Fusing traditional Celtic Folk with modern EDM, Elephant Sessions brings a one-of-a-kind catchy funk-folk-rock instrumental trad style that thrills the mind and entices the ears.
Using a fiddle, mandolin, bass and drums with electronic samples, fans are treated to something inordinary and fresh—it’s Polyphia plus M83 meets Flogging Molly plus TSO meets Lindsey Stirling plus Nickel Creek.
Since forming more than a decade ago and releasing their latest fourth full length album (For The Night), the award winning Scottish quartet has been a staple at major overseas’ music festivals and they have performed across the U.K., Europe and Australia; however, they have never launched a full U.S. tour… until now.
As part of their 11-date stateside jaunt, Elephant Sessions will stop in Lakewood at The Winchester on Thurs. Aug. 8 and in Columbus at Rumba Cafe on Fri. Aug. 9.
In this interview with OOTB from the Highlands of Scotland, fiddle player Euan Smillie discusses the upcoming August tour, how the band composes their songs and more.
Watch the video for “For The Night”
You’ve played the states at SXSW and Folk Alliance International, but this is your first full US tour. How did everything come together to organize this outting?
It’s something we’ve been working towards for years. There’s a fantastic event called ‘Showcase Scotland’ which invites agents and bookers from around the world to come to Scotland and watch Scottish bands perform, with the intention of perhaps booking some bands for their events back home. We met our agent there and struck up a great relationship and here we are! Finally we’ve been able to get a US Tour off the ground!
How do you decide on a setlist and what are some songs fans should expect to hear?
We put a lot of focus as a band in our live shows, we aim to lift people up and take them with us on a high octane journey! The joy of a live show is feeling the crowd ebb and flow and build to a peak! Keep an eye out for a recent single of ours, 1990 and a staple of our shows, Riverview Pt 1 & 2.
What four words or adjectives would you use to describe a live music experience by Elephant Sessions?
Energetic, Animated, Lively, Uplifting. This is what we aim for anyway!
There’s so many layers within the music and a lot of traditional Scottish and Irish styles blended with modern styles. When composing a piece, what is the song building process like and instruments used?
We usually write as a band and share the process. Sometimes we start with a cool riff or a simple melody that has a nice hook, maybe someone has a bass line that grooves along, or a drum beat that just hits. We take one of these elements and build from there.
Traditionally the focus when writing is put on the melody, but what is a good melody without the backline! We love to feature the drums and the bass, maybe a synth line.. Our tracks contain everything from fiddle, mandolin, bass, drums, guitar, synths, vocal hooks, you name it!
What musicians or bands would you like to collaborate with?
Our good friends The East Pointers! We’d love to work with them, maybe Beluga Lagoon, but we may just give Swifty a DM, see how that goes!
After the August tour, what are some of the band’s plans?
We have a pretty full schedule, it’s festival season for us, so it’s back to the UK and Europe for more shows, then we have our very own festival, Black Isle Calling, held up north in the Highlands of Scotland. It’s incredibly exciting hosting our own event with a great selection of music, food and drink!
Follow Elephant Sessions:
https://www.elephantsessions.com
https://m.facebook.com/elephantsessions/
https://www.instagram.com/elephantsessions/
Live Photo: Ryan Buchanan
It’s refreshing to hear violin music rarely Can you find music like this very good?
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