Grouplove
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Grouplove

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“Well, let’s see,” he ponders, “I mean, it’s probably only been about a year since we played our first show… but I’ve got to say that that our show at Koko in London was pretty great,” he recalls fondly. “Just because it was I think the biggest venue we had played in London at that point… and the crowd was really responsive. It was like, you know,” he drawls, “the first time that we could really see that people were starting to respond in bigger numbers.”

As with most bands who are constantly on the road travelling from one city to the next, there are sure to be more than a couple of crazy stories as well. “In Glasgow, Scotland we played a show at this little club called The Nice And Squeezy,” remembers Rabin. “And after we played we were all having a drink in the bar, the fire alarm went off and we kinda thought it was a false alarm or whatever… then it got to about four hours later and we’re standing outside while the entire building is burning down and we had to kick the back stage door down to get our passports out.

“It was a very dramatic thing and they still haven’t actually fixed the building about a year later. So we like to think that we brought the house down with our music,” he laughs.

Considering the band’s current momentum, Rabin’s joke doesn’t seem too far from the truth. Yet the story of how Grouplove actually came together is just as intriguing as their seemingly unstoppable and incredible rise.

With some of the band members originally living in New York, London and LA, they essentially met by way of a chance encounter on the island of Crete, where they bonded and subsequently began making music together.

“I was on an exchange program abroad in the Czech Republic and Andrew (bassist) said ‘you’ve got to come out here, to this art commune, this residency thing we do’,” recalls the drummer. “And I was like, ‘Oh I don’t know it sounds kinda weird, like a bunch of hippies frolicking around’, but it was actually amazing,” he grins.

“It wasn’t until about a year later we finally all got back together. We were living all over the place, and Sean (guitarist), Hannah (keyboardist/vocals) and Christian (vocalist) were in New York and they came and visited Andrew and I… and that’s when we started recording in the studio and that’s sort of what turned (it) into the band.”

Realising the true potential of their original musical output, the five members decided that it was too good an opportunity to not pursue the idea further; that subsequently led them to the decision to relocate and base the band in LA.

It was a decision which would prove to be an important move for the band. “They love it,” insists Rabin, in regards to his bandmates reaction to LA.

“I mean. Hannah and Christian were in New York for ten years or so before they finally made the move once they’d finished the EP. Everyone was kind of like, ‘Alright, you know we’ve made something special here… let’s sell everything we have and go out and stay with you guys in LA.

“So,” he grins, “they came out and really quickly, I think, they adapted to the lifestyle.”

One would assume that making the move to the hustle and bustle of LA would be a little overwhelming to say the least, but Rabin insists that the music scene there has played a major role in making the band members feel at home. “LA right now is a very suitable place to be in music,” he points out. “It’s a really supportive music scene and all the bands sort of know each other and help each other out.

“I think,” he adds with a wry smile, “Sean being from London, it was a very welcome change in terms of the weather, obviously… and everybody really adapted pretty quickly.”

The band’s debut album, the excellently titled Never Trust A Happy Song, is pencilled in for a September release and considering what they’ve already achieved on the back of just one EP, there’s no telling just how far the record could catapult them into the musical stratosphere.

“Well, we definitely adopted the same kind of process as we did on the EP,” Rabin explains of Never Trust A Happy Song, “which is we self-produced it in our studio at home.

“You know,” he muses, “with the EP, we kinda didn’t have any plans, ’cause it wasn’t really meant to be ‘a band’ and we weren’t doing it with any ultimate goals,” Rabin admits.

“When we made the album, obviously this time round it was obviously a ‘real’ band and we knew there was a goal in sight. But because of that, I think, we wanted to stay true to how we made the EP, so we sort of stuck to that method to try to make every song different and not do the same thing on any song; to try a different approach on each song.

“And I think it sort of brings a little bit of the same diversity that there is on the EP.”

With 2011 seemingly growing bigger and better in stature for Grouplove, it’s augmented by the band’smaiden voyage to Australia, which will see them play a run of shows, including a spot on the bill for Splendour In The Grass; suddenly they’re playing alongside Coldplay and Kanye West – not to mention the cream of the indie universe.

“Yeah [we’re] super-excited; we’re going to do Splendour and a couple sideshows… it’s going to be cool man,” says Rabin excitedly. “Our guitar player Andrew’s been on a surfing trip to the Gold Coast, but none of [the rest of] us have ever been down to Australia before, so we’re super excited.”

That fact that Triple J have been righteously flogging Grouplove all over the Australian airwaves will undoubtedly make the trip even more worthwhile for the LA group, perhaps softening the culture shock somewhat.

“Well, I think it’s going to be kinda different playing Australia, because it’s the one place I think that has really playing a couple of our songs a lot – at least Triple J radio has – and I don’t think there’s ever been a place we’ve been to where there’s been [such] a good response to the music before we even got there. So [there’s] a lot of anticipation to see what the crowd reaction is.

As for the Splendour slot, Rabin is happy for the chance to be on such a crazy bill. “I mean to play that festival is an honour,” he admits. “We’ve been really lucky to be able to put out our first EP on (Aussie indie label) Dew Process. They were actually the first label to take notice and put out our music, so it’s going to be cool to finally get down there to play and of all places to start with – Splendour In The Grass – it’s pretty exciting.”

It’s quite amazing to think that little more than a year ago Grouplove were virtual unknowns. Now they’re preparing for their first Australian tour, as well as counting down to the release of their debut album and can boast spots on some of the world’s premier music festivals. It’s a privileged situation that’s certainly not lost on Rabin.

“Just being able to travel around so much all of a sudden; you know, everybody was working dead end jobs before this started a year ago… and every show we play we’re pretty thankful for the whole ride and the highlights,” he admits.

“But I have a feeling that Splendour In The Grass and just coming down to Australia is going to be the biggest highlight – because just none of us have ever travelled that far before!”