From: Folk in the Barn [debs_at_folkinthebarn_dot_co_dot_uk]
Sent: 04 November 2017 17:19
Subject: High Praise for Elephant Sessions from Rolling Stone Magazine
Hello
it's me again. Sorry to bombard you, but it's my duty to spread tasty
folkness and this article and iPlayer link is too good not to share.
Elephant Sessions recently featured on The BBC Quay Sessions and their
excellent performance is available to view on iPlayer for another 14 days here...
Please have a look and if their music appeals to you do come and see them
next weekend at Folk in the Barn at St George's Place, CCCU. We're
now going to be in the smaller room next door to The Lounge, which in the day
time is Barista and Baker, a cosy coffee shop. It'll be exactly the same
just more intimate - which we like! Some of you may remember our Terry
& Gerry gig there a few years ago. There will be seating and tables as well
as space to stand and/or dance if you feel like it. Opening the
evening will be a small selection of students currently studying for a music
degree at Canterbury Christ Church University. Simon and I took a
run out to the Broadstairs campus to one of their music evenings last month and
I think you'll be as impressed as we were with the standard of performance.
From solo singer songwriters to an acapella harmony trio, it's great to be able
to offer a stage to youngsters at the very start of their musical
careers.
The
Rolling Stone magazine article is mentioned in an article in Scots newspaper
The National - copied below. You can see from this that this band really
are going places, but this will be their first visit to Canterbury.
As always it would be amazing to give them a warm welcome and full venue,
please come and see some stunning musicianship if you can.
Elephant
Sessions supported by CCCU Students S3A, Eviette and Megan Wardroper
Sunday 12th November 2017
Barista & Baker, CCCU SU, St George's Place, Canterbury
Doors 7pm for 7.30pm start
Tickets ?12 online
?13 offline
?14 on the door
?6 Students
www.folkinthebarn.co.uk
for booking links and venue/parking directions etc
Here's
the full article, worth a read if you have the time.....
THERE
can't be too many Scottish folk bands who can point to a glowing review from
Rolling Stone magazine but The Elephant Sessions are one. "These Scots are
using their instruments like weapons to destroy cliches. We love them!" said
the magazine of the Highland five-piece. The magazine was not wrong. The band's
latest album, All We Have is Now, the follow up to their debut The Elusive
Highland Beauty, is infused with energy and excitement - and a willingness to
stray from the trad norms into, not just rock, but electronica. There are
shades of The XX apparent, especially in new single Summer, while the entire
album is a maelstrom of musical influences.
The
National spoke to Mark Bruce, the band's guitarist, as they prepare to head out
next month for a UK-wide tour, and asked who had been the band's biggest
influences. "We have to tip the hat to Croft No 5 and Martyn Bennett, they both
did some great things to push the genre" said Bruce. "We all have totally
different music tastes, which I guess adds to the melting pot when we come
together and write music in the band." This is all to the good as band members
Alasdair Taylor from Inverness (mandolin), Greg Barry from Dingwall (drums),
fiddler Euan Smillie from the Black Isle, Seth Tinsley from Hexham in
Northumberland (bass), and Bruce himself, who hails from near Tain, bring
together a fusion of styles that makes the band's sound so unique and easily
identifiable. So how did the band first get together? "Alasdair was 12 and Euan
nine when they first met at a fiddle class in Inverness and they have played
together since in various different projects," Bruce explained. "They met Greg
four years later through the Feis Rois movement and the three started what was
to become Elephant Sessions. Euan and Greg went off to study music on the
University of the Highlands and Islands course on Benbecula while Alasdair
moved to Newcastle to go to university and met myself and Seth from the year
above there. "We had been playing guitar and bass together there in a Newcastle
band called The Benwell Project and Elephant Sessions all went from there." It
was a fortuitous coming together that has resulted in some of the most eclectic
and interesting new music to grace the traditional scene.
The
band's live shows have become the stuff of legend - their sold-out show at Oran
Mor during last year's Celtic Connections was a definite highlight of the
festival (I was there and have to agree - Debs) - and the raw energy on display
has seen a much younger audience than might traditionally be expected at folk
music gigs outwith the Highlands. It's perhaps not surprising that a young band
should draw a younger following but it is a sign of the dynamically changing
landscape of traditional music. Bands such as Elephant Sessions, Talisk, Inyal
and Niteworks are bringing their fans to festivals and gigs and they in turn
are being introduced to new and old music alike. It feels like there's is
something of a generational shift occurring in the Scottish folk world. "I
guess so maybe?" Bruce said when the suggestion was put to him. "I think the
genre is so strong at the moment - its totally amazing. I wouldn't say that its
a generational change - I think that trad music has always been quite a young
and ?cool' thing to be part of in Scotland. "Maybe things like social media are
just helping to highlight it a bit more. Anyway, whatever is going on long may
it continue and blossom. "We just enjoy doing what we are doing and are
delighted that some people seem to like it. If we are helping to bring a
younger audience to traditional music then great. The more the merrier!" And
the merriment is not confined to Scotland. Indeed, the band's shows at the
Interceltique festival in Lorient in France were so enthusiastically received
the audience managed to break the sprung wooden floor... "Lorient was a massive
highlight for us" said Bruce. "We played 18 shows in 10 days and we totally
loved it. We just like to travel and play our music to people so we are really
lucky. "European crowds have always been very kind. A lot of them seem to have
strong Celtic roots so they tend to enjoy Scottish and Irish acts. It was
pretty cool to see so many people dancing to music that we wrote in wee
rehearsal rooms in the highlands. Euan also went for a wee surf on a giant
inflatable pineapple - you can see that on our social media. Pretty funny,
although the French security definitely would not agree..." The band's latest
video, Summer, does indeed have a clip of the inflatable-surfing Smillie
alongside footage of Mediterranean beaches and sun-kissed palm trees.
It
seems like Elephant Sessions have made the most of their time during 2017. Is
there anywhere they especially enjoy playing? "We played Glastonbury last year
and i think that will always be a highlight for us all, it was amazing," said
Bruce. "We love The Voodoo Rooms [in Edinburgh] so we are looking forward to
that, we are also excited to play our first Parisian show - I love that city!"
And is there anywhere they have yet to play that is on their to-do list? "Japan
seems to be a general band consensus but we are just keen to visit anywhere
that we haven't been yet." If the band continue on their current trajectory
tvhen Japan, and indeed the world, will be their oyster. Elephant Sessions are
on tour throughout November. For more info and ticket details see
www.elephantsessions.com
Finally
Martyn
Joseph tomorrow night at the Cathedral Lodge - there will be tickets available
on the door.
See
ya
Debs
:)
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