Grasps: when will you be here again?

Friday, December 13, 2024
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

Christian aka Grasps is an electronic artist & producer based in Eora (Sydney), in so-called Australia. Their sound is experimental electronic, enmeshing sounds from life and the unreal, intending to combine extremes of sound; the gentle with the harsh.

As a solo artist, Grasps has released 2 EPs through PBDY’s LA-based label TAR; a subsidary to Brainfeeder, which received support from the likes of Flying Lotus & Huxley Anne. Their 2019 debut album ‘Awoken’ was received with open arms, blessed with collaborations from visual/3D graphic artist Nicholas Matthew Elstran (US) as well as celebrated Eora-based noise/doom outfit Bract (fka Coward Punch).

Grasps has produced music for local and international acts such as 1300, Rico Nasty, BKTHARULA, Teezo Touchdown, Laces (NLV Records), Bayang tha Bushranger, Sevy, Triple One, Sidney Phillips, Gift Exchange, BBIANCA & Porcelain Boy. He has performed live in support of Yung Lean (2016), Bladee (2019), Thaiboy Digital (2019), Fatima al Qadiri (2016), Cashmere Cat (2016) and has appeared internationally at respected institutions Forestlimit (Tokyo), Circus (Tokyo) & TwentyAlpha (Hong Kong) [2023]. Grasps remains a long-standing host on Hong Kong Community Radio (Field of Dreams) showcasing local and international acts monthly since 2021.

‘when will you be here again?’ is the second album from Grasps.

Following the 2019 release of their metal/ambient/electronic enmeshment ‘Awoken’; which saw collaborative works with 3D artist Nicholas Matthew Elstran (US) & noise-doom outfit Bract (AUS); ‘WWYBHA’ creates its own pathway, fusing atmospheric hazy pads, emotional vocal fragments and plucking melodies with the darkest formations of drum rhythm, ripped bassline distortion & twisted metal.

Littering the album are field recordings of the Australian bushland where Grasps spent a significant period of time recording & reflecting. The album explores themes of facing the uncertainty of death, the afterlife, identity & self-worth, which can be heard throughout lyrically & sonically. Combining solo works with a carefully curated set of collaborations with Bayang tha Bushranger, Marcus Whale & Wa?ste (Felix Idle), Grasps pushes extremes of genre throwing all preconceived notions of their music away, and in replacement leaving raw emotional sonic outpouring.

On ‘WWYBHA’, softness & destruction in sound are synonymous. Angels crash to earth, impact heavy and burn through the atmosphere, but not forgetting the fall - the grace of falling silk through cool mist & soft fog.

Source: https://www.emus.space/archive/2024/12/12/grasps-when-will-you-be-here-again