ELDER ISLAND
Elder Island sounds like northern lights and lonely snowcaps.
Like vivid color in stark space, warm sparks and cold constellations
Elder Island is a Bristol-based trio, and they have spent the last 5 years crafting an elegant confluence of vocal melody and electronic minimalism that is as striking as it is danceable. Their latest release, The Omnitone Collection brings a graceful freshness to indie electro pop, and its accompanying tour brings a passionate live show that left us wanting so much more.
Elder Island is a real place too. It lies off the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, sharing a cold sea with restless wind and naked stars. Listening to 2017 single Bonfires takes me there, soaring on a cello melody amongst night skies and ethereal voices. A pulsing bass line drives sea ice before it while layered guitars and percussion loops scatter across a nacreous ocean.
Think I'll lose myself, you know, half lies
Will you get home or not?
This union of organic and articulated sound is an emblem of Elder Island’s rare talent, and the evocative effects suffuse their entire discography - a collection of 2 EPs, the newly released Omnitone Collection and numerous singles and remixes.
Thickly affected rhythm guitar passages call out to funk and psychedlia, while basslines veer from driving house energy to Bonobo-reminscient downtempo. Both players blockade themselves with synthesizers, flowing easily and often between instruments, triggering loops and tweaking atmospheric effects dramatic and subtle.
Before we were close to ready, Elder Island were returning for their encore, rounding out a calculatedly brief set with favorites such as Welcome State, You and I and Bamboo. The sold-out Doug Fir Lounge swelled with movement as every body succumbed to the music, blissfully lost in those final minutes. Visions of an island, pearly with ice under a shifting sky, faded. Stars and sparks alike flickered out with the last notes, and a collective sigh of awe and desire rolled through the quieting room.
In a 2016 interview with Wonderland Magazine, the band spoke on moving away from a computer-based songwriting process in order to more fully integrate their stage show.
“We don’t use a computer live, we use lots of loopers, sequencers and fx ... the writing & producing are much more intertwined with the way we play and perform.”
The end product is a three-person juggling act in which dense layers of percussion and melody are delicately arranged into bone-deep grooves and supernal choruses. Guitar, bass, strings and a plethora of synths all share space, but lush, sumptuous vocal hooks take most of the spotlight. Effortlessly shifting between cello textures and euphonic lyrics, Elder Island’s vocalist is hypnotic and otherworldly to witness live.
Bonfires won't rise
Think I'll put myself to bed tonight.
Catch Elder Island on tour here. Stream The Omnitone Collection and let us know how you like it. Bumps with stargazing, ocean breezes and a deep breath.
♥ Zach
