London-based experimental collective
Grumbling Fur was born out of a daylong group improvisation that occurred in 2011. Like-minded players
Daniel O'Sullivan, Antti Uusimaki,
Alexander Tucker, Jussi Lehtisalo, and David Smith came together, having known each other from playing in similarly dark and experimental bands like
Pharoah Overlord,
Guapo, and
Mothlite, among many others. The Krautrock-inspired astral traveling put to tape that day was eventually edited and released as
Furrier. Stripping down the collective group to just
O'Sullivan and
Tucker,
Grumbling Fur returned in 2012 with Alice, a more spacious and pop-oriented outing recorded as part of the Latitudes in-studio series. The duo returned in 2013 with the finely honed and highly electronic Glynnaestra, moving even closer to electropop. They continued to weave a blend of abstract experimentalism and
Brian Eno-inflected science pop on 2014's Preternaturals (issued by The Quietus). In 2015, Important Records released ggrrreeebbbaaammmnnnuuuccckkkaaaiiioooww!!!, a collaboration between
Grumbling Fur (billed as the Grumbling Fur Time Machine Orchestra) and legendary minimalist composer
Charlemagne Palestine.
Grumbling Fur returned to Thrill Jockey for their poppiest album yet, 2016's FurFour. ~ Fred Thomas