Grizfolk
Combining pop, folk, and electronics into a global sound all their own, Grizfolk earned considerable commercial success with their first full-length album, 2016's Waking Up the Giants. A collaboration between a pair of Swedish producers and an American singer/songwriter, the group's songs merge the polish of contemporary pop and dance music with the more organic, acoustic-tinged sound of modern-day indie folk. Various personal and creative challenges led to Grizfolk to alter their musical approach on 2019's more organic Rarest of Birds, though their uplifting and often anthemic style remained, especially on the band's eponymous 2021 release.
Adam Roth, the group's vocalist and guitarist, left his native Florida to seek a career in music in Los Angeles, and by 2011 he was gigging regularly in a band called La Vie featuring drummer Bill Delia. On the side, Roth was working with a music production house, helping to write and arrange material on commission, and there he met Fredrik Eriksson, a producer from Sweden who had recently pulled up stakes and moved to Southern California. Roth and Eriksson soon teamed up to write songs for a project, and discovered they were musically simpatico. Eriksson introduced Roth to Sebastian Fritze, a fellow Swede making music in America, and in 2013 the three joined forces to form a band that would combine Roth's love of Americana with Eriksson and Fritze's savvy with electronic pop. The group was originally called Griz Adams (after Grizzly Adams, a rugged outdoorsman in a popular American television series in the '70s), but in time the name was shortened to Grizfolk. Expanding to a quintet with the addition of Brendan Willing James on guitar and vocals, and Roth's old bandmate Bill Delia on drums, Grizfolk landed their first break when the song "Vagabonds," featuring a guest appearance by Nikola Bedingfield, began getting airplay in the Los Angeles market after being released as part of a digital-only EP, Indian Summer. Soon Virgin Records signed the group to a deal; Grizfolk's first single for Virgin, "The Struggle," appeared in December 2013, and a four-song EP, From the Spark, followed in March 2014. Grizfolk also got a major career boost when their song "Way Back When" was used as part of the soundtrack to the hit animated film Mr. Peabody and Sherman.
Preceded by the single "Troublemaker," Grizfolk delivered their full-length debut, Waking Up the Giants, in January 2016, which spawned two major hits, the title cut (which was played more than 12 million times on major streaming services) and "Bob Marley" (which was played over 29 million times). An EP featuring remixes of four of the album's tracks followed shortly thereafter. In March 2018, Grizfolk dropped the singles "Endless Summer" and "Spoonful." Despite the group's success, not all was well in Grizfolk; Brendan Willing James dropped out, and several of the remaining members wrestled with a variety of personal challenges, including romantic breakups and excessive drinking. As the musicians adopted healthier and more positive lifestyles, Grizfolk's music evolved, and their second full-length album, 2019's Rarest of Birds, found them embracing an approach that de-emphasized some of the electronic aspects of their sound and showed a greater reliance on organic sounds and acoustic instruments. With Roth based in Tennessee and Eriksson and Fritze both in L.A., the band already had plenty of remote recording experience and little trouble adapting to long-distance collaboration dictated by the global 2020 pandemic. Grizfolk released their results in July 2021, delivering a cohesive self-titled set that doubled down on their hopeful folk-rock and electronic mixture.
© Mark Deming /TiVo
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Discography
31 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Grizfolk
Alternative & Indie - Released by Nettwerk Music Group on Jul. 30, 2021
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Fumes
Alternative & Indie - Released by Nettwerk Music Group on May 28, 2021
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
California High
Alternative & Indie - Released by Nettwerk Music Group on Jan. 8, 2021
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Money
Alternative & Indie - Released by Nettwerk Music Group on Aug. 14, 2020
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Waking Up The Giants
Alternative & Indie - Released by Virgin (VIR) on Dec. 4, 2015
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
The Ripple (Acoustic)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Nettwerk Music Group on Feb. 25, 2022
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Rarest of Birds
Alternative & Indie - Released by Nettwerk Music Group on Jul. 19, 2019
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Sign of the Times
Alternative & Indie - Released by Nettwerk Music Group on Mar. 8, 2024
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
In My Arms
Alternative & Indie - Released by Nettwerk Music Group on Feb. 1, 2019
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Queen of the Desert
Alternative & Indie - Released by Nettwerk Music Group on Sep. 25, 2020
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Hymnals (RAC Mix)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Virgin (VIR) on Mar. 24, 2015
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
The Ripple
Alternative & Indie - Released by Nettwerk Music Group on Apr. 2, 2021
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Waking Up The Giants (The Remixes)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Virgin (VIR) on Jan. 8, 2016
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Endless Summer (Live at Hurley)
Alternative & Indie - Released by The Vagabonds Trail on Aug. 15, 2018
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
All I Want for Christmas is a Rock Show (feat. Kyle Gass)
Christmas Music - Released by Nettwerk Music Group on Nov. 5, 2020
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Further
Alternative & Indie - Released by Nettwerk Music Group on Aug. 9, 2024
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
From The Spark
Alternative & Indie - Released by Virgin (VIR) on Jan. 1, 2014
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Cosmic Angel (Acoustic From Capitol Studios)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Virgin (VIR) on Mar. 18, 2016
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Decoy
Alternative & Indie - Released by Nettwerk Music Group on Dec. 29, 2023
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
The Struggle (RAC Mix)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Virgin (VIR) on Aug. 6, 2013
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Gold
Alternative & Indie - Released by Nettwerk Music Group on Sep. 22, 2023
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo