Grasscut

Brighton-based pair Grasscut specialize in glitch-infused, melody-driven soundscapes that merge ambient and steampunk textures while dissolving distinctions between organic and electronic realms. Keyboardist and classically trained double bassist Marcus O'Dair joins forces with Andrew Phillips, a composer known for television and film work, to shape their aesthetic, drawing from Kraftwerk, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Devo, and Robert Wyatt, the last of whom contributed guest vocals to the duo’s 2012 album Unearth. Their approach of layering organic samples with looping melodic patterns and pastoral visuals has prompted parallels to Hot Chip, Boards of Canada, Eluvium, and Max Richter. On their fourth album, Overwinter, issued in 2021, the pair incorporated greater acoustic instrumentation and orchestral detail than before, crafting lyrics meant to offer uplift amid difficult circumstances.

The project began in 2008 when the musicians distributed a self-released five-track promotional EP. Following a 2009 deal with Ninja Tune, they issued the single High Down, then delivered their first full-length effort, 1 Inch: ½ Mile, the next year to positive notices. Grasscut also supplied remixes for Coldcut, Jaga Jazzist, and Bonobo before returning with the expansive, atmospheric Unearth in 2012, which appeared alongside a companion “Shadow Version” featuring alternate takes of its ten songs. After switching to Lo Recordings, the duo released Everyone Was a Bird in 2015 and followed it in 2016 with a remix collection that included reworkings by Mira Calix, Penguin Café, and Oliver Coates.

For several subsequent years the members pursued separate endeavors, during which Phillips earned multiple honors for his scoring work, among them a BAFTA for the 2018 documentary Grenfell and an Emmy for the HBO production Stolen Daughters: Kidnapped in 2019. Grasscut reconvened for Overwinter in 2021, an album shaped by seasonal walks around Brighton and exchanges with people experiencing homelessness.