Not many people play hard-edged, hip-hop-influenced, urban blues-rock – but not many people are Ash Grunwald.
The dreadlocked Australian has performed his own brew of blues for the better part of 20 years, borne out of jam sessions with a teenage friend who was becoming an electronic musician. They blended genres together onto cassette tapes, creating a sound that is synonymous with the laidback man from down under.
“Rather than record in a traditional (blues) way, I actually used hip-hop producers – that’s been my method for probably the last four albums,” he said. “I basically build a track using an electronic method, starting off with a beat from a producer that I like and building a song around it.
“That’s been a really creative way to juxtapose different genres and just fulfill my aim, which was to do something different.”
Inspired by his grandfather to play music, Grunwald was naturally drawn to the blues while mainstream radio at the time was spinning Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine and Metallica. Elements of that modern hard rock sound seeped into his music, creating a melting pot of genres.
That sound has carried Grunwald on tour away from his home continent – in fact, it’s brought him to British Columbia for nearly 13 years straight. Whenever he’s gigging in B.C., he manages to fit in a few snowboarding sessions along the way.
“In the last eight years, I might’ve missed one winter,” he said. “There’s so many gigs to do and there’s so much space.
“In Australia, you just presume that you’re in the most spread out place in the world, but gigging in Canada, especially in the winter, is way more hardcore. You’ve got those open roads and lots of long drives, and it’s actually quite a challenge.”
Grunwald is back in B.C., touring on a compilation album of his tunes. He’s wrapping up an 11-date provincial tour at Uptown Live! on Sunday, Aug. 10, with a performance on the Save-On-Foods stage slated for 3:30 p.m.
His setlist includes a mix of party anthems and introspective pieces, but he promises the festival at 6th Avenue and 6th Street will be packed with tunes for the lively atmosphere.
“It’s the one-man-band thing, and it’s 100 per cent organic,” he said. “I play the kick drum with my left foot, the snare drum with my right foot and have a lot of different effects pedals to just make the biggest possible sound I can make.”
To hear some of Grunwald’s music, check ashgrunwald.com. For more information on Uptown Live!, visit uptownlive.ca.
