Granfalloon began in 2016 as the folktronica recording project of Manchester based musician Richard Lomax resulting in 2017’s debut album Down There For Dancing. It has now grown to become a group of musicians from the UK and Germany and based across Manchester and Barcelona. These geographic influences can be heard in their mixture of lo-fi folk, experimental music, and electronica. Granfalloon use the electronic elements of Casio keyboards, vintage drum machines, and Omnichords (an electronic autoharp) and weave them in and out of acoustic guitars and found samples to create beautifully cracked soundscapes with compelling storytelling elements. Their new single Broken Things is out on 27th April. For now check out Granfalloon below!
We managed to catch up with Granfalloon as he talked about his upcoming single and more!
So how pumped are you for the release of Broken Things?
At least an 8, 8 and half on the Pumped Scale. If not more. Every time we release a new song, it feels like we get to reveal a bit more of our personality to people. It was lovely that BBC Introducing supported this track so much.
Can you tell us something about the single no ones else knows?
Once I tell you, it won’t be a secret any more! There are some secrets about what this track is about that I can’t share. I wrote this song the first week my girlfriend and I started seeing each other.
What was your favourite moment making this track?
I love layering up all the vocal parts – I get right into it. And I always enjoy working with Oli on his Casio parts as we tend to fall down a few rabbit holes and just end up making strange noises for hours on end. (WARNING – MusicGeekSection) I was also glad I finally got to use a specific reverse delay sound I got to use on my Omnichord for this track. I’d been looking for a home for it for ages and it never worked on anything else I tried it on.
Will you be releasing an EP/Album this year?
We have plans to go into the studio in June to record 5 or 6 new songs so that may be the basis for an EP, or could even be the starting point for an album. We’ll see how it goes. The new songs are interesting – there’s a very percussive one about media manipulation, there’s a folkier one that was written as a duet between the Manchester writer Isabella Banks and her husband George. But then there’s a Gorillaz style meaty, beaty one with this big slow shuffle groove so we’re looking forward to how we can shape them and seeing what they become.
If you could work with any band on a new track, who would it be and why?
On the wishlist… Before Breakfast from Sheffield are a phenomenal band. I really love Siobhan Wilson’s music too. I was supporting her the other week and was she very kindly agreed to sing with me on a cover version of Radiohead’s ‘No Surprises’ we were performing. It would be great to work with either of those acts – they’re both very special.
What do you get up to in your spare time when not working on music?
I work as a musician, a studio engineer, and a live engineer so that’s a lot of music. Non-music related stuff I like to get up to includes swimming and cycling and drawing and cooking.
What was the first gig you ever attended?
What was it? It was either… Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Or the Bootleg Beatles. Both gigs were around the same time.
What’s the alternative music scene like in Manchester at the moment?
There’s never really a unified ‘scene’ – it’s always little pockets doing different things in Manchester – that’s a good thing I think. There are some wonderful acts here at the moment… Chappaqua Wrestling have just moved up from Brighton, Diving Station, Steve (the one on Snug Platters), Douga, O>L>A, Caoilfhionn Rose, I Am Your Autopilot, Gideon Conn, KITS, Henge, Denis Jones, Jo Rose, and Songs For Walter are some of my current favourites. They’re all making fantastic music. I’ve got a playlist of their stuff here…
https://open.spotify.com/user/wilytimes/playlist/2SZhB6m1NcDUIXu8UdUkw0?si=EHU0kPD0QQiixM3KYJvTpQ