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Sebastien With An “E” | Death From Above 1979 may have expired long ago, but Grainger and Keeler are still alive and kicking.

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Fans might have been confused when Death From Above 1979 announced its dissolution in the summer of 2006, considering the band’s popularity seemed to be on a never-ending ascent; their simple, torrid bass and drum dance-punk had taken Sebastien Grainger and Jesse F. Keeler as far as a raucous appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and a gig at Madison Square Garden.

But now, more than two years after the duo’s split, with the success of Keeler’s MSTRKRFT project and Grainger recently releasing his debut solo album, Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains, it is clear that the two weren’t exactly dependent on one another to make music.

“Jesse and I were both recording and writing independently before and during that band,” Grainger explains while on his way to a show in Philadelphia. “Our intention with that band was always to use it as a way out of obscurity and as a way to propel ourselves. In that aspect, it went its course and did its job,
for sure.”

As much as Death From Above was a launching pad for his own ambitions, Grainger has purposely taken his time in putting together his first record.

“I wasn’t really interested in directly translating the momentum of the old band into this current project,” he says, “not only because I thought it’d be kind of cheap but also, you know, these things take time to develop.” Although he’s gone through an extended period of musical growth, he points out that he is still benefiting from his past accomplishments. “There’s no question that I’m starting with a bit of a head start, being in a band that was pretty successful. I feel lucky about that.”

This sense of appreciation translates into the music on Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains, which some may find surprisingly more optimistic than the lovelorn wailing his former band was known for. A rock and roll record at heart, it showcases a diverse set of influences from David Bowie through Queens of the Stone Age. To Grainger, it’s the sound he’s been crafting his whole life. “I feel like it’s the record I’ve been wanting to make since I was 15 years old,” he says, “and this is the kind of band I’ve been meaning to be in for at least that long as well.

“I made a record I’m completely satisfied with and really proud of,” he continues. “Likewise for the live show. We’ve taken time to develop it into what it is: a real live rock show.”

Though he’s gone the better part of two years without doing extensive touring, Grainger seems intent on giving his all each time he plays live. “I’m interested in a more cathartic type of performance, more full-on,” he says. “That’s what’s satisfying to me and that’s what I enjoy doing. It was almost a revelation to come around and realize just because my old band wasn’t playing anymore didn’t mean I didn’t like to get fucking crazy.”

Knowing that he would bring his solo material to this kind of environment onstage is something Grainger says motivated the making of
the album.

“The idea of the band and what we do live informs the recording,” he says. “Without the live band, there would not have been this record. That’s another revelation for me: I didn’t intend to make a high-energy record and it actually is, so that was something where I was like, ‘Oh, okay, this is what I do.’”

Even though Death From Above 1979 was famous for its adrenalized shows that may have ultimately worn the band out, Grainger says it was only a means to find a band that has no end in sight.