Manatee Commune

The man responsible for that sound is Grant Eadie, also known as the electronic artist Manatee Commune. And that video was his submission to NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concert Contest, which was held back in January. He didn't win the final prize, but Eadie was included among 10 of our favorite entries.

At the audio link, Eadie tells NPR's Rachel Martin about filming his contest entry against the grandeur of nature, choosing the viola over the violin growing up, and the common threads between electronic and classical music: "I feel like I could play with a symphony if I really wanted to," he says. - NPR

Seattle's been an area that's poured out exciting musical talent over the years, with one special artist in particular being Manatee Commune, who's wowed us in the past with some fascinating tracks. Today, we see him connect with Detroit singer Flint Eastwood on an awesome cut entitled "What We've Got". Grant Eadie (Manatee Commune) has worked brilliantly alongside a handful of vocalists in the past, so it's no surprise he executes flawlessly here, utilizing Flint's pop-leaning, exuberant voice to accompany his now-signature sparkling sounds. There's nothing mundane here at all, as Grant continually alters his sultry chord progressions, and, as a result, he's able to prop up a listen that'll have us coming back for more. - Hillydilly

Why do we like this?
Euphoric and grand, Manatee Commune's full album is now available in entirety.

Yesterday I listened straight through and was truly transported. I can't remember the last time a twelve track album has captivated me more -- not one skip.

Manatee Commune has quickly become the Richter Scale for thee sound I want to hear; the sound I'm needing; the sound my soul has been singing.

While it was difficult to choose a favorite, I'm posting "Inman" as a delicate intro, to offer a proper dose of intrigue so you go and check out the whole album.

Enjoy! - Indie Shuffle

Since the release of his first full-length in 2014, producer Grant Eadie, a.k.a. Manatee Commune, has been gaining more traction (he won several film festival awards for the video for his debut LP’s title track, for example). Hailing from the Pacific Northwest’s burgeoning “beatsy” scene — a cohort of DJs including ODESZA and Emancipator, among others — the Bellingham, Washington native will release his next EP, Thistle, this Friday. For the six-track effort, he brings back neighboring musician Marina Price, who lends her lilting tones to “Clay”; and Seattle denizen Maiah Manser, who’s toured with Mary Lambert. Throughout the release, Eadie blends orchestral strings and cascading synthpads with more naturalistic sounds of birds chirping, laughter, and water. Scuttling percussion and slightly funky rhythmic switch-ups bring to mind a slightly awkward person inspired enough to bust out some new, still-awkward dance floor moves. With downtempo beats sluicing through bright melodies, Manatee Commune’s burbling Thistle is a fitting re-introduction to his lovely style, just in time for his Friday performance at San Francisco’s Noise Pop Festival. - SPIN

Homegrown organic electronica

“This is one of the coolest shows I’ve ever played and that was one of the worst things that’s ever happened!”

The cool show: Grant Eadie, the multi-instrumentalist known as Manatee Commune, selling out Nectar on a recent Friday, 400 fans reveling in various states of chemical enhancement. The worst thing: Eadie’s MacBook rattling off its $3 TV tray and onto the stage, potentially sabotaging his EP-release party 10 minutes in. Miraculously, the music never stopped. But after the song ended, Eadie was too earnest to not acknowledge the near-fiasco.

Beyond earnest: He’d started the performance, as usual, without shoes. Within a few minutes he’d ditched his glasses. Throughout the night, Eadie swapped between viola and electric guitar to add sinuous melodies to his gently simmering digital beats—beats wrought from an MPC and Ableton Launchpad that he bolstered with a pair of tom drums, each strapped with its own small spotlight, custom-built by Eadie to flash with every hit of the stick. Upbeat and infectious, ideal for loopy, heedless dancing, it was a full band’s worth of music coming from a single 23-year-old red-headed music nerd who was growing up on-stage, in real time.

“You saw a microcosm of my career in an hour,” he tells me later.

Eadie became interested in electronic production while studying music education at Western Washington University in Bellingham. Back then he was recording and playing guitar in an indie-rock band called Soccer Mom; before that he played viola in a host of Northwest ensembles, including the WWU Symphony and his hometown Spokane Symphony Orchestra. In Bellingham, he found holing up in his bedroom with his digital equipment more rewarding than the group commitment required of a band. And, he says, the town’s creative community nurtured his obsession.

“There’s a particular form of pride Bellinghamsters have. The best way I can describe it is that there’s a saturation of overly educated young people that are bored and really high and really excited about anything that’s different from what they grew up with or what society has been offering.”

Emblematic as it is of the Northwest’s organic electronic sound, Manatee Commune has attracted fans across the U.S. Last June Eadie was selected to participate in the Red Bull Music Academy’s elite Bass Camp weekend at Bonnaroo, which he credits for shaking loose the writers block he experienced after self-releasing his debut, Brush, in 2014. Last August he was spotlighted by NPR for a video he submitted to their Tiny Desk Concerts series. And his new EP, Thistle, came out on Bastard Jazz, a Brooklyn-based label renowned for its roster of boundary-pushing artists, which will also release his next LP later this year. - City Arts

Washington’s Manatee Commune (a.k.a. Grant Eadie) has shared a groovalicous new track titled “No Reason” and you need to start your work day with it now. Known for his warm and textured creations that tend to ride the chill-wave, Manatee Commune has jazzed it up with “No Reason” and is taking it to the dance floor with this fresh new track.
Featured this past August as one of our Must-See Underground Acts of the Month, if you missed the opportunity to catch Manatee Commune live at the Echoplex, you best cross your fingers he brings his marvelous sounds back to Los Angeles sooner than later. This is one producer / multi-instumentalist on the rise that you won’t want to miss.
At just 23 years of age, Manatee Commune is slated to release his self-titled label debut on September 16 via Bastard Jazz. The album features 12 radiant tracks including the aforementioned “No Reason,” along with recently shared “The Garden Song” ft. Moorea Masa and “What We’ve Got” (feat. Flint Eastwood). You can stream all three tracks below. - Grimy Goods

