Breakout 2007: Sebastien Grainger

07/29/09 5:42pm

by Noah Love (CHARTattack)

Hometown: Toronto, Ontario

Sound:
Acoustic guitar ditties with twisting, ceaselessly unpredictable melodies, driven by the soaring vocals of the ex-DFA 1979 vocalist.

Why?
Two years ago, Sebastien Grainger led Death From Above 1979 around the late night talk show and summer festival circuit, capping off 2005 with a monster tour
supporting Nine Inch Nails and Queens Of The Stone Age.

When asked for a highlight from that whirlwind year for Chart's 2005 Artist Of The Year feature, the drummer/singer cited a decidedly lower key time. "Being at home with my girlfriend and playing guitar. The three or four weeks off, those were the highlights.”

Following DFA 1979's summer 2006 demise, Grainger's back in the club circuit, setting up his own mics, playing acoustic and showing off a dramatically different vocal style that sounds suspiciously like a Jeff Buckley fan's wet dream. If you thought you had one of the most powerful voices in the country figured out, prepare for something entirely different. Meet Sebastien Grainger: the most promising solo singer-songwriter since Rufus Wainwright.

This feature is from the February 2007 issue of Chart Magazine. To purchase the issue, go to the Chart Shop.