Grunge Reimagined: Getting To Know Sandhouse

Sandhouse is the brainchild of Anna and Caspar, two London-based musicians in their mid-20s who are taking the alternative music scene by storm. Blending the raw energy of 90s grunge with a modern pop sensibility, their debut single "Sick Of Your Face" quickly amassed over 10,000 listeners in its first month and secured spots on major Spotify playlists like 'All New Rock' and 'Hot New Bands'. With their second single "Undefeated" dropping on July 25th, 2024, and receiving early praise from BBC Introducing’s Jess Iszatt, Sandhouse is proving that grunge is back and here to stay. As they gear up for a year full of new releases and live performances, we sit down with Anna and Caspar to delve into their journey, creative process, and what’s next for Sandhouse.

1. Can you tell us about the journey from your initial project, Bamboo, to the formation of Sandhouse? What prompted the transition and how have your musical influences evolved during this time?

Bamboo was actually the name of our uni band that we co-opted when we started writing together. We were playing and listening to a lot of soul and R&B at the time and started writing and releasing music out of those influences. We learnt a lot writing for that project but after spending a couple of years releasing singles and an EP it felt like we’d grown out of it and wanted to explore a new sonic palette.

We started getting inspired by a lot of guitar music from the 90s like Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Garbage and spent time experimenting with guitar pedals and exploring darker lyrical themes. We also made a decision that we wanted to write music to be played with a band, rather than performed with a backing track. This had an impact on our writing style and gave us new constraints to play with.

We spent about a year playing around with finding the right sound, and writing and recording the run of singles being released over 2024.

 2. ‘Sick Of Your Face' has garnered significant international attention and support from major Spotify playlists. What do you think resonates most with listeners about this track, and how did you approach its creation?

We wrote ‘Sick Of Your Face’ with Caspar’s brother, Isaac last April. We were playing around and not taking things too seriously, I think that allowed us to explore a meaner, angrier side to our music.

I think the song resonates with listeners because it feels cathartic, it definitely was to write, we all feel mean and spiteful sometimes and having a piece of music that allows you to feel that way can be validating.

3. Your music is described as a blend of 90s grunge and modern pop. Can you elaborate on how you integrate these influences into your sound and what elements of each genre you find most inspiring?

A lot of playing around with guitar and vocal tone! It took us a lot of experimenting to get a sound that felt  referential but also modern and our own.

Grunge is inspiring because you can get this really exciting, loud, punchy sound from a band. We both listen to a lot of dance and electronic music, which formed a lot of the inspiration for the synths and production with Bamboo, but didn’t translate over to Sandhouse. The pedals and noise associated with grunge and shoegaze felt like an exciting and challenging way to keep the intensity of dance music within a traditional band set-up.

We were inspired by the snappy, direct songwriting of great pop music and we were challenged by them to keep our own writing concise; we spent a lot of time cutting and simplifying, trying to get to the core of each idea and deliver it with clarity.

 4. With the upcoming release of your new single 'Undefeated' on July 25th, 2024, what can fans expect from this track? How does it differ from or build upon your previous work?

Undefeated definitely feels weirder, both in terms of the music and the lyrics, and gives a bit of a flavour for what to expect from the rest of the project.

5. Looking ahead to 2024, what are your goals for Sandhouse? Are there any particular live shows, collaborations, or other projects that you’re especially excited about?

We’ve set a goal to write and record a new project in the Autumn, which is really exciting. We’ll also be playing some live shows, which are yet to be announced, so keep an eye out!