From the misty forests of the Pacific Northwest comes Manatee Commune, aka Grant Eadie, whose rainy Washington roots do nothing to gloom his breezy, lighthearted instrumentation. Glittering beats vibrate alongside earthy violins in his latest track “Clay,” a burst of tropical summer amidst an unseasonably warm autumn. The track also features the luminous vocals of Marina Price, and when she asks, “Are you busy? Could you meet me for a lemonade?/ I just want you to feel OK,” you’ll instantly ache for your memories of summer. “Clay” is the title track from Manatee Commune’s upcoming 7″, released later this week, but you can (and should) hear it right now. - Stereogum

Why do we like this?
You may remember Manatee Commune from their most recent release "What We've Got." They're newcomers to Indie Shuffle and we're happy to have them.

I've done a bit of back-tracking into their career since then and have fallen in love with this track "Blueberry" from their Thistle EP which was released back in February of 2016.

Lush, sweet, sophisticated, euphoric; a healthy dose of bouncy video game blips and beeps- this track has it all. Suitable for focused, positive vibes, productivity, and numerous replays.

Enjoy! - Indie Shuffle

There are not enough fire emojis in the world to describe how absolutely lit Neumos was in celebration of Grant Eadie’s new self-titled LP, Manatee Commune.

The clock read 11:30 p.m., and it was finally time.

Manatee Commune immediately mesmerized the crowd with creeping synths, natural visuals, and pretty lights, illuminating his kit before he even stepped foot on the stage. It was a sight that simply fueled the anticipation we had been feeling all night. Then, with the perfect lightness and increasing drive, he took the stage, barefoot and wide-eyed, opening his set with the first single from the new album, “What We’ve Got.” The track includes high, summery keys, and low-lying vocals; it was the purest way to say goodbye to the season of sun one last time.

With just over an hour to kill, Eadie compiled his set with well-known songs such as “Clay” and “Blueberry” off of his 6-track EP, Thistle, which was released February of this year. These, along with many others, filled Neumos to the brim with the cross-inspirations of genuine soundscapes of life and space.

After constantly thanking the city for being there to share his big night, Manatee Commune ended with a two-song encore, with one of the songs being “The Garden Song” off of the new album, featuring Moorea Masa.


Watching Eadie lose himself on stage was surreal for both him and the entire crowd, as we all shared the fantastic moment of his dreams coming true last Saturday night at Neumos. - 102.1 KXSU

Forget anything you might already think about Northwest electronica. For all of our gloomy and rain-sodden days and our fern-covered evergreen terrain, we sometimes produce bubbly and even tropical music. Take, for instance, Bellingham producer/multi-instrumentalist Grant Eadie, who with his project Manatee Commune is among the latest rising stars, not just from our upper-left corner of the country but among new electronic artists anywhere. He first broke through our local scene in 2014 with his verdantly produced, blissfully shimmering debut LP, Brush. On it, he mixed the electronic with the organic, combining programmed beats with acoustic orchestration while allowing the sounds of nature creep in. (We are outdoorsy people up here, after all.)

Eadie has since left the forest but hasn’t lost sight of the trees, as the new songs on his Thistle EP, released earlier this year, kept his organic inspirations intact but were more likely to emulate chirping birds and gusting wind digitally. And now, Manatee Commune is about to release his second and self-titled LP, which is also his first full-length on Brooklyn label Bastard Jazz Recordings. You can expect the same dreamy psych-tinged electro-pop, bubbly synths, unhurried beats, and euphoric melodies, plus more frequent guest vocals. The overall approach is far more sophisticated. Says Grant of the recording process:

I grew up a lot over the eight months of making this album, finally settling into my studio, finding a routine that consistently gives me inspiration, and managing to maintain my health despite the physiological punishment of digging for creative energy every day. The bitterness and frustration I felt toward the sleepless nights in front of the monitors, hoping around on my viola, re-recording a thousand times only to scrap the final product, was replaced by contentment. The process became cathartic and fun and the reason why I get up every morning.

The new LP comes out this Friday, September 16th, but we are excited to share an exclusive premiere with you today! Have a listen to Manatee Commune’s Manatee Commune and bask in the glow of the sun-kissed Northwest: - KEXP

At a glance, electronic music can seem at odds with the natural—which is why Manatee Commune, aka 20-year-old Grant Eadie, is such an interesting artist. Rather than pulling from the mechanic inspirations of mainstays like Aphex Twin or the cosmic leanings of more contemporary artists like Flying Lotus, Eadie infuses his beats with the lush sounds of the Pacific Northwest landscape that surrounds his native Bellingham. Clattering drums hum alongside the chatter of birds, the trickle of rain, and the billowing of wind chimes, creating gorgeous soundscapes that could score future episodes of Planet Earth. Leave it to a kid from Washington to make electronic music sound like plants growing. - Seattle Weekly

Some of Decibel’s most memorable performances came from low-profile talent that took everyone by surprise. Manatee Commune and Taylor McFerrin at The Showbox are a great example. Playing an early set that had Bonobo headlining with a DJ set, the 22 year old Seattle resident (Manatee Commune) captivated the entire crowd and nearly stole the show early on with his unique set-up that included a number of live instruments and sunshine melodies while McFerrin had everyone on their toes with a smooth beatbox intermission that brought on loud cheers and claps. - EARMILK