Sebastien Alexandre Grainger (born 11 April 1979) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

singer and musician, best known as drummer and singer of the

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

duo Death from Above and the singer and guitarist for his band Sebastien Grainger & the Mountains. He is part owner of Giant Studios in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario with Jimmy Shaw of

Metric Metric or metrical may refer to: Measuring * Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement * An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement Mathematics ...

Solo career

Sebastien signed with

Saddle Creek Records Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over his ...

in the US,

Outside Music Outside Music is a Canadian record label and distributor founded by Lloyd Nishimura in 2001. In 2007, it expanded to include an artist management division which includes Jill Barber, Matthew Barber, Aidan Knight, Justin Rutledge as manageme ...

in Canada and JVC in Japan to release his debut solo album, entitled ''Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains'', which was released on 21 October 2008. It was recorded between Giant Studio in

and Mountain City Studio in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Grainger wrote and performed nearly all the parts on the record with the exception of a few songs that were recorded as a full band. He is currently playing shows across North America. When performing live, Grainger is joined by bassist Nick Sewell, drummer Leon Taheny and synthesiser and guitar player Andrew Scott. Together they have toured with

Bloc Party Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band that was formed in London, England, London in 1999 by co-founders Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, sampler) and Russell Lissack (lead guitar). Their first four albums all featur ...

Hot Hot Heat Hot Hot Heat was a Canadian indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, formed in 1999. The band was signed to Seattle label Sub Pop in 2001 and Warner Records throughout the majority of their career. The band has released five full-lengt ...

& Albert Hammond Jr. In 2009 Sebastien Grainger took part in an interactive documentary series called '' City Sonic''. The series, which featured 20 Toronto artists, had him discuss his past experiences with the El Mocambo.

Other projects

Death from Above 1979

Grainger is best known to the public for being the singer and drummer in the duo Death from Above 1979, with bassist Jesse F. Keeler. The "1979" on the end of the band's name originated from Grainger's birth year, which he has tattooed on his forearm. Death from Above 1979 broke up in 2006, citing personal and artistic differences between the two members of the band. However, on 5 February 2011, Grainger officially announced that the band had reformed, and they since have been playing shows worldwide.

The Rhythm Method

The Rhythm Method
is Grainger's dance/computer music alias. He has released one double a-side 7" in the UK for the songs "Renegade Silence/When You Go Out" available fro
50 Bones Records
An alternate mix of "Renegade Silence" will be available on Grainger's LP ''Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains'' labeled as "featuring The Rhythm Method".

Girl on Girl

Grainger has released remixes for Death from Above's "Black History Month" and

's "Poster of a Girl" under the alias "Girl on Girl", a collaboration with The Mountains' Leon Taheny. Earlier similar electronic works were once available, under the aliases "The Great White Hype" and "Synsonic Pro-Model", through a dedicated Myspace page, that has since vanished.

Bad †i†s / Deserts

Bad Tits is Sebastien Grainger's band with Joshua Reichmann, formerly of Jewish Legend and Tangiers. The duo began playing shows in early 2010, with Grainger on drums and samplers, Reichmann on guitar and keyboards, and both singing. They released a debut vinyl 7" and digital EP titled ''Garbage Night'' on the label Hand Drawn Dracula. On 26 February 2012, Grainger announced on his Twitter account that Bad Tits had changed their name to Deserts. Desert's Twitter account posted about having been recording music shortly after.

Collaborations and contributions

* Grainger's voice was featured in the Does It Offend You, Yeah? song "Let's Make Out". * He contributed drums to the track "Sunday Morning" by Canadian hip-hop artist k-os. He appears in the song's music video as a homeless man who is recruited as a drummer. * He has collaborated with rising French electronica artis
DatA
on his debut album ''Skywriter'' that released on 28 April 2009. * Grainger played drums both live and on one record for Keeler's pre-Death From Above 1979 solo project

Femme Fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...

. * He contributed backing vocals to "Twice Born", a song on '' The Chemistry of Common Life'', Toronto hardcore punk band Fucked Up's 2008 LP. * He collaborated with Canadian rapper k-os on the song "BlackWater" off his mixtape ''The Anchorman Mixtape''. * He provided vocals for the song "Water in Hell" by the Canadian indie rock band

Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band and musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew (vocals, guitar) and Brendan Canning (vocals, bass) in 1999. Alongside Drew and Canning, the ...

on their album '' Forgiveness Rock Record''. * In 2011, he participated in the National Parks Project, collaborating with musicians Jennifer Castle and Dan Werb, and filmmaker Catherine Martin, to produce and score a short

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

about Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. * Grainger collaborated with artist Zowie on the track "Love or Hate (Zowie VS Sebastien Grainger)". * Grainger also produced two of the tracks on fellow Canadian band Nightbox's debut EP. * Grainger's voice sample is used in " Untrust Us" by

Crystal Castles Crystal Castles was a Canadian electronic music group formed in 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, by songwriter-producer Ethan Kath and singer-songwriter Alice Glass. Crystal Castles was known for their chaotic live shows and lo-fi music, lo-fi melanc ...

. * He provided vocals on the song "H.U.N.T." by Felix Cartal. * Grainger was featured on the song "Cheap Magic" by

Turbowolf Turbowolf are an English hard rock band founded in Bristol in 2008, whose members include Chris Georgiadis (vocals and synthesisers), Andy Ghosh (guitar), Lianna Lee Davies (bass guitar) and Blake Davies (drums). Their first album, ''Turbowolf' ...

Discography

Femme Fatale * 2002 ''Fire Baptism'' ( EP) Death from Above ''Note: Sebastien Grainger has performed on all Death From Above recordings to date. Only studio albums have been listed here, for a more complete list of releases see Death from Above discography.'' * 2004 '' You're a Woman, I'm a Machine'' * 2014 '' The Physical World'' * 2017 '' Outrage! Is Now'' * 2021 '' Is 4 Lovers'' American Lips * 2017 ''Kiss the Void'' Solo * 2008 ''American Names'' (Digital EP/7" Vinyl) * 2008 '' Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains'' * 2008 ''DatA feat. Sebastien Grainger - Rapture'' (EP) * 2009 ''DatA feat. Sebastien Grainger - One in a Million'' (EP) * 2013 Going With You (EP) * 2013 Yours to Discover The Rhythm Method * 2008 ''Renegade Silence/When You Go Out'' (7" vinyl double A-side) * 2009 ''Finish Me Off'' (EP)

References

External links

Sebastien Grainger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grainger, Sebastien 1979 births Living people Canadian indie rock musicians Canadian rock drummers Canadian rock singers Franco-Ontarian people Canadian male drummers Musicians from Mississauga Singers from Ontario 21st-century Canadian drummers 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian singers Saddle Creek Records artists 679 Artists artists