For the past three years, Sonny Grin (a.k.a. Alec Brinsmead) has been serving audiences nothing but addictive grooves. Armed with lush lyricism, heart rattling bass lines, and neon hooks, the Sydney-based electro connoisseur has dedicated himself to expanding the house flavour as far as it can muster. His latest single Keep It Up does just that.
Produced alongside the talents of singer Lueth Ajak, the single combines notes of jazz, R&B, Brinsmead’s sweltering production, and Ajak’s earthy vocals, before setting the pot to simmer. What audiences are left with is a rich masterpiece, boasting a perfect balance of editorial perfection and sheer energy.
Sonny Grin has struck electronic gold on his latest single. Keep It Up is equal parts uplifting and mellow, every note is intentional and no second is put to waste.
Accumulating his experience as a session musician and DJ, Brinsmead has boasted nothing but sonic genius since his 2018 debut. With sold-out gigs, stints on the Triple J and FBI airwaves, plenty of Spotify exposure, and over 300,000 streams to his name, you would assume that Sonny Grin would now feel comfortable resting in his sonic niche: one that’s still intricate, yet predictable. How wrong you were.
Each track released by the Sydney local uses production as its canvas, eclectic blends of genre as its paint, and seeks out deeper parts of our everyday that many house-aligned tracks don’t dare to touch. The end product is the common thread. While all boasting differing textures and nuances, Brinsmead’s undeniable talent for cooking up a groove shines through his entire catalogue.
It’s the feeling of minimalism that sets Keep It Up apart. Although we know that the track is anything but sparse, an organic cadence and rhythm allows Brinsmead to champion Ajak’s silky vocals and layer genre within a vibrant soundscape. It’s an artwork that can conjure universes using the most subtle of strokes.
“What started as a song about miscommunication in relationships, ‘Keep It Up’ slowly took on a different form throughout the writing process,” the artist revealed about the single.
“The song actually started as a voice memo I sung into my phone, I was halfway through the drive to Lost Paradise and had to pull over to write the lyrics down. I eventually finished the track in my home studio just before COVID-19, the chorus hook ended up becoming a kind of personal motivator, a reminder to see the positives from the situation and make the most of my time in isolation.”
With his latest release highlighting that there’s no limit to his artistic reach, it looks like we’ll be seeing a lot more of Sonny Grin in the future.
Check out Keep It Up below:
