Get familiar with Casper Grey, the polymathic rapper, storyteller, actor and designer who is disrupting the UK underground…
What five words define your sound?
DRAMATIC POST GENRE NOISE CRUD
Tell me something unique about your creative process
IF I HAVE A GOOD IDEA I WORK ON THAT IDEA UNTIL IT IS AS CLOSE TO THE VISION IN MY MIND AS I CAN GET IF NOT BETTER… I AM IN SERVICE TO THE IDEA
WHEN THE IDEA COMES I GET OUT OF MY OWN WAY AND LISTEN CAREFULLY TO WHAT IT NEEDS THEN SUPPLY IT
I DONT SIT AROUND AND “JAM”
I HAVEN’T GOT ENDLESS MEDIOCRE BEATS SITTING ON MY HARD DRIVE
I MAKE SHIT BESPOKE
I AIN’T GOT TIME TO “VIBE”
PEOPLE USE THAT WORD TOO MUCH
YOU LOT SHOULD STOP VIBING AND GET TO WORK
Which song of yours would you like people to hear first?
HONESTLY JUST PRESS PLAY AND SHUFFLE
THEN SKIP UNTIL YOU FIND ONE YOU LIKE
THEY’RE ALL DIFFERENT
(…BUT LISTEN TO EACH TUNE HALFWAY BEFORE YOU SKIP ‘CAUSE IT MIGHT NOT BE WHAT YOU THINK)
What inspired you to make that song?
…WELL DAMN I KIND OF RUINED THIS LINE OF QUESTIONING DIDN’T I
What’s the most vulnerable you’ve allowed yourself to be when writing/making music?
EVERY SINGLE TIME
NEVER HOLD BACK
I TEAR MYSELF OPEN
ALL EMOTION IN CONTEXT CAN BE VULNERABLE (…IN LONDON ITS VULNERABLE TO BE HAPPY FFS)
I GIVE MUSIC ALL OF ME
ITS KIND OF SACRIFICIAL FOR THE ART TO BE GOOD
I’M NOT A PUSSY
I’M NOT SCARED OF BEING PUSSY
I’M NOT SCARED OF YOU YOU PUSSY
What’s the best/worst experience you’ve had on stage?
I WAS IN A NOISE PUNK BAND WHEN I WAS YOUNGER AND WE HAD A GIG AT THIS DIVE AND IN THE MIDDLE OF ONE OF OUR MORE AGGY TUNES A GUY PLAYING POOL IN THE CORNER OF THE PUB CAME OVER TO THE STAGE AND STARTED SHOUTING AT ME
THEN HE TRIED TO JAB ME WITH HIS POOL CUE SO I DASHED MY WATER IN HIS FACE AND HE WEIRDLY LOVED IT AND STARTED SHOUTING “YES YES!” LIKE I HAD BAPTISED MAN OR SUTTIN KMT
What is your favourite song to perform?
‘BOOM SHACK-A-LAK’ BY APACHE INDIAN AT THE PUB KARAOKE NIGHT
Which artist/song/album made you want to make music?
M.I.A / DIZZEE / IAN DURY / SOPHIE / JAMES BROWN / DEATH GRIPS / KATE BUSH / GORILLAZ / MF DOOM / BOB DYLAN / BOWIE / 10CC
ALL MY HEROES PULLED SOMETHING NEW OUT OF THE ETHER LIKE ALIENS
FUSING MULTIPLE THINGS AT ONCE
I THINK GRIME WAS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT TOO IT WAS SO EXPERIMENTAL AND THERE WERE SO MANY DIFFERENT STYLES AND FUSIONS IT MEANT THAT YOU WERE FREE TO EXPRESS YOURSELF FULLY AND BE DIFFERENT BECAUSE YOU WERE BEING TRUE
WHEN I WAS YOUNG HAVING SUCH A WIDE SPECTRUM OF FUTURISTIC AND “POPULAR” BRITISH CLASSICS COMING OUT IN THE SPACE OF LIKE FIVE YEARS (2001-2006) MADE YOU FEEL CREATIVELY LIMITLESS AND THAT YOU COULD SUCCEED IN BEING SO
THE EARLY WORK OF UK ARTISTS AROUND THIS TIME WAS MASSIVELY INFLUENTIAL ON EVERYTHING THAT CAME AFTER IT
What’s the meaning behind your name?
CASPER :
BILLY CASPER FROM KES BY KEN LOACH
GREY :
EILEEN GREY AN IRISH DESIGNER …my mums favourite
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing instead?
FILM …which I already do
I’M NOT VERY “POPULAR” ON THESE ONLINE PLATFORMS NUMBERS WISE WHICH SEEMS TO BE WHAT YOU NEED TO BE MAKING A DECENT LIVING FROM MUSIC …cringe
I PUT THE WORK IN
BUT IF THE WORK DON’T WORK IMMA PUT ALL MY TIME INTO FILM INSTEAD
What’s success to you?
DEVELOPING A VISION FOR A TARGET THAT ALIGNS WITH AND FEEDS INTO WHY I DO WHAT I DO IN THE SHORT AND LONG TERM
THEN I AIM
TAKE MY BEST SHOT
AND HIT THE BULLSEYE TO RAAS
YOU CAN APPLY THIS TO ANYTHING COOKING / SLEEPING / LOVE
What moment in your life/career forced you to change direction?
SEEING THE FUZZ AT THE FUNCTION?
…LOL NO UM WELL WITHOUT GOING INTO ALL THE DARK DANCES WITH DEATH THAT OBVIOUSLY PLAYED THEIR ROLE
MAYBE BEING CONSISTENTLY LET DOWN BY PEOPLE WHO TALK A LOT BUT AIN’T ACTUALLY ON WHAT IM ON
LUCKILY I’VE FOUND A SMALL FEW WHO ARE (…big up idntmttr i know i’ve asked a lot of him but luckily he’s an alien too)
AND I FOR SURE HAVE PLAYED A PART IN IT ALL BUT WHEN YOU’RE BUILDING THOSE MOMENTS THEY REALLY FEEL LIKE BETRAYALS
THAT BEING SAID WHEN YOU PUSH THE ENVELOPE TAKE A RISK AND SUCCEED IT FEELS SO SO WORTH IT…
MORE OF YOU SHOULD DROP THE “AESTHETIC” AND TRY IT
Where can people keep in touch with you?
BELL ME INNIT… I’LL PICK UP
EMAIL ME IF YOUR SERIOUS casperisgrey@gmail.com
OR MY LABEL
FOLLOW ME @casperisgrey
IF YOU’RE CASUAL
Photo by Somitude
