Not only is American-Canadian musician Grandson's discography catchy as hell, but it's also politically charged. He's released songs critiquing American gun laws, police brutality and more, all the while slotting perfectly into your favourite playlists. Combining rock, hip-hop, electronic music and trap, as well as other genres, he uses his music to highlight issues that the media might not be focusing on.
Speaking to mindequalsblown about what he aims to his music, he said " I’m so grateful every day to be able to do it, and I want to tell stories that aren’t getting told. I want to empower young people to feel that they are not powerless, I want to encourage people to fight apathy and I want to advance a progressive agenda across the planet Earth — that’s my goal."
So far, along with a string of singles, Grandson has released a trilogy of EPs, A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1, 2 and 3. Each has built on the themes of the last, as well as taken his sound and improved and added to it. Speaking to NME about the trilogy, he says "Undeniably it feels like there are more ears on the music that I’m releasing now. I knew that I didn’t want to make a debut album right away. I wanted to use this first series of releases to explore my own relationship to hip-hop, rock n’ roll, and electronic music.
"Volume 1 was my first smattering of songs and they were kind of all over the place in a way that I was proud of. With Volume 2, I think I got scared of being pigeonholed as a political artist so I wanted to express who I was and find my own voice within it all, and Volume 3 represents all of it.”
It's not just his music that's being noticed, but his live shows as well. He's toured with the likes of Hobo Johnson, Smashing Pumpkins, Nothing But Thieves and Young The Giant, and just like his music, his live shows are only set to get better and better.
Looking ahead to his long-awaited debut album, Grandson summed it up best to Upset Magazine, saying earlier this year "I'll keep doing that for a little, but by the end of this year or the beginning of next, I'm hoping to be able to present people with my first full-length album. I'm gonna make sure that when you hear it, it's gonna be fire. I promise you that much."
We can't wait to see what Grandson makes next, as he's already got an impressive track record.
