Writing music in the epicentre of modern history’s worst financial crisis is no easy feat yet that hasn’t stopped Lebanese rock star and philosopher Grave Jones; in fact, it’s only made his spark burn brighter. With a new record, ‘Heartrage Hotel’, on the way we got chatting to Grave to see just how the cogs get turning…
SS: How would you describe your songwriting process?
GJ: It almost always starts with a melody that randomly pops up in my head. I’m lucky enough to have my own studio where everything is set up the way I want it to be, so all I have to do is press a button and start recording. Generally, I identify the bpm of the melody I have in mind, throw in a drum loop and start building the song around it. I let the melody go where it wants to take me, I build chord progressions and harmonies around it, try various parts and see how they work together, always trying to maintain a catchy, pop structure. The first vocal take is always recorded with random words that don’t mean anything. It’s only after I find myself happy with the whole arrangement – when the song is nearly finished, technically – that I sit down and write lyrics. They always come last for me. As a lyricist I try my best to stay away from clichés. I’ve noticed that most song lyrics end up being recycled expressions and bits of other songs. How many times have you heard the sentence “walking around the street at night,” “wash away the pain,” and having “pain” rhyme with “rain,” for instance? I try to stay away from that as much as possible, unless it’s obviously made in an in jest or tongue in cheek way. My favourite lyrics are always deeply personal, but also abstract and open enough for other listeners to make out their own interpretations of them.
SS: How has this process evolved over time?
GJ: It definitely has, as I became more and more independent, having developed not only as a songwriter but also as a producer. Also, I believe that my venturing in the world of electronic music with Slutterhouse has definitely made my take on rock more original than when I used to write with nothing but rock influences, references and codes in mind, when I was younger. I now find myself intuitively borrowing from sonic landscapes than are worlds apart, so the result is always more surprising. On “Heaven Only Knows,” for example, you can hear some Brit pop/rock on the verse, some Ozzy Osbourne over a disco drum pattern in the pre-chorus, and aggressive growling in the chorus. I guess my point is I’m more confident now in including all sorts of things I want to include in my songs, even when they hypothetically are not supposed to work together.
SS: Do you take songwriting inspiration from anyone in particular?
GJ: In a very indirect way, always. I never sit down and think oh I’m going to write something inspired by the Strokes or anything like that. But the creative process is always influenced by not only old references, but also whatever it was that I was listening to on a particular day. For example, I came up with the main riff of “Smithereens” after having been listening to the Smashing Pumpkins all day. Billy Corgan loves to play octaves on his guitar so when I picked up the guitar and started jamming this is where my intuition went immediately. I started noodling with octaves until I found a catchy riff I was happy with, then built everything else around it.
SS: What is the hardest thing about songwriting to you?
GJ: To try and stay original. Most songs tend to be recycled versions of previous songs. And in a digital world where everyone has access to all the existing music in the world with just one click, it’s difficult to stand out. I found that staying as honest as possible to oneself is the only way out. At the end of the day, no two artists have the exact same experience with music, the same subconscious references, the same history, the same tendencies, the same influences. So if one is able to shut off everything that’s happening around them and write something regardless of how it’s “supposed” to be written and sound, then they’re on the right track.
SS: Do you have any remedies for a creative writing block?
GJ: I don’t usually have problems like that I know that I go through phases where I find myself being extremely productive, followed by phases of rest. In my productive phase I always end up creating and producing a lot, which alleviates me from a lot of stress when I then enter a less inspired period, because I know I have enough material to work with. Also, with experience now I never worry about the creative period disappearing for good. I know it always comes back. A little tip though: usually getting excited about new music puts me in a creative mood again. That and purchasing a new piece of gear, or a new guitar.
SS: How has your experience in Slutterhouse helped your solo career?
GJ: Like I said earlier, it’s helped me a lot creatively by broadening my musical horizons. Without Slutterhouse, I think my approach to writing rock n’ roll music today would have been far more unoriginal. But having discovered and loved so much electronic music, along with having dabbled with electronic production definitely brings a lot of freshness to my rock sound today. Also, we were lucky enough to have a decent run in the music industry with Slutterhouse, which allowed me to learn a lot about the business, about managing expectations, about accepting that there’s an uncontrollable element of randomness to this whole game. Ultimately, it’s also helping me save myself some time by avoiding past mistakes.
SS: Do you have any music-related plans after the release of the next album?
GJ: During the first phase of the pandemic and the global lockdown, I went into an extremely productive period. I have enough recorded demos to work on a more than a couple of new records. Ideally, I would like to spend some time touring that first record “Heartrage Hotel” after it’s out by early 2022. Playing live was one of the main reasons I went back to music, so that’s my next priority.
SS: What’s your favourite piece of music from 2021?
GJ: Greta Van Fleet’s “The Battle at Garden’s Gate.” I also couldn’t not love Guns N’ Roses single “Hard Skool.” I know most people were disappointed but what were they expecting? I don’t expect Guns N’ Roses to reinvent music at this stage, but it was really cool to hear Axl’s voice with Slash’s guitar and Duff’s bass again after almost 25 years or something.
Grave’s latest single Heaven Only Knows is out now and available everywhere!
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