The Elephant Trees are from Leeds and they create synthy, punky, alt-pop music. Having just released their debut EP ‘Monachopsis’ – and announced a UK tour – the band are winning over new audiences and developing their sound. We thought we’d have a chit chat during this crucial stage in their career.
You had a mad summer playing some huge festivals like the Isle of white, how was that?
Surreal to be honest, it can often feel like you’re not making any progress in this industry, but being asked to play IOW was a big bucket list thing as well as a nice sign we’re moving in the right direction.
How did music become such a large part of your lives?
I think for both of us it’s been the only release for us; making music has always being therapeutic, then, taking it on to the stage, it became even more cathartic to scream into the old in a socially acceptable way. Not sure if that answers the question so much, it’s just always been a big part of who we are.
Your approach to lyrics and vocal melodies is almost in the style of rap music, it emphasises rhythm etc. How do you go about turning lyrics on paper to sound?
That is a goooood question. Sometimes the melody comes with the lyrics and is too stubborn for me to try and change it. Sometimes melody ruins it and it sounds too cheesy, we’re working on a new track at the moment that doesn’t use much melody, just natural conversational inflexions in tone. But for tracks like ‘Uncomfortable,’ I guess it’s quite easy to stumble through the harmonies of the chords and find something that works. It’s quite instinctual.
You’re about to release an EP titled ‘Monachopsis’. Its quite an alien word to people – they might not immediately recognise it but they’ll understand the meaning of it – how would you describe it? And how do you overcome it?
‘The subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place’
I recently said everybody feels a sense of monachopsis at some point, feeling out of place at work, at home, at school, anywhere really. But my dad said he never feels out of place – lucky for some! Still, for most of us, it’s something that can creep up and make us feel isolated when really there’s a million other people feeling just like you at any given time. I overcome it personally in two ways, one, making music – it’s something so personal and liberating for me that it leaves me feeling out of place in a different way, in that moment I have claimed ownership of my monachopsis made it positive. Two, I speak to people about it, or find the people that feel the same way. That’s why this tour is so important to us, we want these gigs to be a place for people to feel out of place with other people, making our own place that we do feel a part of.
Did you approach creating an EP any differently to how you’ve created singles so far?
For sure. I’d say we find it quite easy to churn out songs, they all have meaning to us and are like our children, but as contained single entities, it’s easy to round them up, put a lid on them and send them on their way.
The EP was always going to be different as we had to find a way to bring all these different sounds together coherently. Singles are 3-minute journeys, we wanted the EP to be a 20-minute journey from front to back, and I think we’ve managed to emulate that. It was easy to decide the tracklisting, but took us a while to get the order right so the feelings flow well from one song to another. The recording process was relatively quick and easy too as all the songs had a structure and were ‘finished’ in that sense. But the added production took time, layers and layers of sounds and textures that somehow have to mingle into one solid EP, it was hard work, but sooo rewarding.
Where now for Elephant Trees? What do you want to achieve?
We’d like to keep creating spaces for people to feel safe and accepted and vibrant on all their glory, whether that be from just listening to the music or partaking in the dancing at gigs. And we’d love to grow this idea from its roots right now, to a full-time creative journey, that potentially pays our bills… either way, we won’t be stopping any time soon.
Listen to Elephants Trees new EP HERE or check them out on Spotify and Apple Music. Get a copy of our latest print magazine featuring Black Honey, Matt Maltese, Mattiel and more HERE.
