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| New Band up North | New Band up North |
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| What immediately drew my ears in to listen to this Leeds five-piece were the exquisite and coarse vocals of Ellen Smith. Her brooding, strong voice evokes the mood of every song in exactly the right way. The band's debut album 'All The Crooked Scenes' is a beautiful record full of stories about love and loss. | What immediately drew my ears in to listen to this Leeds five-piece were the exquisite and coarse vocals of Ellen Smith. Her brooding, strong voice evokes the mood of every song in exactly the right way. The band's debut album 'All The Crooked Scenes' is a beautiful record full of stories about love and loss. |
| It seems Ellen Smith, Chris Quick, Jeff Schneider, James Warrender and Gary Stewart have had quite a journey already. After winning Glastonbury's Emerging Talent competition, they've been enjoying lots of attention. They've supported Josh T Pearson and First Aid Kit, played Green Man Festival, Cropredy Festival and recorded their first album. On top of all that their cover of R Kelly's 'The World's Greatest' was on the BBC Olympics coverage last summer. | It seems Ellen Smith, Chris Quick, Jeff Schneider, James Warrender and Gary Stewart have had quite a journey already. After winning Glastonbury's Emerging Talent competition, they've been enjoying lots of attention. They've supported Josh T Pearson and First Aid Kit, played Green Man Festival, Cropredy Festival and recorded their first album. On top of all that their cover of R Kelly's 'The World's Greatest' was on the BBC Olympics coverage last summer. |
| No one in the band really knows exactly how they came together to form Ellen and The Escapades. Ellen and Chris were gigging as a duo, playing a handful of songs and a few Dylan covers. Chris was also jamming with Jeff and James during their music course at college. After everyone's side projects came to their natural end Ellen and The Escapades became the main focus. Later they met Gary, their bassist, at an acoustic night he runs at Oporto in Leeds and they have been making music together in the city ever since. | No one in the band really knows exactly how they came together to form Ellen and The Escapades. Ellen and Chris were gigging as a duo, playing a handful of songs and a few Dylan covers. Chris was also jamming with Jeff and James during their music course at college. After everyone's side projects came to their natural end Ellen and The Escapades became the main focus. Later they met Gary, their bassist, at an acoustic night he runs at Oporto in Leeds and they have been making music together in the city ever since. |
| Their sound is full of charm and warmth with each track on their debut album varying in mood, speed and complexity. The opening song 'Run' is slow, reflective and gloomy. The second track 'Without You' still looks back on a past companion but its fast, happy backbeat and strong, joyful harmonica is full of strength and attitude. A favourite of mine is 'I'll Keep You Warm'. It's beautiful, soothing harmonies conjure a great sadness. The change in volume from quiet, haunting whispers to louder howls during the chorus is what I like most about it. | Their sound is full of charm and warmth with each track on their debut album varying in mood, speed and complexity. The opening song 'Run' is slow, reflective and gloomy. The second track 'Without You' still looks back on a past companion but its fast, happy backbeat and strong, joyful harmonica is full of strength and attitude. A favourite of mine is 'I'll Keep You Warm'. It's beautiful, soothing harmonies conjure a great sadness. The change in volume from quiet, haunting whispers to louder howls during the chorus is what I like most about it. |
| Of course music is a big factor for the band when it comes to influences and Ellen explains: | Of course music is a big factor for the band when it comes to influences and Ellen explains: |
| Everything around you kind of dictates what your music is about and what it sounds like. There's always a lot going on, so there's always lots to share. | Everything around you kind of dictates what your music is about and what it sounds like. There's always a lot going on, so there's always lots to share. |
As Chris plays key he's found himself looking to Billy Preston and his keyboard playing for more inspiration: | As Chris plays key he's found himself looking to Billy Preston and his keyboard playing for more inspiration: |
| He doesn't really do a lot, but that's kind of the point, when you hear his playing on The Beatles or The Rolling Stones records, it's always just what the song was missing and never too much. | He doesn't really do a lot, but that's kind of the point, when you hear his playing on The Beatles or The Rolling Stones records, it's always just what the song was missing and never too much. |
Chris' theory of quality not quantity when it comes to playing delicate notes on the keys seems to be working remarkably well. | Chris' theory of quality not quantity when it comes to playing delicate notes on the keys seems to be working remarkably well. |
| Gary nicely dubs their sound as "folk pop/Americana" and Ellen agrees there's a fair amount of American influence in what they do. She happily admits they're "often told it sounds like there's a bit of a nod to Fleetwood Mac", which I'm sure they're not going to complain about anytime soon. James says the band have moved further away from folk recently towards an "edgier and rockier" sound that we'll hear on their second album. He explains confidence and experiences "have pushed us in a darker and heavier direction." | Gary nicely dubs their sound as "folk pop/Americana" and Ellen agrees there's a fair amount of American influence in what they do. She happily admits they're "often told it sounds like there's a bit of a nod to Fleetwood Mac", which I'm sure they're not going to complain about anytime soon. James says the band have moved further away from folk recently towards an "edgier and rockier" sound that we'll hear on their second album. He explains confidence and experiences "have pushed us in a darker and heavier direction." |
| When I asked the guys about interesting facts about the band they revealed that two of them are left-handed, and from a fellow left-hander I thought that was important to highlight. Plus Gary's comment that "we all seem to share the same exact memories of our childhood, a bit like the clones in the film Bladerunner" stood out to me. (Scary.) | When I asked the guys about interesting facts about the band they revealed that two of them are left-handed, and from a fellow left-hander I thought that was important to highlight. Plus Gary's comment that "we all seem to share the same exact memories of our childhood, a bit like the clones in the film Bladerunner" stood out to me. (Scary.) |
| (Listen to their next single 'This Ace I've Burned' above) | |
| Right now they're working on some new songs and figuring out where to take the next record. They'll be releasing their next single 'This Ice I've Burned' in March on their own label Branch Out Records. I'm sure we'll see Ellen and The Escapades at many summer festivals but if you want to catch them live before that their heading on a big UK tour in March with The Travelling Band. | Right now they're working on some new songs and figuring out where to take the next record. They'll be releasing their next single 'This Ice I've Burned' in March on their own label Branch Out Records. I'm sure we'll see Ellen and The Escapades at many summer festivals but if you want to catch them live before that their heading on a big UK tour in March with The Travelling Band. |
| Emily Brinnand is a freelance journalist, radio presenter and producer. You can listen to her show Mixtape every Tuesday evening at 6pm on Sheffield Live! 93.2fm or follow her on Twitter @EmilyBrinnand | Emily Brinnand is a freelance journalist, radio presenter and producer. You can listen to her show Mixtape every Tuesday evening at 6pm on Sheffield Live! 93.2fm or follow her on Twitter @EmilyBrinnand |
| If you're in a northern band Emily wants to hear from you so please Tweet her links to your music. | If you're in a northern band Emily wants to hear from you so please Tweet her links to your music. |