but you didn’t want to withhold from your fans or something else?

Yeah, pretty much. It had been such a long time since the last proper full length, we just wanted to do something special to commemorate. Both of those songs we liked a lot, but they never quite fit on a record over the years. And we thought maybe a few people would want to hear them.

Still not having seen you play live, i’m quite curious to find out in what way the switching of instruments influences the live experience. Does it give you a greater sense of freedom to write and play in this way?

Yes! Definitely. Switching instruments on stage can have the effect of being multiple bands in one, since everyone brings their own personality to each respective instrument. And it can be enlightening to see  the view on stage from multiple perspectives. A sort of sensitivity training. Like "bring your kids to work day" at the office. "Oh, sorry Dad, now I understand why you're such an asshole, your job is really hard." (That was probably a terrible analogy.)

Interview door Bos-medewerker Thomas Camps.

Grails speelt op zondag 12 maart in Het Bos. → http://www.hetbos.be/agenda/2017/3/12/#1209

Geplaatst op 20.02.17