A collaboration project between myself and Pearse McGloughlin. A melodic/electronic/literary record coming out in July 2013.

Click on the dolls to download the first song from the record ‘Nastasya’s Tears’ for free
www.idiotsongs.bandcamp.com

FIRST SONGS SUNG OF 2013

TORONTO, CANADA

Sending his 5-string viola and (self-named) “cellolino” (strung an octave lower than a conventional violin) through a laptop, feet tapping on all manner of home-made pedals, he builds layer upon layer of rhythms and melodies into what STU magazine called ‘…a holy and magical crescendo.”
Sending these sounds through electronic filters and effects, Grounds sings overtop to produce onstage a sound vital and post-modern and yet also somewhat fragile and ancient.

Given a violin at age 4, Grounds’ childhood of classical training melds together in his music with his time touring and recording with live drum’n'bass act Keiretsu in his early 20s. And within this electronic and acoustic musicality, there is a deep sense of the poetic, a wistful yearning inherited from his current home on the southwest coast of Ireland.

Fiercely independent and no stranger to the road, Grounds has in the last 5 years produced 4 solo records and toured N.America, Europe, China and Australia. He has leant his music to television, radio and film, collaborated with live projectionist Liam Ahern and is a founder member of The Headland Collective in West Cork, a group committed to producing collaborative work and encouraging emerging artists.

“Currently touring Ireland with The Headland Collective, Justin Grounds deserves to have more chatter about him. The Englishman’s album The Dissolving is a superbly crafted release of atmospheric music drawn from his musical experiences with electro-acoustic composition, violin, thumb piano and enriched by his recording method – in solitude in a tiny cottage in Clonakilty, Co, Cork. It’s an Irish Bon Iver story of sorts (but without the selling phones in Eyre Square bit…”

-NIALLER9.com-

“Justin is a wildly gifted violin player and when you add his songwriting capabilities to the mix, as well as his ability to innovate and layer using pedals, loops and electronic knowhow, you have a really unique, exciting artist. His musical output is prolific and he tours regularly both in Ireland and abroad, so make it your duty to see him in his element at a live show. It will bowl you over.”

-THE BROWN BREAD MIXTAPE-

“Definitely one of my favourite records of 2010…”

-DAN HEGARTY, RTE 2fm-

““Night Blessing” and “We Ride” draw from the same sparse fountain of subtle experimental Jeremy Warmsley pillaged on debut The Art of Fiction; forget Ellie Goulding, this is as close to electro-folk as it’s possible to stand….Beautiful is often an overused word in the world of musical critique, but in this case it could not be more fitting. Justin Grounds is certainly a master of his trade.”

-GOD IS IN THE TV.com-

Justin Grounds – Violin workshop vignette from Liquid Creations on Vimeo.

PaintFragment 1 from Justin Grounds on Vimeo.

I have rebuilt my stage rig, written a weird new violin delay patch, and a patch to make my live music mash up video in realtime, so its time to head out on the road again and bring the new music to you beautiful people of Ireland. Keep your eyes on the dates as more are getting added this week. Get in touch if you’d like to host a show in your town/house/garden….I’d love to come play, all I require is a semi-decent soundsystem and a few veggie snacks…..

TOUR DATES:

16TH MARCH: ST. ALBAN’S CHAPEL, FULHAM, LONDON

17TH MARCH: SHERRINGHAM THEATRE, NORFOLK

21ST MARCH: TEASY DOES IT, HEATON, NEWCASTLE

22ND MARCH: HOUSE CONCERT, SHEFFIELD

Here’s a wee teaser of meself and the Fear Beag doing live post-modern fiddley-dee….