Kit Grill

After a decade of making experimental, multihued records, Kit Grill's most recent release, Swimming in Honey concludes a journey of bold aural adventuring with the addition of his vocals to the mix. We spoke to Kit to hear more about the making of this atmospheric, nuanced listening experience

cm: Firstly, let’s talk about last year’s Swimming in Honey. A really absorbing listen, packed full of interesting sonics and mesmerising arrangements. How did the ideas for this album originate?

Kit Grill: “This was my seventh record and it became a bit of a turning point for me. I think I was getting a bit bored of making instrumental music. I was writing arrangements that I thought vocals would improve or develop the sound for both the listener or myself. Rather than outsource, I jumped in the deep end and gave it a go myself.”

cm: Your voice is quite upfront. At times, it’s almost spoken-singing, particularly on the track Country Boy. When did you start doing that, and what prompted it?

KG: “To be honest, it’s all just quite intuitive. It was my first time singing and using vocals and then trying to work with them in the mix. I think that’s why they’re quite upfront. I spoke with an engineer who gave me some tips. It sounded pretty terrible before. I was basing my approach on online tutorials and wasn’t really getting anywhere. A couple of hours working with the engineer totally helped in every way. He took a lot of things off and told me to do multiple things that changed everything. I think that’s why it sounds upfront. I listened back to it very intently.”

cm: Despite its sonic dynamics, Swimming in Honey also quite minimalist from an arrangement point of view, tracks like Crimson and Lying in the Rain are economical and tight, yet there’s still room for quite elaborate synthetic melodies. What were your go-to tools?