Research: London Grammar

London Grammar is a British trip formed by Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman, and Dominic Major. Their début EP Metal and Dust was released in February 2013 by Metal and Dust Recordings Ltd. Their début album 'If You Wait' was released on 9^th September 2013 and set platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry association.

Both vocalist Hannah Reid and Dan Rothman originated from London and met in a residence hall at the University of Nottingham during their first year in 2009. Rothman saw a picture of Reid with her guitar on Facebook and immediately sent her a message to see if she wanted to collaborate. They were joined by Dominic Major after a year later, after he began playing music together with Rothman. They chose the name, London Grammar as "not only was it where we’re from, but London is also so international and multicultural that it actually felt like a universal name in a way".

After completing their studies in 2011, the trio moved down to London to pursue their career in music. By the end of the year, they were managed by Connor Wheeler who began promoting them. The band began by playing low-key gigs at local bars, honing their material. They soon found themselves noticed by the A&R people and they were signed with the Ministry of Sound in the second half of 2012. On 12^th December 2012, they posted their song ‘Hey Now’ on YouTube, receiving a large amount of attention due to anonymity of the band caused by a lack of promotional photographs. As you can see, majority of their artwork featured landscapes and city centres of London and very rarely featured them, additionally creating a mystique sense of attention.

Their EP Metal and Dust followed in February 2013, making the top five in the iTunes chart of Australia. It created a lot of interest and the band received significant airplay on national radio. They released ‘Wasting My Young Years’ in June 2013, reaching number 31 on the UK Singles Chart. The band also featured on Disclosure #1 UK album Settle with the track ‘Help Me Lose My Mind’, released in June 2013. The band recorded two live sessions for Radio 1 and they played at ten summer 2013 European music festivals.

On 1 September 2013, they released ‘Strong’ which reached number 16 on the UK  Singles Chart. The following week, on the 9^th, they released their début studio album ‘If You Wait’ which reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, number 2 on the Australian Albums Chart, number 11 on the French Album’s Chart, number 13 on the Irish Album Chart and number 22 on the New Zealand’s Album Chart. They are now signed to Columbia Records in the USA.

London Grammar has the type of music that can be described as ‘a blend of ambient, ethereal and classical sounds’ with melancholy guitar, soaring vocals and plaintive lyrics. The songs are a collaborative effect as Reid explains: ‘I write the all the lyrics and the top lines. But the songs initiate from all three of us. Dot will write a piano part of a music score. Dan will add some guitars.’ She describes the songs as ‘emotionally affected’ and writes about people who come in and out of my life. The song, ‘Wasting My Young Years’, which has received over 10 million views on YouTube, was written about her ex-boyfriend.