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Check out exclusive artist interviews, performances and behind-the-scene clips.
01/31/2012 00:00:00
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Hannah Hooper met Christian Zucconi late one evening on the lower east
side of Manhattan. They had both been living in New York for years and had
never crossed paths before. But from that night forward the two could hardly
be pulled apart. Soon after their connection Hooper was invited to an art
residency in Greece on the island of Crete and Hooper insists "without any
hesitation" she invited Zucconi to join her on this journey. "Seriously, we had
only known one another for a few days but are both so inspired and alive
when we are together that going to Greece seemed like a magical and
natural thing to do" recalls Zucconi.
On Crete, in a small remote mountain village, Hooper and Zucconi met the
members of their future band "GROUPLOVE" a year before it was officially
formed. Sean Gadd, a natural songwriter and guitar player, born and bred in
London instantly bonded with the two eccentric New Yorkers. Their
relationship became apparent through the music they were making day in
and day out. Andrew Wessen, a pro surfer and musician from Los Angeles
and his childhood friend Ryan Rabin, an accomplished drummer and
producer, were also at the residency and quickly joined in with the musical
trio. These five musicians make up the members of what we now know as
GROUPLOVE .
Like all good things, the summer and the residency came to an end and the
five friends scattered back to their homes all over the globe. With Sean in
London, Christian and Hannah in Brooklyn and Ryan and Andrew in Los
Angeles GROUPLOVE was faced with the challenge of what to do now. "We all
understood how rare it is for five strangers to feel as close as family and
create passionate music together. We couldn't just return to Brooklyn and let
the music we all made fade into a memory of that summer we had in
Greece," explains Zucconi. Everyone pulled their funds together and Sean,
Christian and Hannah made their way to Ryan Rabin's studio in LA to record. "We seriously had the best time of our lives,"
says Zucconi. And the result is an incredibly special EP where soaring
harmonies coupled with sweeping anthems lead you through their powerful
journey. Like the members of GROUPLOVE, their music is diverse in influence
and style but bonded together by an undeniably creative kinship.
Their experience back together and recording together was so potent that
Hooper and Zucconi packed up their lives in Brooklyn and moved to LA to live
and play their music.
"We never could have dreamt this up" says Zucconi, "but at the same time
we're not at all surprised - GROUPLOVE is meant to be. Our story a
testament to fate, and our music is something we are ready to share."