London Grammar talk ahead of Birmingham show

And, in the process, Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dot Major collected an Ivor Novello, a Brit nomination and the iTunes’ Album of the Year honour.

This autumn, they get to tour their second album, Truth Is A Beautiful Thing, which was released in summer, with a series of headline shows. They’ll visit Birmingham’s O2 Academy on Monday, for a sell-out show.

From a standing start – three students at Nottingham University get together, muck around writing and playing, discover they have an alchemical gift for melodic and sonic gold; play pub gig in Camden in December 2010; sign to Ministry Of Sound; record DIY album in Dan’s family’s garage – London Grammar and their music took off at bewildering speed.

The trio’s intoxicating mix of soulful electronics, techno-folk and Hannah’s stop-you-in-your-tracks vocals was bewitching on record, and stunning on stage – and beyond: the band often had a good foot on the dancefloor, as most obviously evidenced on Reid’s collaboration with Disclosure on the DJ/producer duo’s track Help Me Lose My Mind. And London Grammar became global Grammar: If You Wait travelled everywhere. Eventually, in spring 2015, after 30 months’ work, London Grammar got to go home. These tight friends had some time apart, but not much. The old itch came back quickly. But they didn’t rush, and they didn’t plot. They’d do it their way.

In part this meant returning to first principles. While they couldn’t again lock themselves away in Rothman’s family garage, they could go back to their roots: three natural musicians, writing and playing together in simple, uncluttered environments, conjuring fresh musical ideas in privacy, and at their own pace. Dreaming it up from scratch, like a brand new band fired up by everything they’d experienced over the preceding three years.

In a gap in touring they’d already had one studio session, providing a cornerstone for what would become their second album, Truth Is A Beautiful Thing. In London’s Metropolis in January 2015 Hannah played the boys a song she’d written ‘in the shower, basically completely acapella’. It started on tour then I finished it at home.”

The sparse, spine-tingling Rooting For You was almost a done deal from the off. “The demo we did was super basic,” notes Dan. “And then the recording was simple too,” adds Dot. “It didn’t need much done to it.”

In the end, what little production there was came courtesy of Paul Epworth, the Oscar-winning producer of everyone from Florence & The Machine to Adele. Congregating in his beautiful north London studio The Church, his involvement spurred on London Grammar’s creativity, loosening them up, opening them up. In the lovely sub-cardiac rumble at the end of Rooting For You. Bones Of Ribbon, a soaring, surging anthem-in-waiting that was entirely written at The Church, is another glorious result of this fruitful producer/artist/studio partnership, as is Hell To The Liars.

Forget all the awards and the worldwide sales. London Grammar are still that band of friends in the garage, doing what they love.