For the entire month of July, Brothers Hand Mirror have been bringing their notoriously wild live exploits to upstairs at The Tote – and tomorrow night, their residency comes to an end – launching their new EP Picture Tape simultaneously. We caught up briefly with Brothers Hands Mirror‘s Grant Jonathon Gronewold to talk about their style, the EP, the residency and much more…
The style of rap that you spits is pretty unique and dare I say it, unconventional. How does that rhyme and delivery come about?
Well I had a very unconventional, or just kind of a lack of education, so my grasp on language is perhaps a little different to a lot of peoples. To me there are two voices in my head, the one that tries to correct my speech so that other people can get what I’m saying and the one that speaks direct. When I rap I try very hard to hear and copy down exactly what my first words on a subject are. As for my flow, I have always loved elastic sounding singing and speaking, so I try to say things long and then snap them back with intense percussive follow ups. I like shouting like you are trying to prove a point that no one believes cause it is reflective of my life experience.
You all keep regularly active with other diverse music and art-type projects while also making music as Brothers Hand Mirror. Is it important or a burden to be involved within different assorted entities creatively?
I can’t speak for Oscar, but to me it is essential. It is as important as having diverse, balanced diet. If I don’t work with other people & try different things artistically I begin to feel sick. Of course it can be a burden when you have too many projects going full pelt at once, but it is always worth it. By and large it is a necessity and a joy. We take pride in being able to work separate from one another & also together.
When I went to see one of your earlier shows as part of the residency, you had a raft of dancers called The Sissies & Always Crew in a somewhat semi-choreographed routine within the live show. Can you tell me a bit about them? How did they come to be a part of your live show?
The Sissies are a two member dance crew comprised of Maximus Po & Tuffy Tuff Guts. We began collaborating with them early last year. That just happened because we were close friends with Tuffy & Po & we all agreed it would be a beautiful situation, so we started rehearsing in the now ballroom at (now exctinct) Tuna Mansion, Tuffy’s old house. The Always Crew is a free flowing group originally composed of six members – Ally ALLLYAYALLALAYALL, Callan PRFCT Puppy, Rainbow Adder, Mohini The Most, Camany Nation, Nicola Sparrowsong, Matt The Brat – this came about cause they were always at our shows in full support & they did the most amazing stuff in the dance pit we try to intsigate at our shows, so it just made sense to bring them onstage.
Upstairs at The Tote isn’t as open spaced as the section downstairs. Have you enjoyed such a small and uniquely shaped space to perform in?
It is good to be so close to our fans and friends while we get sweaty. The intimacy is good.
What has stood out more with the recording of Picture Tape compared to your previous releases?
I guess the ease of it & the confidence of it. me and oscar feel pretty assured as an entity now. Of course it’s always amazing & new & explorative to work with my best friend. Like adventuring with a trusted companion, no mountain seems un-climbable because of how you support each other. We eat lots of take out, we watch stupid movies on our breaks and other than that I just draw up our free comics while Oscar mixes. For the last one we cut a lot of it in Oscar’s bedroom & Oscar did the mixes separate to me, for this one we cut most of it in my studio & Oscar did the mixing side by side with me while i drew. It was a good way to break in my new/first studio.
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Brothers Hand Mirror launch their new EP Picture Tape tomorrow night Upstairs at The Tote, in their final Thursday night residency. Fox & Sui and Banoffee are supporting. Tickets are just $10 on the door.
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