How did ELLiS·D come to life?

I was playing drums in different bands and that was always what I saw myself doing. I've always written little songs here and there, but nothing I ever thought I'd put out or do anything with. In 2018 or 2019, I started doing open mics around Brighton, just to build up confidence and learn how to not hide behind a drum kit. Those open mics were some of the most nerve wracking gigs - you’re so exposed. It was a good way of getting through that initial fear factor.

I started working with some different musicians, then lockdown came in and I reworked all of it and it became a fully solo project. Coming out of that, we started gigging and it’s been slowly building steam ever since.

Covid was such a catalyst for creatives. 

It was such a massive event that it was unavoidable for people’s artistry. A lot of people had that thing where they could reset and start anew. The Brighton scene was covered coming out of Covid as well with all the work Meg did at Green Door, by putting on free shows and cultivating the scene that we’ve still got now. I've been lucky to be a part of that.

Congrats on your new EP Spill! It’s an exhilarating mix of glam, punk, psych and rock. With lots influences melting together, it feels so distinctly ELLiS·D. How do you tie your sound together?

I try to go into a writing session trying not to think about what I want. Obviously, you have an idea of what you maybe want, but I always feel like I want to not know what it's going to sound like stylistically, perhaps, until there's some ideas flowing and then see where that goes. It's almost like trying to have that kind of improvisational style, but just on your own. You end up with a lot of throw away songs. I have so many demos that will never see the light of day - some rightly so.

We particularly love the title track, 'Spill'. It feels like a rage-fueled reflection on the state of things and your lyrics cleverly blend serious introspection with humour. Do you have an approach to writing lyrics?

I definitely have a certain approach. Lyrically, I go in with the mind of: "I'm not going to think about what I'm writing about." If I'm trying to write about a particular topic, I'll just get a blank page and get frustrated and close the book. It has to come as almost a bit of a stream of consciousness. I won't really realise the emotion of the track until I go back to it, and then I'll realise that's how I was feeling at that time. It's cathartic, in that sense. You kind of just release emotions that you don't know are there in the moment, and just let them go. I definitely attach meaning to it later.

With 'Spill', I’m still not 100% sure what I’m trying to convey. There's definitely some stuff in there where I sort of see what I was going for and then there's some lines that are nonsense. So, I'm glad you saw some social commentary.

In the first verse you say something about the rich getting richer and painting yourself to fit the scene - that's what stuck out.

I tend to be fairly opinionated on those kinds of topics, but I don't vocalise them very well - I often struggle to do that. Maybe it's a commentary on my own inability to commentate… It's all very much about being able to play that persona or someone else on stage. I'm quite an introverted person in day-to-day life. So, it kind of allows me to be that person that I maybe wish I could be.

You wrote and recorded everything yourself at Hackney Studios, working with producer Shuta Shinoda. Can you talk us through that wild-sounding process?

It was a very short turnaround. Humdrum was recorded earlier in the year so we did six tracks in four days as that was all we had the budget for. We had a lot of help from Help Musicians who gave us a grant to record the EP which was amazing. Otherwise, I’m not sure how I would have been able to do it.

I had to make sure that I knew exactly what I was going to do and demoed everything twice before going in. There wasn't a spare couple of hours to go "ooh maybe we'll play around with this little tone"... and that's the fun part of being at the studio! I'd love to have the time to mess around and play with pedals. 

We didn't have time to stop and think about it too much, which maybe was helpful for the record. You can get bogged down and play around with the sound too much that you start to question it. It's impossible to say whether it's a good or bad thing. But I definitely would like more time in the studio; in a remote place somewhere out in the sticks for two or three weeks.

Have you ever recorded anywhere like that? 

No, I’ve always recorded in London which maybe fits the vibe of the EP which is quite frantic. Maybe if I recorded in the countryside it would come out as soppy, mellow rubbish?

That would be quite the turn! Spill was released via the wonderful, non-profit, local label Crafting Room Records. How has working with them over the years helped to shape your journey so far?

They've been a really big part of it! We started working together after lockdown. We had the classic 2pm Sunday hangover slot at 234 Fest. We were excited for the show but there weren't many people in the room but Archie was one of the people. He emailed me the next day and we took it from there. 

We did a couple of little cassette runs to start off, but we really started getting serious with it when we did the first EP on vinyl. He's been such a big supporter of it all. There's very few people that do it like him, where he's just completely committed to releasing music he loves; no interest in making profit, everything gets put back into the label, just purely for the love of the art. It's a pretty special thing. I’m really, really lucky to be working with him. 

Your live shows are so much fun. On record your songs have faux endings and I love how you play on these and interact with the audience. I wonder, what is it that shifts when you step on stage? 

There's definitely a shift from the record. Working with different musicians means everyone brings their own spin - that actually excites me about our live shows. Everyone's twisting their parts ever so slightly and that makes it feel like we're not just going to sound like the record is playing in the background. I'm really lucky to have amazing musicians play for the last couple of years.

Going on stage can sometimes be really nerve wracking and I still do get butterflies, but usually that will fade away a couple of songs in and you get into your rhythm. But then sometimes it will be just completely natural and you walk on totally ready and then you completely fuck up the first note. Harping back to the character thing, I think everyone's playing a character on stage. It's like a theatre, isn’t it?

Performance is a weird and unnatural but amazing and magical thing. Like you say, you feel naturally introverted but you don't have to be on stage.

Absolutely. It's a kind of weird concept where even though you can feel everyone looking at you, that feels less intense than when you're sometimes just out and about. It always feels really special going on stage, and I don't think I'll ever stop doing it. 

You’ve spent the last few years touring relentlessly and are about to go on another European tour with Fat Dog. What's it been like? Any stand out moments?

There's been some real highlights! The first time we went out to Europe with this project, we did a little run of three shows, and we booked ourselves Paris, Kusel in Germany, and Troyes in France. There's this little record shop there called The Message and we're going back to play it again because we loved it so much. They're so nice and the crowd were so great and enthusiastic. At the end of the set, I'd run over to the merch stand and the others were still on stage. Our guitarist at the time, Max, started doing this thing in the moment where he lifted his arm up and everyone went crazy, and then he put it down, and they stopped. He kept doing it and he had the biggest smile on his face. Those are the touring highlights, when you find those special places.

Those spaces and the people in it are essential!

In Europe, they get a lot more funding for arts and creative centres, which we're so severely lacking here. It's just such a shame that there's not an impetus from our government to properly fund these kinds of places. It just creates a much happier and better society when people have these outlets to go to, and venues aren't having to worry about whether they can turn the electricity on.

The British music industry is so valuable, yet the government choose not to properly invest in it or build a sustainable infrastructure for the future.

It's really sad. I just can't understand why it's not something they'd want to do unless they genuinely just don't care about people being fulfilled - which is a possibility. The returns on the British music industry are insane from the rich musical history that we've got. We're famous for it, it's part of our national appeal and one of our strongest national identities. The fact that that's not seen as something properly worth investing in is backwards.

Amen. After your tour, what's up next for ELLiS·D?

I definitely need to start some binge writing sessions. I always like to have a body of material waiting and ready. I'm ready to get back into the studio and live there for a week or two. We have lots of shows over the summer and a few festivals, plus I'm sure that Fat Dog will keep me busy. There'll be lots coming for sure.

Grab your copy of Spill via Crafting Room Records and catch ELLiS·D live this summer.