Though Eadie credits playing for KEXP radio as the turning point in his career, his popularity really took off after his submission for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts. The video concept is a slow reveal, peeling away the layers until all you have left is the majestic beauty of the Pacific Northwest. “This is what the purpose of my music and my project is all about,” Eadie explained. “That whole scene totally exemplified that, and it was awesome.” The video clocked in more than 20,000 plays and landed him a spot in the top seven out of the thousands of entries Tiny Desk received.
The first Manatee Commune album, Brush, was Eadie’s personal exploration as a producer and a musician. “It was me experimenting,” he admits. “Whereas before I was making music strictly for myself and how I responded to it, now I’m making music for me and everybody else.” So what is the difference? In his new remixes and studio releases, you’ll hear more four-on-the-floor songs at 120 bpm with recognizable samples and of course, drops.
Manatee Commune’s live shows are a force to be reckoned with. While at first Eadie was playing everything he possibly could, he has scaled back and is focused on doing a few instruments really well.
I’m ok with letting the music play and triggering tracks verses always having to play a part all the time. Because what was happening in the beginning was it was more like damage control. I was just like, sprinting around to all these instruments and trying to do the best I could and making sure that things didn’t mess up or break. It was all kinds of not fun.
Still, it seems as if he’s always doing something on stage, keeping the audience engaged and entertained. He effortless switches from the standup drums to viola, to the guitar and back again, all the while maintaining his Ableton MIDI controller.
This could be the year of the Manatee. In addition to the handful of local shows, Manatee Commune will also be playing at Sasquatch and What the Festival. And just maybe, by the end of this summer Grant Eadie will give up his day job scooping ice cream and take his music career on the road for good. Stay tuned because Dance Music Northwest recently followed Manatee Commune with video coverage at SXSW that will certainly get you even more amped to see him live.
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