Anjuna family member, Grum, is ending the 2019 year ‘deep' in the spotlight. The release of the highly anticipated album “Deep State” was released on November 8th. The “Deep State Rewired” tour is also hitting the halfway point as the year ends. As if the new album and tour weren’t enough to excite Grum and Anjunabeats fans, Grum’s radio show “Deep State Radio” is also getting its fair share of plays across different platforms.
I had the awesome opportunity to interview Grum about these incredible career achievements.
After nearly a yearlong wait, the “Deep State” album has now seen the light of day. Do you feel like you can finally take a breath?
In a word, yes. It's been an incredibly long and drawn-out process getting this album out, and a real relief that we finally got there. I'm really looking forward to making some new music now, and getting started on the next one – hopefully, it'll all be a little more straightforward.
The album art for “Deep State” is so cool! Did you have any involvement in it?
Thank you. It was mostly developed and created by a studio called Big Active, who works with Anjuna on many of their album projects. I wanted really strong imagery and I think they really delivered with something very stark and memorable, which really suits the album.
You had a tremendous push for the vinyl version of the album. Are you a vinyl enthusiast yourself?
When I started out doing this, vinyl was the only way to get hold of the music I loved, and I had a nice little collection. I've still got lots of love for the format – the sound quality and having the physical artwork like that is unique. However, not having to carry big heavy boxes of vinyl around is a real bonus to DJing nowadays too.
The whole album is a solid mixture of sound. “Altered State” is one of my favorites because of the throwback feeling. Do you have a favorite track?
Thanks, Altered State was a fun one to put together as I rarely do acid tracks – was really trying to channel that 90s Goa sound.
Lose Control and The Ascent are probably my favorites at the moment – they really started off being designed for playing in my sets, and I think they really capture the feeling of the whole album.
“Deep State Radio” is a radio show that you recently started. What made you want to dive into the radio show scene?
It's something I had wanted to do for a long time, and when the opportunity came up to it with Insomniac Radio in the US, it felt like the right time to go for it. It lets me play different music I like that wouldn't always necessarily make it into my sets, and also I think helps give a nice avenue for connection with my listeners, as I tend to be quite focused when I'm playing live shows.
Do you feel you have more freedom with your music selection with your radio show than perhaps a mix for “Anjunabeats Worldwide” or “Group Therapy” for example?
Definitely. I used to really admire a radio 1 DJ called John Peel. He would play all sorts of different unrelated genres on his show, from punk to happy hardcore, pretty much just anything he liked. Variety is good and although my show is mainly based around my genre, if I can even just explore a fraction of what he did and expose that to the listeners, then I'll be happy.
Finally, the tour to go along with the album is underway. Besides the essentials, what is the one thing you always pack while touring?
Easy: noise-canceling headphones. Lifesavers!
I'd like to thank Grum for taking the time to answer my questions during this busy time of the year. Don't forget to check out “Deep State”, which is available now!
