If you didn’t know about grentperez already, you’re about to hear a lot from him.
Born in Western Sydney but set to go truly global, the multi-hyphenate artist crafts soulful DIY pop gems that carry an important message: it’s ok to be a helpless romantic in life.
His latest single, ‘Old With You’, dropped this week and is a swirling mass of emotions, a proper love song right at its core.
Composed of melting melodies and sweetly observed lyrics, the track feels like it arrived just in time with Valentine’s Day just around the corner. It also possesses the same pleasant ambience that saw his 2021 single, ‘Cherry Wine’, go hugely viral.
As grentperez explains (more below), ‘Old With You’ is about aiming to stay youthful throughout your life and about the importance of having the right person by your side for it all. Again, it’s fine to be a true romantic.
There’s lots coming up for grentperez in 2023. He’ll be joining Cavetown, mxmtoon and Ricky Montgomery on a massive tour of the U.S. in July and August, and will also complete his rescheduled headline tour of the country. Australians can catch him a Wine Machine 2023 in March and April (more information here).
To celebrate the release of his new single, we caught up with grentperez as part of our Get To Know series to find out more about his life and music.
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grentperez’s ‘Old With You’ is out now via AWAL & Fast Friends.
How did your artist name come about?
Started off as a joke/bet with a mate saying, “I wouldn’t change my (Instagram) name to ‘grentperez.’” Then I tried changing it back, but at the time Instagram had the 30 day name change buffer, so it had to stay. Eventually I got used to it and liked the way it looked.
How would you describe your music to your grandma?
I’d probably say something along the lines of, ‘it’s smooth and easy to listen to’, and keep the words to a minimum.
Tell us about a few of your tracks; their titles and what they’re about?
‘Old With You’ is a song of love and experience between lovers, friends, or even family, to live a life that retains its youthful days even after the test of time. “If I ever grow old” is a funny line to me as growing up is inevitable, but it conveys the message of always having that youthful mentality. Either way, if you were to ever grow old, at least you’ve got someone by your side.
What do you love about your hometown?
So I come from Western Sydney and it’s always had its quirks, both good and bad, but both make me love the area even more. The multiculturalism is great, a mix of all types of pop culture, and at the moment the creative scene in the west is on the come-up with a lot of start up organisationss and communities run by people very dear to me. So it’s very exciting.
Career highlight so far?
Playing Enmore Theatre was nuts!
Fave non-music hobby?
Definitely sketching, still life’s, weird faces, cars etc.
What’s your dream rider?
Honestly, probably cookies (cottage cookies) and milk.
Dream music collaboration?
Probably beabadoobee, Daniel Caesar, Toro Y Moi.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully in a sustainable state of music, a point where I’m comfortable to move into the next chapter of life considering starting a family. By then I’d wanna have started a project car, and comfortably played a lot of international shows.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
‘One Last Cry’ – Brian McKnight.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
I’m sometimes considered the therapist of my friend groups, but I’m not so sure what I’d consider the best advice. I feel like all advice is weighed differently, depending on circumstances and the situation.
What’s one obsession you have that no one would guess after listening to your music?
I’ve been watching a lot of city planning videos on YouTube lately, very fun watch hahah.
