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Interview: The Clink Talks to Active Child

Pat Grossi, better know as Active Child, is having a pretty exciting summer. After a lot of build up, this August saw the release of his debut album You Are All I See (which I previously wrote about here). The same month he also kicked off his first headline tour in North America. Double Win. The tour saw Active Child make a stop off in Toronto to play The Garrison on September 14th, I popped over to the venue to have a chat with Pat before the show.

Settling down to a beer at The Lakeview, my favorite diner in Toronto, we got to talking about the process behind his album, life on tour, and getting Pat to visit Ireland!

The Clink: This is your first headline tour, how’s it going so far?

Active Child: It’s been going really good, surprisingly well (laughs). I was a little nervous, I didn’t really know what my fan base was because I’ve always been support and it seemed like most of the support shows people were like ‘Oh you’re cool, I’ve never heard of you, I really like you’. But yeah it was good to start getting out on the road and seeing people showing up, it’s been good.

The Clink: Your live set-up for this tour, has it changed from when you were doing support slots?

AC: It’s mostly been me and our bassist; we just added the drummer and all the percussion recently, like in the last 6 months. Originally it was always me and my buddy Stratton doing most of it. I did one small UK tour solo, but other than that it started with the two of us.

The Clink: Did you know the guys before bringing they out on tour?

AC: I’ve known Stratton for a long time, since college. I just met Brennan the drummer, about six months ago.

The Clink: Do you’ve any plans to tour Ireland? I don’t think you’ve ever visited there yet?

AC: I’ve never been there, no, but I hope so! I’d love to, I’ve always wanted to visit just as a tourist, and there’s a big music scene there in Dublin. So, I have a feeling that maybe when a do a solid UK tour, I’ll probably bounce over there and get Ireland and Scotland. What do you think, do you think there’s enough demand?

The Clink: Yes, definitely!

The Clink: Is it a challenge to perform the new songs live?

AC: Yeah, but it actually ended up being a lot easier than I imagined. When I was recording, I couldn’t help but think about it. After doing the EP and touring with that a little bit and kind of experiencing what it was like to be on stage and try to make some of the stuff come to life. Touring the EP was a little weird doing it as a two-piece, I just felt like I wanted a drummer, I wanted more things happening live. I toyed with the idea of constructing songs based on a live setup, and I immediately scratched that, because I didn’t want to overburden myself and I wanted to just focus on making songs as good as they could be, and not limiting myself thinking how was this going to be played. It’s been a process, an evolution, kind of dissecting each one and making it sound good live.

The Clink: You did a residency at the start of the tour…

AC: Yeah at the Echo in LA.

The Clink: Was that kind of like a practice run?

AC: Yeah it was…I think more than anything it was a kind of trial practice to see how people would respond, to see which songs people reacted to. It was definitely a good way to practice everything.

The Clink: How do you feel your sound has evolved since the Curtis Lane EP?

AC: I think I’ve kind of just gotten better at everything that was I doing on that. I’ve gotten better at singing, I’ve gotten better at harp, at the programs that I was using and manipulating sounds, like sound design or whatever. And I think I’ve become a better songwriter, really just from doing it more. The EP for me was really my first time where I sat down and recorded song and really tried to focus and create pop songs. It felt a little jumbled to me, it was like six songs that I made that I thought were my best ones, the ones I liked the most, but there wasn’t some sort of cohesive element wrapping it together. So for this album, I wanted to create something that felt like a unit.

When Your Love Is Safe — Curtis Lane EP

The Clink: You Are All I See is finally released, are you happy with the reaction to it so far? Were you nervous about releasing a full LP?

AC: I’m definitely happy, I’m really proud of it…I think it’s a good album.

The Clink: Personally, I think it’s one of the most beautiful albums I’ve heard in along time…

AC: Thank you! It’s interesting, it seems like the EP was a lot more palatable for people, which is interesting to me. But I feel like I’m getting a lot more polarized kind of reviews. People are like “this is shit, I don’t get it” or people that are like “wow, this is really cool”. So it’s interesting to see the differences in reactions. Overall it’s been incredibly positive, I couldn’t really ask for more.

The Clink: So, I have to ask you about the Harp, it’s what gets me every time. When did you start playing it, is it something you picked up later in life?

AC: It was definitely later in life; I’ve been playing for about seven/eight years, it was my early twenties, when I was in college. I had always been curious about the instrument, and I had a close family friend who played it and I wanted to explore it. I played a lot of classical guitar and other instruments. One day I tagged along with a friend of mine, who’s a musician, to a music shop where he had rented a Viola and he was returning it and there just happened to be a Harp showroom there. And I sat down, and this old woman walked up and she said if I wanted to take the harp home I could take it home for a month and try it out, if I wanted to rent it. So I was like, sold!

So, I went home that day with the harp and then I eventually paid $30 a month and eventually owned it.

The Clink: Did you teach yourself?

AC: Yes. I picked up some videos to learn hand placements and just kind of went with it. It felt really natural.

The Clink: Does the photo used for the album artwork have any significance?

