London Grammar drummer Dot Major is in a comfortable place, literally. “I’m actually in bed,” he laughs.
Bed might be the best place for Dot right now as he’ll be touring the world with his bandmates in support of their new album, ‘Truth Is A Beautiful Thing’, and he’s going to need the rest.
It was a hectic start for London Grammar. Dot, singer Hannah Reid and guitarist Dan Rothman gained fame with their 2013 debut album ‘If You Wait’ and melancholy hit ballad ‘Strong’. Both charted high across the globe, with the band selling-out huge venues on their tour.
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But with their rising popularity came busy schedules, exhausting them physically and mentally. “It was an amazing experience,” reflects Dot.
"I think with the first album you have to keep doing more and more touring as it grows; you’re kind of reacting to it. Eventually, we learned where our limits were. We didn’t know how many shows we were doing until we got burnt out. But I think the process of touring the first album has made our friendship stronger.”
Despite being exhausted, it wasn’t long before work on their follow-up album began. The first breakthrough was when Hannah presented Dot and Dan with ‘Rooting For You’, the first release from ‘Truth Is A Beautiful Thing’. The “kind of a capella” song is an interesting introduction: featuring piano, orchestral swells and Hannah’s soaring vocals, but no beat.
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But it was the song’s tenderness that stood-out to the band, setting the direction for ‘Truth Is A Beautiful Thing’.
The trio sought help from high-profile collaborators to take their high-reaching songs to new heights including ‘If You Wait’ producers Tim Bran and Roy Kerr, electronic musician Jon Hopkins and Paul Epworth, who’s produced pop superstars Florence And The Machine and Adele. “Paul’s amazing,” Dot praises.
“When he produces, he doesn’t really force the songs. Sometimes producers are really overly proactive with their ideas, while Paul has room for ideas. So he’s very patient and lets you get on with it. He fits in with the process really well.
"His studio [The Church] is crazy. When all of us went there we played with everything. We had to restrict ourselves after a while because it was getting stupid.”
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London Grammar also continued to grow as songwriters, crafting songs with universal lyrics and infectious melodies. The band worked with an outside songwriter for the first time, Greg Kurstin (Adele, Sia, Halsey), on the shuffling ‘Everyone Else’ and pleading ‘Leave The War With Me’.
“It was like he was a fourth member of the band. We’d just all sit around and jam and he injects a little bit of something different into it.
“I think when you’re doing the same thing for two years it can get stagnated. But we found once we came home from Greg’s in LA we all individually would be full of inspiration again.”
London Grammar will begin touring soon, but will pace themselves this time. They’ll be returning to Australia in September.
“We love it over there and we’re so happy we’ve connected with people there like we have. Touring there is always really special. We can’t wait to play our new stuff to people.”
London Grammar Tour Dates
16 & 17 Sep - Fremantle Arts CentreTue 19 Sep - Margaret Court Arena (Melbourne)
Thu 21 Sep - Hordern Pavilion (Sydney)
Sat 23 Sep - Riverstage (Brisbane)
25 & 26 Sep - Sydney Opera House
