What? Independent label Asthmatic Kitty already has many out-there artists on their roster, from the skewed twee of Cryptacize to the lo-fi funk of Rafter. But David Adamson, a.k.a. Grampall Jookabox, tops them all when it comes to weirdness. Armed with songs that simultaneously recall ’80s hip-hop and stark folk, Grampall Jookabox sounds as zany as his stagename implies. His second album, Ropechain, draws inspiration from such unlikely subjects as paranormal experiences (“Ghost”), Michael Jackson (“I Will Save Young Michael”), and African-American women (“Black Girls”), all while blasting his distinctive hip-folk sound.
Who? Indianapolis, IN, native Adamson started recording music in grade school, showing a growing interest in hip-hop. After putting time in folk-minded bands Archer Avenue and BIGBIGcar, Adamson began developing what would eventually become the schizophrenic sound of Grampall Jookabox. Ropechain is a group of songs that came to him in a fit of creative inspiration and was recorded within a week.
Fun Fact: Proving that Adamson will go to great lengths to evoke a specific emotion, selected samples from Ropechain‘s “I’m Absolutely Freaked Out” were recorded in a vacant insane asylum.
Listen: Grampall Jookabox, “The One Thing”(DOWNLOAD MP3)
Grampall Jookabox, “The Girl Ain’t Preggers”(DOWNLOAD MP3)
