Getting to know Sonny Grin

April 23, 2021

Sydney musician and producer Sonny Grin has just revealed his new single, The Rush’ ft. Rissa. We asked him to tell us about himself:

I am… Alec Brinsmead aka Sonny Grin, a multi-instrumentalist and producer from Sydney.

The Rush is… a song about being in the moment, enjoying the journey and acknowledging the good times when they come. When I was making this tune, I would close my eyes and think about the feeling of being a teenager on my way to a party, or at pre drinks with my closest mates. Those times where you’re having so much fun at the start of the night and just want to bask in that feeling. “The Rush” is upbeat, dancey and smooth, and also the first time Rissa and I have collaborated together. Writing music with new people can be an interesting experience, especially when it comes to find inspiration for lyrics and where to take a song musically. I’m very thankful that Rissa and I are able to gel; both inside and outside of the studio, and I’m super stoked with the end result.

Home is… Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Truly lucky to live in a big share house with some of my closet mates, 5 minutes from the beach. We actually do work on the place in exchange for cheaper rent, something that has strengthened our friendship and made living together a pretty unique experience. There have been some long days, but the cheaper rent means I can afford the granny flat for my music studio, a space that has seen many musicians come through over the past two years!

I spend too much time… picking the right music to accompany whatever I’m about to do. Whether it is going for a drive, cleaning my room or getting groceries, I will make sure I’ve queued up a bunch of suitable songs that complement each activity. Typically, I’m a pretty practical and time efficient bloke, but this is definitely a weakness of mine and honestly, I can’t see the habit changing any time soon.

I’ve never… been someone who can stand listening back to their own music after it’s out. In one of my favourite podcasts, ‘Are We Live?’, all three of the hosts (Jordan Rakei, Barney Artist and Alfamist) had themselves in their top 10 Spotify Wrapped for 2020. That’s such a bizarre concept to me, to be your own most listened artist, but apparently, it’s quite common! I invest many hours into writing and finishing a tune, so by the time a song comes out, my ears and brain need a break. However, the guys in the podcast explain it as like a reflection and growth thing, and also being proud of their work. But I just don’t do it – maybe it’s the perfectionist in me, or just self-aware of tooting my own horn, but I will never put one of my own songs on at a party. Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly proud of what I’ve released so far, and who knows, maybe things will change with this new single.

It might surprise people to learn that… Rissa and I have a completely different lyrical and melodic version of the single! When we first started writing the tune, we were jamming in her bedroom over the instrumental and we wrote a hook which I thought was pretty damn cool. Next session we did the verses and pre chorus, and once again, I was stoked. Then a few weeks later, Rissa texted me…”I think we can do better”. I was initially a bit apprehensive, but we did another session and re-wrote the whole thing! Needless to say, it turned out way stronger than the original, and served as a good lessen to not get over attached to an initial idea. Another fun fact is that the only remainder from the first version is the hook, which I came up with while I was chopping sweet potatoes in my kitchen.