Kuwait Grips began in 2009 when a simple Cuban musician named Erik Anders moved to the United States, seeking members to form a group that played music like no other within the industry. In New York City, he met Hannibel Buressi, who would end up being his biggest musical influence, and lifelong friend. The name Kuwait Grips was inspired by Hannibel’s background, as he was born in Bubiyan Island, Kuwait, and had a job as a child making quality grips for bicycle handles. With Erik formally being trained to play all sorts of latin jazz and Cuban rhythms on drums, Hannibel brought textures from American styles like progressive rock and psychedelic music on Guitar.

The goal of the band was to achieve beyond what the human body was capable of playing musically, and to distort the minds of listeners with music so complex that it would make your eyeballs hurt. In mid-2011, Erik and Hannibel had gotten enough time to practice their material and distinguish a sound for the band, and began recording their first album, titled Bird Up!, mixed by the legendary audio engineer, Ben Hurr. The album sold well, which led to the Bird up tour in 2012, where they would double their publicity within neighboring states. Their most popular song is Chiquita Banana, most likely because it is their most comprehensible song on the album, but it serves as a ballad that has played over local radio stations multiple times. They now work on a yacht on Lake Ontario, where they choose to compose their music based on the inspiration of the water.