Over the Years: The artists that are (and were) important to me as a musician
From childhood to adulthood, Sumaya takes us on a musical journey to the centre of her heart
The bricks forming...
An Awesome Bristol Band: Black Elephant
Copyright: Molly Perryman
Molly Perryman loves live music a lot. She has witnessed many local Bristol artists that are super talented and feel that they should be worldwide phenomenons. Here’s one of her favourites.
Bristol has a huge music scene which gives us a lot of choice – almost too much choice as new music is blasting from all corners of our city from indie to dub to metal and more. Hundreds of local artists are gigging across our city that you would listen to and think ‘why don’t I see these guys on MTV?’ or ‘I could totally see this at Glastonbury’, which is lucky for us as we don’t have to go far or pay that much money to listen to music we love but on the other hand can be somewhat frustrating for talented local artists who are stuck in the loop and are trying to breakout to further a field.
So, as a musician myself plus my interest in live music I have been making an personal list of local artists that should (in my opinion) be global. This article is about the first band on my list: Black Elephant.
such talent can emerge from anywhere
Copyright: Molly Perryman
Black Elephant has been creating monstrous masterpieces since late 2010 and recently launched their third release ‘Slingshooting Dead Seahorses’. As a metal head I am very lucky to have a band like this so close to home – I studied at the same secondary school as the majority of the band, which makes it even cooler knowing that such talent can emerge from anywhere. I’ve seen them three times before attending their recent album launch and each time I have been left lost for words due to their almighty powerful sound.
The album launch for ‘Slingshooting Dead Seahorses’ was held at The Fleece, where a swarm of people gathered to witness the beastly sounds of this assemblage. The set showcased the new album, including single ‘Jigsaw’ and ‘Crocodiles’ but also a couple of songs from other records – ‘The Lighthouse’ is a must-listen-to.
The SONgs are about all kinds of things, like what we are going through as a band, the people around us etc
Speaking to front man Danny G, I managed to find out that the band rehearse in the week before a show and that warming up beforehand is important alongside having strength. Danny says, ‘You don’t wanna pull a muscle on stage’.
I also asked about the intriguing title of the recent album. ‘”Slingshooting Dead Seahorses” was an interesting title for this record as it truly sings a very explosive title. The album’s theme isn’t conceptual and there are many different songs that don’t follow a theme. The songs are about all kinds of things, like what we are going through as a band, the people around us…’
‘Slingshooting Dead Seahorses’ is an incendiary album and shows that things don’t have to make any sense to be brilliant.
Copyright: Molly Perryman
The final thing I asked Danny was what tips would he give other young people starting a band. ‘Have fun. It’s so hard to make it as an original band, you really need to be enjoying it. Play music for yourself and anything else is a bonus.’
The new tunes are so catchy it feels like having a pair of headphones glued to your ears so you cannot escape the awesome waves of the of the deep dark rock band that is Black Elephant.
I leave you with their new music video for ‘Crocodiles’ from ‘Slingshooting Dead Seahorses’.
To hear more of Black Elephant visit their Bandcamp and tell us what you think @rifemag
You may also be interested in
South Blessed: Interview with Vince Baidoo
Little Ryan chats to Vince Baidoo from South Blessed about his roots and vision for online storytelling.
Your art isn't that original, and here's why
Keziah questions the concept of originality in art
About the author
Molly Perryman
Molly has recently left sixth form and feels reasonably ready to take on the world. A regular at live music events, she makes her own music, getting involved in local projects in film or event management, cycling and is a keen photographer.
More from this author
Seven Reasons Why We Shouldn't Be So Scared About Phonecalls
Molly Perryman asks why are so many of us are scared to make/receive a phonecall even though we're glued...
Molly's Journey
Molly reflects on her six months at Rife before launching into outer space.
Fourteen Years of Christmas Lists
Molly looks back at all the Christmas presents she has asked for since she was five-years-old to see how things...
