Elcka
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Elcka were a band formed in London and came into the limelight in 1995, with two singles on their own Nectah label that evidenced a cocksure swagger, a casual elegance and a love of the good things in life that gave the band an instant reputation. They appeared to arrive as fully formed and self-contained denizens of their own world: though it was possible to pick out strands of Bowie, Roxie Music, the widescreen ambitions of U2 even, no one sounded like Elcka. Members of the band were: Harry Harrold (vocals), Marcus Sanford-Casey (guitar), Matt Barker (keyboards), Warren Ash (bass), Darren Berry (drums, vocals, guitar).[1]
Scratch beneath the surface and you'd find the savage poetry that rages against the dying of the light in "Leather Lips," the duplictous heart of the "Pervert's Servant," the sour aftertaste of "Roast Beef." Possessed of a dry wit and a bag of monstrous tunes, and surfing a wave of critical acclaim, Elcka signed to Island Records.[2][3]
Their label debut, the single "Look At You Now" arrived in 1996 and seemed to signal the band's continuing skyward trajectory. Rave reviews & a support slot with Morrissey on the 1997 Maladjusted tour across the USA[4] & Europe, gave the band exposure to a wider audience with Morrissey proclaiming them to be one of his favourite bands [5]. Their debut album Rubbernecking, produced by Dave Allen (of The Cure fame) was released in Nov 1997 to positive reviews:
"...Elcka invent heroically monumental music" - Guardian [6]
"...a pocket-sized dynamo of a singer, swaggering moments of low drama." - Evening Standard
"... No matter what, the name of Elka will resound throughout this entire planet!" - Music Life Japan [7]
The band appeared on several compilation albums: Volume 13, Shine 6, London Calling (festival compilation from 1996 @ Paradiso Amsterdam), The black sessions, on French radio in Paris, with Bernard Le Noir [8] & during this period the band worked with the acclaimed photographer Perou who created the Leather Lips single cover & other images of the band. Apart from Morrissey, the band toured and played alongside various other bands from this period, The Boo Radleys in France & Germany, Space & on the Melody Maker "Shaker" tour alongside Powder, Pusherman & Strangelove. A live recording of the song "Roast Beef" from this tour is available on the band's website here: [9] & the song featured on a tape given away free on the Melody Maker cover in Nov 1995.[10][11]
After several recording sessions throughout 1998 the band recorded a 2nd Album with the producer & DJ Ashley Beadle & their next single Pleasure was released in early 1999 [12][13]. In the 1st half of 1999 their record label Island was bought by Universal, a company reshuffle & legal wranglings prevented the band from releasing their follow up album "Softly Softly Catchee Monkey"[14], at the same time they couldn't take the album elsewhere as the new label owners kept the recordings for a later release which didn't happen before the band split up. Thus the band, like so many before them became a victim of music business wrangling & infighting & after some final gigs, the last one being at the 100 Club in Oxford Street London, the band split towards the end of 1999/2000 to pursue their own projects.[15][16]
However in recent years, the bands critical acclaim, a solid fan base built up over several years of touring, along with more recent name checking from Morrissey among others[17], and the rise of the internet lead to some of the unreleased recordings emerging in 2014 after being released on a record label in New York called "Kill Art Movement" by a fan [18]. Further recordings have since resurfaced [19][20] with various blogs & articles showing a continuing interest in the band.[21][22][23][24][25]
References[edit]
- ↑ Taylor Parkes, "Top of the Fops - Elcka debut interview", Melody Maker, 26 August 1995, Retrieved 13 Jan 2018
- ↑ Ian Watson, "Cruel Brittania HQ gig review", Melody Maker, 9 September 1995, Retrieved 13 Jan 2018
- ↑ David Hemmingway, "Boho Bird Single of the week", Melody Maker, 29 July 1995, Retrieved 13 Jan 2018
- ↑ Brian Cohen, "Catchy Elcka has nothing to lose", Michigan Daily, 30 September 1997, Retrieved 21 Feb 2018
- ↑ Melody Maker,"Morrissey Interview", Melody Maker, August 9, 1997.
- ↑ John O'Reilly,"Elcka Rubbernecking Album Review", Guardian, November 21, 1997. Retrieved 6 Feb 2017
- ↑ Music Life Japan, "Elcka", Music Life Japan 1998, 1 March 1998, Retrieved 14 October 2018
- ↑ "Recording from Bernard Lenoir Radio show"
- ↑ Elcka Roast Beef Video, "Roast Beef", Roast Beef, 1 November 1995, Uploaded 12 April 2018
- ↑ Sara Manning, "Shaker Some Action", Melody Maker, 4 November 1995, Retrieved 7 Jan 2018
- ↑ Discogs, "Various – Maker Shaker Dry Run Tour", Discogs, 4 November 1995
- ↑ discogs, "Elcka Pleasure Release Cat No:", Discogs, Jan 1999
- ↑ Elckaholic, "Elcka Pleasure Video", Youtube, Released Jan 1999, Uploaded 2013
- ↑ Elcka, "Softly Softly Catchee Monkey", Elcka Unreleased 2nd Album, Posted 1 June 2015, Retrieved 9 Jan 2020
- ↑ Paul Laird,"Look at You Now Elcka Podcast", The Mild Mannered Army, Jan 18, 2018.
- ↑ Paul Laird,"Look at you now Elcka interview", Mild Mannered Army, January 16, 2018.
- ↑ https://elcka.net/press/Morrissey%20under%20the%20influence%20%20music.htm#Elcka
- ↑ iTunes, "Again EP", Elcka Again EP, Released 2014, Retrieved 9 Jan 2020
- ↑ Spotify, "Complete Essential Elcka (Delux Version)", Complete Essential Elcka (Delux Version), Released 2022, Retrieved 9 Jan 2023
- ↑ Spotify, "Elcka Band Homepage", Elcka Band Homepage, Launched 2012, Retrieved 9 Jan 2020
- ↑ Alex Sarll,"Best of Britpop", The Lion and Unicorn, 10 August 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2021
- ↑ Hao Shaokao, "Britpop Nuggets Part Two", Hao Now Shaokao, 28 September 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2022
- ↑ David Bryant, "Digging for nuggets from the dusty old storerooms of pop", Left and To The Back, 18 July 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2020
- ↑ Ricky Nickkamen Cavrioli, "La nostra intervista con Harry Harold, cantante degli Elcka", indieforbunnies.com, 22nd Jan 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2019
- ↑ Ricky Cavrioli (English version), "Harry Harrold Interview English version", indieforbunnies.com, 22nd Jan 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2019
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