The Grand Wake

Bruised, rousing and starry-eyed, The Grand Wake are a 4 piece garage-rock band from Dublin.

Their debut EP “Silent Screen” (released May 2016) was self-produced by the band at an 18th Century manor house in Banagher, Co Offaly.

Seeking minimal distractions, the band hoped to indulge what they call their more “outlandish” recording ideas. “So the natural choice was a basement in the midlands during a cold and grey Irish summer week...”

The EP was recorded as live as possible in their makeshift studio dubbed ‘Joachim's Basement’ (after the houses charismatic owner). The band worked day and night, with sessions only being interrupted to hear Joachim's war stories from a lifetime of gigging, all washed down with some of the “best damn coffee Offaly has to offer”.

The band packed the recordings with character from the eerie space, pursuing flaws as often as trying to outrun them. “We weren't quite sure how some experiments would work out, but being in charge meant we had to own our mistakes and triumphs.”

Using every forgotten room and hall for ambience and effect, the desire was to create something that felt both purposeful and entwined with chance. “We could record it again 100 times and not get the same results.”

It was mixed and mastered by an enigmatic Parisian named Nicolas Boscovic (although the band claims they have yet to confirm his existence).

The result is “Silent Screen”, a 4 track E.P. of short, dynamic songs interlaced with melancholy that will leave you feeling hopeful and exhilarated.

First single “Ordinary” is released on the 28th March.

Reviews for "Suffragette":

NIALLER9: "Garage-rock is very often a signifier of retro bands. A celestial organ running through the centre of the song lifts (it) up from a period piece. Encouraging."
THE LAST MIXED TAPE: "Filled with vivid production, the track covers a broad spectrum sonically as it jumps and drops dynamically. With each burst of organ and pounding beat leaving an impact, The Grand Wake sound like a band at home with their own music."
MEDIUM: "An intensely catchy garage-vibed cracker"