Over the course of six years, Graeme Ronald constructed a well-regarded musical project called Remember Remember, part of what he calls a “tight-knit musical community” in Glasgow, Scotland. Initially a solo project, then a collective, then a six-piece band, it went gangbusters till 2015, at which point a farewell show in Glasgow marked the end of the players’ time together. “We went out with a really big performance,” he recalls, “a good sendoff.” It also marked the beginning of a new life for Ronald.
Expecting a child, Ronald and his partner moved to St. Louis to be closer to her family. “There were a lot of changes,” he recalls. “I knew I was going to be a dad. I was moving to a foreign country…Decisions had to be made quickly.”
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Initially the demands of a new life short-circuited even solo appearances. Caring for his toddler by day, working a job and doing the occasional sound gig on the side by night, he found himself content to simply record a bit before becoming a more visible presence on the local music scene. “I’d been here for almost two and a half years before I played my first show,” he says.
It started with an opening gig at Foam; next came a video submission for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts that grabbed the attention of Glasgow’s Franz Ferdinand, who invited him to play their Pageant show this spring. Ronald describes the experience as “a really nice thing, a good way to introduce my music to this city.”
Remember Remember was originally his own solo project, but Ronald was hesitant to renew efforts under the banner. “For a long time, I thought it was disrespectful to the name Remember Remember, but I feel that it’s come full circle now,” he says. “It started out a solo project; now it’s starting afresh. I asked the guys’ permission, and they said, ‘Yeah, it’s OK,’ so I’ve started playing shows on my own.”
In some respects, Ronald’s looking to find the right mix of creative spark, opportunity, and, yes, hours in the day. He says there’s a full album of solo work in the can, written and recorded during his big move. When will it come out? That’s still to be determined, but without a doubt listeners will be pleased when it does.
Here’s where you can find Remember Remember online:
Spotify: All three of Remember Remember’s albums, each a gorgeous instrumental affair, can be found on Spotify. Some cuts are delicate and some are densely layered, but all are emotional. Start with the 2014 album Forgetting the Present and lose yourself from there.
YouTube: The video that caught the eye of Franz Ferdinand is “Hidden Zooms,” built on a lovely meditative track of electric guitar, pedals, and percussion. There’s also an appearance by Ronald’s dog, banned from the set after an early cameo.
The Quietus: The British music mag described Remember Remember’s last album as “majestic,” “profoundly sophisticated,” “haunting” and “utterly delightful.” Despite noting sonic references to Kate Bush, Soft Machine, and Cocteau Twins, the writer raved that the band had never sounded more like itself.
