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London Grammar

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

London Grammar is an English indie pop band that formed in Nottingham in 2009. The singer Hannah Reid and the guitarist Dan Rothman, both from London, met in their first year at the University of Nottingham. A year later Dominic Major joined, who plays keyboards, djembe and drums. After their studies they moved to London and played in small cafés. In 2012 they signed to Ministry of Sound, and in the studio they worked with Rollo Armstrong of Faithless and Liam Howe of Sneaker Pimps, among others.

Music and breakthrough

In 2013 the EP Metal & Dust and the single Wasting My Young Years were released. In September of that year the debut album If You Wait came out, with Strong as its biggest hit. Strong won an Ivor Novello Award and entered the Top 2000 in 2014. Their cover of Nightcall also stood out. The following albums, Truth Is a Beautiful Thing (2017), made with producers such as Paul Epworth and Greg Kurstin, and Californian Soil (2021), both reached number one in England. In 2024 The Greatest Love followed.

Influence

London Grammar's music is calm and spacious, with elements of ambient and classical music, melancholy guitar and influences of trip-hop and dance. At the centre is Hannah Reid's powerful, clear voice. Reid writes the lyrics and vocal lines, Major devises piano parts and Rothman adds guitar. In this way the band shows how the dark, slow mood of 1990s trip-hop lives on in the pop music of a later generation.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Strong and notice how bare the accompaniment is: a few piano chords, a restrained guitar and only later a slow beat. Hear how Hannah Reid's voice gets all the room above it and grows higher and fuller.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Categories: Artists