After four years of releases, mysterious talent Grant has revealed his identity to be French producer Anthony Collins, formerly of the Brooklyn-based duo Frank & Tony, according to RA.
In a new revealing interview, Collins described how the unknown alias was launched initially to separate himself from his previous aliases so as to get more labels to listen to the music without preconceived notions.
"A couple of years ago, before the Grant project was born, I was making music [and] sending it out to artists or labels I liked with zero response," he told RA. "I had the core feeling that one of the reasons for that was they didn't even open the files because my artist name—Anthony Collins or Frank & Tony—had too much history, for better or worse. Funnily enough, I was kind of right on a few occasions, as in the early stages of the project a couple of tracks I sent out as demos under the Anthony Collins name got no responses. Then, they were released under the Grant moniker and got positive feedback from the same people who completely ignored them."
The Grant alias first emerged with releases on the underground imprint The Lauren Bacall in 2014, an outlet Collins launched with former collaborator Francis Harris that featured tracks produced by unknown artists named after Hollywood movie stars. Then three albums followed, including the acclaimed 'Cranks' album released on Lobster Theremin sub-label Mörk and his latest full-length on his new imprint Duke's Distribution. All the while the producer behind the alias remained a mystery.
Now after coming forward and revealing his identity, Collins hopes listeners will fully understand his refreshed approach that embodies who he is as an artist: "I hope that after all this time, and music, the audience will see me now as Grant and not pay too much attention to my past aliases... I feel much more comfortable growing in a natural and organic way, without having to answer to any demand or expectations. Just doing 100% my thing, my way."
Read the full interview here
Next up for Grant is the fifth release on his self-titled label. Listen to previews below.