Irish based trio, The Guggenheim Grotto are; Kevin May, Mick Lynch and Shane Power; multi-instrumentalists, completely at home in charge of a breathtaking array of instruments both onstage and in the studio.
The band wears its influences lightly, blending them into a distinctive contemporary sound. At the heart of that sound, it’s the songs which drive the music, weaving a heady mix of pop, folk and soaring melodies around their ever present vocal harmonies.
Together as a duo since 2003, Mick and Kevin cut their teeth playing the same Dublin songwriter circuit that spawned Damien Rice. Having produced and recorded a collection of five songs in the confines of Kevin’s tiny flat, in 2004 they approached Shane (a busy musician and studio engineer) to put the finishing touches to what resulted in the self-released ‘A Lifetime In Heat’ EP. Instantly impressed by what he heard, Shane and the duo kept in touch, exchanging ideas, occasionally gigging together and eventually combining talents to form the line-up which then set about recording their first Album.
Packaged in a beautifully unique red leather binding, the band’s long playing debut ‘...Waltzing Alone’ was self-released to immediate critical acclaim in Ireland on September 9th 2005. Promotional Single ‘Told You So’ rapidly became a firm favourite on Irish airwaves and within weeks climbed to #12 on the Irish National Airplay Chart (compiled by AC Nielsen).
In America, awareness of the band began to rise thanks to the support of DJ’s like David Dye at WXPN, Kate Bradley on XM50's ‘The Loft’ and Nic Harcourt at KCRW. January 2006 saw the band travel to the legendary BBC Maida Vale Studios in London where they recorded a live session for Nic Harcourt’s show ‘Morning Becomes Eclectic’.
As more and more American College Radio and AAA stations picked up on the Album, the band were invited to showcase at SXSW where they played a brace of gigs before heading off to the sunnier climes of Los Angeles for a KCRW sponsored show at the Hotel Café. Airing in early May 2006, an hour long live session for XM Radio’s ‘The Loft’ was recorded just before the band’s departure for the U.S. and most recently, Kevin’s lyrics have been the subject of discussion on WNUR’s Literary Show.
Filled with a host of (as yet) unrecorded gems in addition to their Album tracks, the band’s stage shows are incandescent. Their on-stage dynamism and musicianship continue to draw in new devotees, while never failing to impress existing fans with renditions of what are fast becoming classic songs.
