Grasscut

Grasscut is a Brighton-based duo made up of Marcus O’Dair and Andrew Phillips. Their music sits between electronic pop and modern classical, drawing on elements of electro, experimental music and IDM.

Style and influences

The project begins with images and voices rather than conventional songwriting. Its early material is inspired by a range of recorded fragments and characters, including a man known as the “people’s tenor” from 1927, an elderly woman recalling post-war rationing, an amateur astronomer describing an equinox, and a woman speaking from a call centre in Hull. These sounds are recorded in different ways, including on mobile phones, from vinyl and from old films.

Their music is described as a mix of English folk feeling, rural imagery and urban noise, with a strong sense of place. It is positioned between Cabaret Voltaire, Murcof, Vaughan Williams and the Fire Engines, with additional references to Gavin Bryars, Kraftwerk and early Brian Eno.

Working method and live performance

The duo compose on a laptop while travelling on trains and tour buses, then complete the material in a home studio in Brighton. They perform live as a two-piece using laptop, homemade software, double bass, violin, stylophone, electric guitar and other instruments as needed.