Sebastien Graingier and the Mountains

Sebastien Graingier and the Mountains

29 January, 2009
by: Domzig

If there is something we here in the media are guilty of, then it's making people famous for one thing and one thing only. I mean did you know that Albert Einstein was a committed Marxist, a high-school drop out, and an early campaigner for civil rights? No. Didn't think so, that's because almost everything written about him both before and after his death spends little time talking about what sort of guy he was and a lot of time on how great a scientist he was.

The same can be said about Sebastien Graingier. Whilst almost everyone knows of Death From Above 1979 from the volumes of magazine articles wrote about them, few, if any know that it was this guy who sat behind the drums, yelled into the microphone and generally turned bass and drums into chaos. But that's all going to change because he's back fronting a new band called The Mountains and playing a sexy-as-hell psychedelic rock that makes men cry tears of joy and women go weak at the knees.

So, how's life been treating you since the break-up of DFA 1979?

Generously! Once DFA wound down, I was able to live in a neighbourhood and get grounded and for the first time, with some money! I played all kinds of music, bought a house, built a studio, got engaged and made a record.

The new stuff has a lot less dancier feel to it, was that a conscious thing?

I deliberately avoided certain trends and clichés that I was hearing in current music, especially when it came to recording drums. I wanted something more classic, more timeless. It was a natural inclination but also a conscious opposition. I think that rock music is essentially dance music and you don't need to be so deliberately "DANCEY" and obvious
.
Have you found that the atmosphere of shows has been a little different now that the music is a bit less frantic?

It's hard to tell at this point. We've largely been playing as opener for other bands, thus playing for someone else's crowd. In that regard, the response has been seemingly more positive because I feel this music is easier for a total stranger to digest. DFA shows didn't get truly crazy until it caught on and the record was out for a while and people knew what to expect and how to behave. The people needed time to digest what we were doing and possibly to be told by magazines that they should like us.
 
Also, our live shows tend to be far more over-the-top than the "Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains" LP. Our tempos are faster, our playing is harder...it's just my/our natural inclination. I want to get crazy. For me, it ends up being far more frantic and high-energy because I'm now a full-on front man. I can finally use up all those dance moves I've been cultivating since I was a kid. Essentially, I still feel like a freak.

On the other hand, I suppose it's easier to play live now that you don't have to play drums?

In a way. I felt like in the old band, I hit a plateau in my playing. It became easy, but I wasn't getting any better because of my confinement as a singer/drummer. As a singer/guitar player I feel like I am getting better at both. It's a really exciting time for me. Every show we play and tour we do, the band gets better and my playing gets better. It makes me hopeful and gives me a sense that I am on my own path.

I was browsing your wiki page the other day, and I saw that you have a food blog. With the international reputation of British food, are you scared?

I've been to the UK before and in fact I am half British. So I A) Know what to expect and B) Enjoy eating in the UK.

No fear. I just think your eggs stink. As in, smell bad.

Sebastien Graingier and the Mountains have a new record out on Saddle Creek and is playing a bunch of shows around London this month. We recommend strongly that you do whatever it takes to check him out.

Domzig