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I've said it a hundred times
over the years - the domain industry has some of
the most talented and creative people I've
ever met in any industry. Longtime friend
and industry legend Rob Grant, who was
profiled in a 2008
DNJournal Cover Story, just proved
that again in spades. Rob happens to also be a
very talented pianist and, as most of you
know, his daughter, global pop superstar Lana
Del Rey, has been one of the world's
most popular singer-songwriters over a decade
now. Rob
played on "Sweet Carolina", a track from
Lana's 2021 abum Blue Bannisters and
while in the studio his keyboard skills caught the
attention of Lana's producers. That led to Rob
signing a contract himself with Universal Music
Group's Decca Records as a
contemporary classical crossover artist. His debut
album, Lost at Sea, just came out
June 9 and immediately soared into the week's #1
position on the iTunes Classical Music Album
Chart! I
had a chance to listen to the blissful 14-track
collection over the weekend and was enthralled by
how masterfully Rob was able to evoke the
transcendent, peaceful feeling one gets when
surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of
the open sea. His
playing is backed with the magnificent strings of
the Budapest Art Orchestra and Lana was
involved too - contributing her unmatched ethereal
vocals to the title track, "Lost at Sea"
and the closing track "Hollywood Bowl."
Lana's presence is obviously a big draw but make
no mistake, as much as Rob
embraces his "Nepo Daddy" nickname,
his music occupies a unique and soothing space of
its own. An
amazing thing about Rob's paying is that he is
entirely self-taught and doesn't read
music. He sits down, focuses on the sea as his
muse and the impromptu compositions flow out!
There is nothing contrived about that relationship
with the open water. Rob has lived and loved it
for as long as I've have known him (15 years
plus). While
his main residence has been in Lake Placid, New
York his is just as likely to be found at a second
home on Florida's Anna Maria Island
(located just south of us off the Tampa Bay area's
Gulf Coast). For many years he kayaked solo
at all hours of the day before adding a boat.
We've been out on it with him and that is when he
is clearly 100% at home and in
his element. |
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The
cover of Rob Grant's new
chart-topping classical music album album
Lost at Sea released on Decca
Records June 9, 2023. |
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Rob
Grant in his happy place - the Gulf
of Mexico (photo taken during a visit to
see him at his Anna Maria Island home before
his own music career blossomed). |
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