'Lo Five' is the moniker of Neil Grant,
born and raised in the barren wilderness of Kirkby in north Liverpool, currently residing on the leisure peninsula Wirral at Hoylake.He has been
actively making melodic/ambient/electronic music since his last
band dissolved around 2010 - initially focussing on playful lo-fi
melodic hooks then moving into darker synth ambience. For his debut
album, 'When it's Time to Let Go', released via Patterned Air Recordings, he explored combining his melodic sensibility with field
recordings, found sounds and acoustic instruments. Thematically, his
music encompasses aspects of consciousness, ego, death, memory and
enlightenment. He told the Liverpool Echo in 2015, " I've been in a few bands over the years but it’s always felt like I
was spending loads of time and effort getting nowhere. When my last band
broke up I decided to concentrate on making music on my own, which I've
found much more rewarding creatively speaking, because I don’t have to
try and please anyone else anymore. Being a solo producer is more
convenient since becoming a parent too. Any spare time I get these days
is spent on my laptop coming up with new stuff, usually on my lunch
break and on the train to and from work. I seem to be drawn to anything melodic really, I remember my mum humming
me to sleep with 'Singalong Junk' by Paul McCartney and my dad playing
Cavatina on guitar a lot – both quite melancholic tunes which I think
stayed with me. I’ve just released an EP of some oldish and unheard tracks called ‘Look To Me For Love’ through Jisatuken. I’ve also got another EP’s worth of new music I’m currently polishing up. "
In 2015 'Lo Five' started the Emotion Wave
night in Liverpool, to provide a supportive environment for producers
making their first steps playing live. A small but dedicated community developed around the night, which has resulted in charity
compilations and all-day live sessions to raise money for local
charities. Emotion Wave has evolved into a label, promoting the community of artists and producers who have become part of the family.
Neil then released several EPs, remixes and compilation tracks through labels Rad Cult, Orange Milk, Touched Music, The Beauty of Melody, Jisatsuken and on Upitup Records, 'Knobheads' anniversary compilation. His self-release was a small collection of ultra lofi house tracks designed to be 'dance music to sleep to', made using hand-sequenced beats and unquantised improv jams. 'My House is My House: Volume II' released in 2018 is the follow-up to these explorations, delving deeper down the rabbit hole of wonky tape saturation and one-take overdubs. Further albums followed with 'Geography of the Abyss' in 2019 and 'Open World' in 2020.
In June 2021 he announced on Facebook, " Her Majesty's Coroner for Wirral is most pleased to be part of this excellent release from Front & Follow and The Gated Canal Community.
YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE is an alternative soundtrack to a luxury apartments advert, featuring 31 artists including Field Lines Cartographer, Elizabeth Joan Kelly, The Leaf Library, Polypores, Hattie Cooke and many more.
All monies raised are going to Coffee 4 Craig - coffee4craig.com and Coffee4Craig on Twitter".
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