AC: It’s a somewhat random photograph. It’s a picture that my grandfather took when he was in Italy in the 60s. I think it’s in Venice, so it’s got kind of a personal connection and it ties in with the same imagery that I used for the EP, which was a slide image that my mom took of my brother. It comes from the same box of slides. When it came time to find artwork for the album, I was looking through all these old Kodak slides and that one popped up, it just kind of hit me. Just the mood of it, the way the woman is gesturing up into the sky, it kind of connected with me. I felt like it reflected a lot of things that I love about art and music, classical imagery, it felt right.

The Clink: I immediately wondered what the story behind that moment in time was when I saw the picture…

AC: I had the same feeling when I looked at it…I thought other people would have that same reaction, which is engaging and kind of draws you into the album, even if you don’t know the music.

The Clink: You’ve a background as a choirboy; It’s probably a thing you get asked about a lot (sorry!), do you think it’s shaped your overall music style in any way?

AC: I was really little when I was in the choir, from nine years old till about 13. It was my first real chance to sing and to be a performer and express myself. I fell in love with the music. I had never been exposed to really classical compositions or choral arrangements, dynamic harmonies and things that I love to create in my music. It’s been a very subconscious thing, when I started writing. I’d start with an instrumental which wasn’t choir at all, like some electronic 80s thing, with drums, and then when I started singing that’s just the way it went.

The Clink: Your album wouldn’t sound out of place in a cathedral.

AC: Yeah..in Philly we played this tiny little chapel, it was really pretty. I’m also playing St. Pancras Church in London in October. In the future I’m looking to build a tour that’s only in Cathedrals and Churches.

The Clink: If you ever do go to Ireland, there’s a live music TV Show that’s called Other Voices, they get a load of artists over for a weekend to play a church in Dingle, which is a seaside town. You’d be very suited to it.

AC: Cool, I’ll check it out!

The Clink: You’ve worked on a couple of remixes in the past, for the likes of Wolf Gang and Marina and the Diamonds, how do you end up doing this kind of work?

AC: Usually they just reach out, an offer comes around, or occasionally it will be someone I’m friendly with and they’d ask if I’d be willing to do something. But more often than not, it’s through my manager. I love doing them, it’s just a fun way to get better at things you’re not used to. When I write, I tend to get into a bit of a routine and it can get a bit monotonous. It’s nice to break out of that monotony and start with a vocal, which I never do. Or pick a melody that I like and play with new chord structures, I always have fun with it.

Bermuda (Active Child Remix) – Kisses

The Clink: You collaborated with How to Dress Well on your track Handing On, would you be open to working with other artists in the future?

AC: Of course yeah. Tom’s a great guy, I had a lot of fun times hanging out with him and recording the song. I’d be totally open to working with other artists.

Playing House video, featuring How To Dress Well

The Clink: I was chatting to James Vincent McMorrow yesterday and mentioned you to him…

AC: We’ve been chatting a little bit. We’re both on the same label, and so they’ve been talking about how they want me to do a remix of one of his songs, it should be interesting.

The Clink: What’s the one artist you like that people wouldn’t expect?

AC: Yeah I’ve got guilty pleasures like anyone! Britney Spear’s new album is really good. Let me think…I think a lot people wouldn’t expect that I listen to Hip Hop. I’m a huge Hip Hop fan.

The Clink: I would have thought R’n'B?

AC: Well that’s the thing, I don’t listen to a lot of R’n'B, I listen to a lot of Soul. Old Soul music like Al Green, James Brown, just the classics. I think for my generation growing up in the US, R’n'B music was kind of forces fed to you, and I think it’s finally starting to be digested by a lot of us. Sort of a delayed reaction. All this stuff that’s coming out now, I feel like I’m finally starting to get it now. I used to listen to the radio all the time and just sing the songs and not really listen to what was being said.

The Clink: For someone that has never heard your music, what would you describe it as and how would you encourage them to listen to your album?

AC: I always have a tough time describing it, but if I was to say one way to listen to it for me would be late at night with a good pair of headphones. It’s sad, I think a lot of people listen to music on laptop speakers, and my album especially does not come across well on laptop speakers! (laughs)
It’s interesting, I find that a lot of people who love music don’t really have good equipment, and so much of music nowadays is in mp3 form and is smashed in to this file and you lose so much of all the work you’ve put into the song.

Back to the sound of the album itself, it’s like you said, cathedral, live, has a baroque kind of feel to it, with an electro-pop influence.

The Clink: So, for my last question, it’s related to something we post on the blog every Friday and Sunday. If you could recommend a song for the kicking off your weekend, and a Sunday chill song what would they be?

AC: For kicking off the Friday? I’d go with maybe Usher, Lil’ Freak (laughs). He was pretty much our tour soundtrack last fall.

The Clink: And for the Sunday?

AC: I’ve been really in my chill zone with an artist called Balam Acab. He just put out his first album as well, it’s got amazing textures and sounds. There’s a track on that album called Expect, it’s really good.

The Clink: Sweet, that’s pretty much it, thanks so much!

Active Child’s gig later that night in The Garrison did not disappoint. A simple stage setup, with the 3 guys plus a greek looking statue flanked the stage, adding the baroque feel of Active Child’s music. Everything is bigger and better live, Pat’s voice and the beats literally pulse through your core. A good number of tracks from the album were showcased, along with old favorites. The night was closed out with a perfect rendiditon of I’m In Your Church At Night. Here’s hoping Active Child will get an Irish date scheduled soon!

The album is available now on iTunes | Amazon | Vinyl