Grasscut are a musical group featuring composer/producer Andrew Phillips and musician/writer Marcus O'Dair. Phillips writes and produces all Grasscut music; he also sings and plays various instruments including guitar and keyboards. O'Dair manages the act and contributes keyboards and double bass. They are based in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, England.

History

Grasscut have released two albums on

Ninja Tune Ninja Tune is an English independent record label based in London. It has a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded by Matt Black and Jonathan More (better known as Coldcut) and managed by Peter Quicke and others. Inspired by a visit ...

, ''1 inch: 1/2 Mile'' (2010) and ''Unearth'' (2012). Their third album, ''Everyone Was a Bird'', was released by

Lo Recordings Lo Recordings is a label founded in 1995 by Jon Tye. They are noted for their strong visual style thanks to Non-Format, with whom they work very closely and won a D&AD award for several of their releases sleeves. Musical style Lo recordings m ...

in 2015. Contributors to Grasscut's albums include

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

John Surman John Douglas Surman (born 30 August 1944) is an English jazz saxophone, bass clarinet, and synthesizer player, and composer of free jazz and modal jazz, often using themes from folk music. He has composed and performed music for dance performanc ...

Adrian Crowley Adrian Crowley is a singer, composer, songwriter, lyricist from Galway, based in Dublin and was born in Sliema, Malta. Crowley has released eight albums to date, with his debut ''A Strange Kind'' arriving in 1999. He followed this with ''When ...

Gazelle Twin Elizabeth Bernholz (née Walling), b. 1981 in Canterbury, England, and better known by her stage name Gazelle Twin, is an electronic music composer, producer and musician who is currently based in Leicestershire, England. She is unsigned and re ...

Seb Rochford Sebastian Rochford is a British drummer and composer. He has recorded and released music as leader of the British band Polar Bear, as Kutcha Butcha and as part of numerous collaborations. Early life Rochford was born in Aberdeen and has a large ...

, Oddfellows Casino, and Elisabeth Nygård. Grasscut have remixed artists including

Bonobo The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus '' Pan,'' the other being the comm ...

Coldcut Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the 1980s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, ...

Jaga Jazzist Jaga Jazzist (also known as Jaga) is a Norwegian experimental jazz band, that rose to prominence when the BBC named their second album, ''A Livingroom Hush'' (Smalltown Supersound/Ninja Tune), the best jazz album of 2002. (in Norwegian) Biograph ...

Leo Abrahams Leo Matthew Abrahams (born 1977 in Camden, London) is an English musician, composer and producer. He has collaborated with a multitude of professional musicians, including Brian Eno, Katie Melua, Imogen Heap, Jarvis Cocker, Carl Barât, Regina ...

, and John Metcalfe; in turn, they have been remixed by

Bibio Stephen James Wilkinson (born 4 December 1978), better known as Bibio, is an English musician and producer. He is known for a distinct analog Lo-fi music, lo-fi sound, and for working in a diverse range of genres, beginning in folktronica and ...

Nathan Fake Nathan Fake is an English electronic music artist from Necton in Norfolk, England, who has released singles as well as three albums on the label Border Community Recordings. In 2006, his debut album ''Drowning in a Sea of Love'' was released ...

and

Penguin Cafe Penguin Cafe is a band originally conceived by Arthur Jeffes, son of Simon Jeffes and Emily Young, as a continuation of his father's project, the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. The group is distinct from the original Penguin Cafe Orchestra, despite the ...

1 Inch: ½ Mile

Following the release of ''1 Inch: ½ Mile'',

Clash magazine ''Clash'' is a music and fashion magazine and website based in the United Kingdom. It is published four times a year by Music Republic Ltd, whose predecessor Clash Music Ltd went into liquidation. The magazine won the Best New Magazine award in ...

described Grasscut as ''"genuinely daring electronica artists"'', with the album appearing as

Mojo magazine ''Mojo'' is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer. Following the success of the magazine '' Q'', publishers Emap were looking for a title that would cater for the bur ...

’s electronica album of the month, one of iDJ’s debut albums of the year and one of the top ten pop albums of the year according to the

Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...

. Speaking to the Quietus website,

Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...

BBC 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

named it one of his top 13 albums of all time

Unearth

According to Andy Gill of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', Grasscut's second album, ''Unearth'', should have been on the Mercury list. Both records won 5-star reviews from ''

the Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

''; support has also come from the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', ''

Word A word is a basic element of language that carries an semantics, objective or pragmatics, practical semantics, meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of w ...

'', ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'', ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'', '' Q'' and '' Clash''. They have had airplay from

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

, 2, 3, 5Live and

6Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

, and have played sessions on 6Music and XFM.

Everyone Was a Bird

In May 2015 Grasscut released their third studio album titled ''Everyone Was a Bird''. The album has been described by Clash as "an engrossing, artful work", and by

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

as "that rare slab of post-rock that uses the genre's textures and general ethos of exploration to create new sounds instead of rehashing old ones". The album features guest vocals from

and

Seamus Fogarty Seamus Fogarty is a London-based Irish singer-songwriter, originally from County Mayo. Career In 2012, Fogarty released his debut album, ''God Damn You Mountain'', on the Scottish indie label Fence Records. Parts of the album were written and ...

and strings by Emma Smith and Vince Sipprell. The liner notes were written by acclaimed landscape writer Robert Macfarlane and were premiered on the website Caught by the River in April 2015.

Everyone Was a Bird - Remixed

In March 2016, online magazine

announced Grasscut's fourth album was to be a remix album. The album includes remixes from artists including Mira Calix, John Metcalfe, Leo Abrahams and

, and was released on

in the UK and Sounds et al in the US.

