Some bands take an unnecessarily over-erudite, stab in the dark approach to finding an identity. Elephant, on the other hand, which consists of French-by-way-of-Pontefract chanteuse Amelia Rivas and Christian Pinchbeck, “met at the zoo and it was where the elephants were.” Does exactly what it says on the tin.
Since they met last summer, the pair have been hard at work – most of the time, well into the early hours of the morning – piecing together hauntingly terrific songs full of ambient, carnivalesque swing rhythms and wispy vocals via Amelia’s very capable vocal cords. Early on, they worked out that the duo formula worked and within the first night, they had already recorded their first EP. “We don’t talk to each other for hours, and I’ll do my bit and he’ll do his bit. It’s really weird; we just go into this weird trance,” admits Amelia whilst tucking into a Frappuccino. “He gives me like ten minutes to write lyrics; it’s like Countdown.”
Tracks like ‘Allured’ are perfect samples of the nocturnal lo-fi that the twosome yields. Rivas’ hallucinogenic yet equally stirring voice oozes over a series of dream-like chord sequences and a simple tambourine-led drum beat. Their latest release, ‘Wolf’s Cry/Ants’ is full of carefully layered yearning cries from the former and infectious bobbing accordions and nimble guitar plucks on the latter. All very consuming and mesmeric.
Another set of tunes is also on its way. “We’ve got the EP in October, which is the next thing, and we’ve been told that we’re kind of writing an album, so we’ll probably do that by about January/February, which will be maybe be out by the middle of next year.“
Where: London
What: Nocturnal lo-fi
Unique fact: Amelia is currently studying journalism at a university in London.
Get 3 songs: ‘Wolf’s Cry’, ‘Ants’, ‘Allured’
All clothes by Ted Baker
Words by Errol Anderson
Photo by Samuel John Butt
