ELLIOT NELSON – The Soundscape Creator
Elliot Nelson is a British born instrumental solo artist, composer and producer from the north of England. Son of Be-Bop Deluxe frontman ‘Bill Nelson’, Elliot has grown up his entire life surrounded by music and creativity.
1. How did you get into the music industry and did your entrance meet your initial expectations?
I’ve never really entered the music industry as per se, I’ve just knocked on the door and looked through the windows a few times. I still hold down a regular day job to make ends meet. With regards to music, I just try to create music to the best of my ability and what I may feel at the time, if an income is to come of that then great, but for me it’s about the creation of something which speaks about who I am and will still exist in a time I may no longer be a part of.
2. You have a new album called “As He Now Appears”. Which is the meaning of the album’s title?
‘As He Now Appears’ means exactly that. It’s about a change within oneself, either a change which is good or bad, but a change which makes you become a different person through experience.I felt that over the last few years of my life I have learned a lot of things which has changed me, so when people would see me again after a lengthy absence, I knew I was different and they were too. You become a product of your environment, so changes within your habitat will always change you in various ways.
3. The new album includes instrumental tracks, have you ever thought of adding vocals as well?
I have thought about singing on my tracks before and it’s definitely something that I may explore further in the future. I do think it’s all about having an end goal or a concept you are exploring within your music whether vocals are needed or not.
4. The calm sounds on your new album create a very relaxing atmosphere for the listener. Is this the initial scope of the album?
I’m not quite sure I was aiming for a calm mood/scope with the songs on the album. There are songs which are less calm and more aggressive. So some of the songs build and change slowly, almost creating a false sense of security. Like I say the whole concept really is all about change.
5. Which is the meaning behind each track’s title?
Man, this is a question I will answer in part, there are so many reasons why each song has a particular title. I guess something like ‘Pierrot’ for example, is about an underrated individual within society.’Cats and Otherwise’, is practically the title. ‘God’s Python’s’ is aimed at the dark underbelly of humanities failings within society. The other titles are also centred around my perception of my experiences, a lot of personal things or philosophical thoughts, the meanings are in the titles, they all have some form of mysticism attached to them.
6. Where and how did you record this album?
The album was recorded in a few different locations, mainly at my home studio in West Yorkshire which later changed to North Yorkshire. The drums were recorded in two different old industrial mills in West Yorkshire, one in particular had some really eerie acoustics which can be heard on ‘God’s Pythons’. I recorded the album on a laptop equipped with Ableton Live, I’d use anywhere between 3-6 mics on the drums when recording them. I’d use various instruments to create patterns or loops to reverse etc, then I’d chop the loops up to help emphasize a pattern, mood or change in the song. For each song the process or method would change, it was all pretty much playing off instinct and moulding a track to become what it needed to be in order to translate what I was feeling or thinking.
7. Except your solo album, you have also been a member of several bands. Please let me know about the other bands that you are associated with?
Honeytone Cody was the main band I played with, the band played for over 15 years before we called it a day. My sister Elle was the lead singer and bassist in the band and the third member who is also a very close friend, Martell James who drummed for us, so as you can imagine it was a very tight bond the three of us had. The band went through many iterations before we became a three piece. We had a cult following and toured around Britain and certain places in Europe. I guess you could call the music art-rock, we all pushed to experiment with what we did and didn’t put any emphasis on what other people thought of our music. I also drummed for various rock bands before forming ‘The Wolf and The Ape’ with Martell from Honeytone Cody. This was an accidental project after I was asked to compose some music to ‘A Man with a Movie Camera’ for an independent cinema which was showing the film.
8. According to your sayings, “‘As He Now Appears’ is centered around the experiences we have in life which evolve and change us into who we are now. How did the changes in your life affect you as a composer?
It’s hard to say how they affected me, I’ve always been quite a sensitive person, so music has been the number one way in which I express myself. I guess when I felt my life change, I poured everything into my music, it was the only way I could understand how I felt about myself and others. I’m always learning, not only about myself but also about my music too, so I like to think that after this album I’ve matured more as a composer.
9. I checked your YouTube videos and realize that the visual part seems to play a special role in your art whether it is the musical score for a silent movie or a video projector. How do you plan the visual aesthetics of your shows?
I would love to have projections of imagery at my live shows but I think everything will be quite low budget, more than likely it will be me hopefully with a band playing this album.
10. What about your next musical plans?
I will be working with my sister Elle on my next project which is called ‘Headwinter Dancer’, it’s something that has waited in the wings for sometime; it’s a dark blend of electronic music with a cross of some guitar manipulation. Also, I’ll be working on more solo material, I may release a part 2 to ‘As He Now Appears’ as quite a few songs weren’t included on this album due to dynamic differences.
To purchase:
Bandcamp link: https://elliot8.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-885623981