Live show

Since opening the main stage at the

Big Chill festival The Big Chill was an annual festival of alternative, dance and chill-out music and comedy, held in the grounds of Eastnor Castle during early August. The 2011 line-up included The Chemical Brothers, Kanye West, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Jessie J, R ...

in 2009, Grasscut have performed at

Cecil Sharp House Cecil may refer to: People with the name * Cecil (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) * Cecil (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Canada *Cecil, Alberta, ...

, Union Chapel, the ICA,

Koko Koko or KOKO may refer to: Animals *Koko (gorilla) (1971–2018), a gorilla trained to communicate in American Sign Language *Koko (dog) (2005–2012), the Australian kelpie in the 2011 film ''Red Dog'' *Koko (horse), an Irish racehorse that won ...

and

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...

, as well as in France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Czech Republic, Portugal, Poland and Slovakia. They have shared stages with the likes of

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...

Silver Apples Silver Apples were an American electronic rock group from New York, active between 1967 and 1970, before reforming in the mid-1990s. It was composed of Simeon (born Simeon Oliver Coxe III, June 4, 1938 – September 8, 2020), who performed o ...

Caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

, Fink and

. Although they performed early shows as a duo, Grasscut have usually been joined onstage by drummer Aram Zarikian (Andreya Triana) and string player Emma Smith (Geese, Elysian Quartet,

Jon Hopkins Jonathan Julian Hopkins (born 15 August 1979) is an English musician and producer who writes and performs electronic music. He began his career playing keyboards for Imogen Heap, and has produced but also contributed to albums by Brian Eno, Co ...

James Yorkston James Yorkston (born James Patrick Yorkston Wright; 21 December 1971) is a Scottish folk musician, singer-songwriter and author from the village of Kingsbarns, Fife. He has been releasing music since 2001. As well as recording as a solo artist, ...

Imogen Heap Imogen Jennifer Heap (born 9 December 1977) is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Her work has been considered pioneering in pop and electropop music. Heap classically trained in piano, cello and clarinet starting at ...

Hot Chip Hot Chip are an English synthpop band formed in London in 1995. The group consists of multi-instrumentalists Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard, Al Doyle, Owen Clarke, and Felix Martin. They are occasionally joined by former member Rob Smoughton for ...

). They are also known for their use of visuals, originally developed with As Described ( Portishead, Cinematic Orchestra).

Link to landscape

Grasscut are known for their landscape-based concepts, usually emerging in collaboration with Pedr Browne (also responsible for the Grasscut artwork). 1 Inch: ½ Mile came with a map detailing a walk through the ‘lost’ village of

Balsdean Balsdean is a deserted hamlet in a remote downland valley east of Brighton, East Sussex, England, on record since about 1100. It was formerly a chapelry of the parish of Rottingdean, and its territory touched that of the mother parish only at ...

, just outside

. An audio clue, contained within a downloadable track, provided details of the location of a hidden artefact: a unique recording on a cassette. This idea was extended on Grasscut’s second album, Unearth. Each track was reimagined by Phillips, and these ‘shadow’ versions – again on cassette – were secreted, each with a Walkman, in specific locations around England and Wales.

Use in media

Grasscut's music has been used on the soundtracks of

The New Pope ''The New Pope'' is a drama television series created and directed by Paolo Sorrentino for Sky Atlantic, HBO and Canal+. It is a continuation of the 2016 series ''The Young Pope'', originally announced as its second season. The nine-episode serie ...

'', '' Waterloo Road, and

Continuum Continuum may refer to: * Continuum (measurement), theories or models that explain gradual transitions from one condition to another without abrupt changes Mathematics * Continuum (set theory), the real line or the corresponding cardinal number ...

. Their music has also been used by

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

, and in major advertising campaigns worldwide. Grasscut’s hit single “The Lights - M25 Version” was featured in K-Mart’s annual Christmas commercials and advertising during the 2012 holiday shopping season.

Discography

Albums

* 1 Inch: 1/2 Mile (

, 2010) * Unearth (

, 2012) * Unearth Shadow Version (

, 2012) * Everyone Was A Bird (

, 2015) * Everyone Was A Bird - Remixed (

/Sounds et al, 2016) * Overwinter (

, 2021) * Haunts (

, 2021)

Singles

* High Down (Ninja Tune, 2009) * The Door in the Wall (Ninja Tune, 2010) * Muppet (Ninja Tune, 2010) * From Towns & Fields (Ninja Tune, 2012) * Pieces (Ninja Tune, 2012) * Catholic Architecture (Lo Recordings, 2014) * Curlews (Lo Recordings, 2015) * Radar (Lo Recordings, 2015)

Remixes by Grasscut

* Voluntary Butler Scheme – Trading Things In (2009) * Bonobo ft Andreya Triana: The Keeper – Bitter Peace remix (Ninja Tune, 2010) * Jaga Jazzist: Toccata (Ninja Tune, 2010) * Coldcut: Sound Mirrors (Ninja Tune, 2010) * Crewdson: Mime (Slowfoot, 2010) * Spokes: 3, 4, 5 (Counter, 2011) * Brasstronaut: Hearts Trompet (Tri-Tone, 2011) * Zoon Van Snook: Shall He? Shanty (Mush Records, 2012) * Tim Bowness: Smiler at 52 (There Were Days Grasscut Remix) (Inside Out Music, 2014) * Nick Nicely: London South (Lo Recordings, 2015)

Remixes of Grasscut

* Nathan Fake: Muppet (Ninja Tune, 2010) * Bibio: The Door In The Wall (Ninja Tune, 2010) * Prdctv: The Door In The Wall (Ninja Tune, 2010)

Other

* Blink In The Night: Ninja Tune XX box set (Ninja Tune, 2010)

References

External links

* {{Authority control English electronic music duos English post-rock groups Rock music duos