To be or yacht to be, that’s the question with Grovesnor
Words Jim Ottewil
Recipe to make Grovesnor: take a dollop of Steely Dan, add a pair of honified tonsils, stir in some fresh Casio bleeps and bake with an unquenchable libido. One hour later, enjoy yacht pop burning brightly with the thrill of illicit affairs.
Rob Smoughton’s alter ego began dabbling in home studio trickery with Alexis from Hot Chip while still at university. Jazzy post rock in the Naciente Quartet and time spent tinkering with a home studio followed before the real Grovesnor sound was unveiled - electronic blue-eyed soul that has seen him likened him to Bob Seger and even Genesis, despite this troubadour’s protestations.
“I just don’t get the connection,” Rob says. “People have said before that I sound like Phil Collins but I find him just too damn serious to take seriously. Steely Dan, though, that’s a whole other kettle of fish.”
A self-released mini album, other four-track musical scratchings, a Hot Chip tour support slot and a DJ Kicks album set the ball rolling. Now, with the electro disco crunch of ‘Drive Your Car’ wooing grannies on Radio 2, the spotlight of hype and widespread acclaim is finally settling upon him.
“It’s been no rollercoaster ride, that’s for sure,” he continues. “It’s not such a trendy sound, and I’m not so young or good looking, so I need to make certain that I’ve got a craft that I can hone.”
He’s currently soaking up the first three Springsteen albums (“When he was trying to make amped-up Phil Spector R&B, it’s the shit”) and concentrating on putting an LP together.
“I’m constantly writing, but the past couple of months have been so concentrated on this single that I’m almost rejecting that sound already,” he says. “I love the electro disco thing, but the newer material is much more accomplished and less about big hooks.”
He also polishing the burgeoning brilliance of his live show, which has mutated into a full-band work out, preparing to spin the Doobies, Hall and Oates and Boz Scaggs at a night of ‘yacht rock’, and deciphering just where the difference lies between himself and his saucy alter ego: “The Rob Smoughton that my friends know is not as exciting as Grovesnor. He’s just as happy watching a Seinfeld DVD with a curry as Grovesnor is on a yacht in the Bahamas.”
