Interview: Active Child

"Growing up, your Dad worked for rap label Priority Records - as a result you were surrounded by artists such as Dr Dre, Eminem and Snoop Dog. Do you think your musical direction somewhat ironic?"

“Definitely... though I did a little freestylin’ in my day”.

Pat Grossi is Active Child. He’s a single entity that only recently graced Europe with his unearthly vocals and haunting music. Active Child is electro synth pop with angelic harps matched by Grossi’s souring vocal heights. He’s the boy who grew up around dirty rap while performing in the Philadelphia Boys’ Choir. A part of the blog and musical Myspace phenomenon, UK’s Merok Records reached out to the LA based solo artist shortly after his 2010 EP Curtis Lane was released. Asking him whether his audience is bigger in the UK than in the US he chuckles unaffectedly, replying: “the US are trailing behind but they’ll catch up”.

You released an EP in May of this year. Once your music is released can you listen to it?

Pat Grossi: Yea for sure. I think once it’s released you end up playing it live a bunch and you kinda forget the way that it was recorded originally. Sometimes it’s refreshing.

Do you find it difficult to stop adding layers and shaping your songs? How do you know when to stop?

Pat Grossi: It is hard. A lot of the time I end up deconstructing but it’s usually pretty obvious. You can get to that point where you’re like “Fuck it I’m done”.

You sang in the Philadelphia Boys' Choir. Was that something you wanted to do or do you have your parents to thank?

Pat Grossi: I sang in a school choir and the head told me to go for the bigger choir. I think she got me excited about the fact that I was good at singing. My Mum told me recently that she was convinced that I wouldn’t get in to the Philadelphia Boys' Choir but she took me anyway; I auditioned and I got in.

Do you get nervous before going on stage?

Pat Grossi: I think there’s still an element of nervousness. Which I think is a healthy thing.

What’s the remedy?

Pat Grossi: There is no remedy. I think when I don’t feel nervous I won’t have anything to prove which is bad.

Are there any quirky things that you do before you go on stage? Do you have any exercises? Cracking your knuckles? Stretching your mouth muscles?

Pat Grossi: Um I yawn a lot which is weird.

On purpose?

Pat Grossi: No. I think it’s a part of me being nervous. I get a little grumpy and disinterested in what anyone has to say to me. I think it’s more about being anxious to do it. But once I get the first few vocals out I’m comfortable doing what I’m doing.

Curtis Lane was released on Merok Recrods. How did you get involved with them?

Pat Grossi: They’re just a cool label that hit me up after seeing me on blogs and Myspace.

Well they’re an English label, so do you think you have a bigger fan base here than in America?

Pat Grossi: I don’t know. But I think the UK was the first one to jump aboard and show some support. The US has kind of been trailing behind.

But they’re catching up.

Pat Grossi: Exactly.

What sort of music have you been listening to?

Pat Grossi: Since driving around the UK I’ve been listening to a lot of BBC Radio, classical and also this guy called How to Dress Well. It’s that sort of music that can entrance you for 4 minutes before you even realise it. I think the stuff that makes me want to create is the music that is similar to my own.

When you were younger your dad worked for the rap label Priority Records. So you grew up around dirty rap and met people like Snoop, Dre and Eminem. Does the music that you chose to create seem ironic at all?

Pat Grossi: Yea it’s a little ironic. I really did inundate myself with a lot of hip hop and rap. It’s something that I have always connected with and just recently have disconnected within the past five or six years. Years ago I would actively seek stuff out.

Did you ever want to be a rapper?

Pat Grossi: I did a little freestylin’ in my day. I’ll break down a beat box for ya.

Is that going to be at the end of your show tonight?

Pat Grossi: Little do you know that’s how I close my set. (Laughs)

You’ve said you knew you could make music when you could ‘breathe life into the sounds in [your] head’. How do you know when a song’s alive?

Pat Grossi: A lot of the stuff I create I hear it in my head first. I make the songs that inspire me because they have some emotive quality about them. I don’t wanna sound emo but I enjoy feelings of nostalgia and loss. I think when I hear that stuff in my head and have the ability to create it, whether it be with a synthsiser or with my voice, that’s when I know that I’m onto something good. It usually starts as something like a drum-beat or a melody.

So I hear you prefer recording to performing?

Pat Grossi: Yea definitely. The feeling of having complete control and creating something tangible is amazing but that answer might change after a couple more shows.

Interview by: Jasmine Phull