Words: Linn Branson
Uploading four tracks to Soundcloud a week ago as part of their debut EP, Elefantasy first made their name known. And who might they be? Well, considering they are as new as new could be, and just a mere 15 years old, the two-man crew are still getting to grips with the world of social media (though they have now got a Facebook page together - see below) and getting their name spread around town. Having been introduced to them late one night earlier in the week by a promoter friend keen to assess my opinion, two tracks in particular stood out: 'Wave' and 'Mary Do You Wanna', both quite different, but with the latter showing elements of a maturity beyond teen years, it was a surprise to find out their actual ages - and more intriguing.
So, with that in mind, I hunted down vocalist Kieran Panchal for a low-down.
Firstly, Kieran, who are Elefantasy?
We are currently a two-man band - who are soon to be expanding! At present it's me, Kieran Panchal: I'm 15 and play rhythm guitar and sing; and Alex Lydamore, who's also 15, and he plays lead guitar, with the occasional backing vocal. Although the EP features a bass and drums, at present we don't have members fulfilling these roles permanently. However, we do have names in mind of people who are interested and who fit the role nicely. Me and Alex have been great friends since we met at the start of secondary school (which we are still at), but only recently we began playing music together. One lunchtime we took a trip up to the music department and jammed. It felt right. We realised that our playing styles complimented eachother's nicely. From there, we decided to start writing.
Presumably, if still at school, you are looking to make it in music - or is this just a sideline hobby?
As we have mentioned, we are 15 years old and still in our last year of school - the important bit. Music is what we both love doing, although currently it isn't really an option; career-wise, it's something that we are incredibly passionate about, but also something that is just a hobby at the moment. However, who knows! It's definitely a possibility, but I guess we'll just see what happens. We are both due to start college in September.
You're from Harlow in Essex, right? Are you TOWIE types?!
TOWIE types would probably be the worst possible way to describe us! We may have the accents but not the persona; London is where we want to be.
How would you define the Elefantasy sound? There feels like a few elements in there from the tracks I have heard, that cross over?
There's a lot going on in there isn't there? Personally, we wouldn't really say we have a 'sound' yet as we are so early on in our writing. But we've incorporated both of our different styles, with Alex bringing the more upbeat bits, and my writing the softer bits, to achieve something sort of...in the middle. We then added a few nice flangey effects in there and we found something we both loved.
'Wave' - starts off in a way that when I first heard I was expecting to go into some full on psych track, and was surprised when it went into something quite different! Xfm's John Kennedy who has heard the track - and liked it! - thought he could perhaps detect a touch of Peace in there with a riff or two – what say you?
This links in with what we said earlier. The first 1 minute 8, is a bit Kieran with the harmonies, when it turns chordey (Alex). A build-up followed by a little drop like in 'Wave' was something that we both wanted somewhere, and this felt like the perfect song to do it in. I guess if you wait out for 1 minute 8 seconds, it will be different to what you expect, but nonetheless, it still makes us move when we listen to it, which is what we wanted. We took a bit of inspo from everywhere with this one. One of our favourite songs, 'My Number' by Foals, is where we took a lot of inspiration from but I guess you could say it does sound a bit Peace - one of our other favourite bands. We also felt the verses sound a bit Jaws.
Personally, 'Mary Do You Wanna' is the one that does it for me - a killer tune. For me the best of the ones you have online. Like the little rap lines in the middle there, which makes you sound more ‘urban’. Would that be something you’d identify with?
Thank you very much. It is a favourite of ours also. Our favourite parts are the last lines of the verses, that are followed by a short pause and a drum beat that also makes us want to move. We suppose that the 'urban' sound makes us stand out a little from other artists, but it is a good representation of how varied the music that we personally listen to can be. This song is just, us. All wrapped up into 5 minutes and 44 seconds of music.
Can you go through each track and describe it briefly for us.
Firstly, 'Odeyssea'. We definitely needed an instrumental track, that was decided well before we even began on the EP. When we wrote it we envisioned a Welsh man, I don't know why he was Welsh, he just sort of was! Before we came to produce, this Welsh guy in our mind was walking through fields with a sheepdog, enjoying his old life. Then when we came to add the water effects, it just felt like he and his dog found a boat somewhere and started rowing and never stopped, sort of like a journey - An Odeyssey.
'Wave'. The imagery that we think of was sitting on a beach with a girl, and she's just thinking things, as girls do, and just not knowing what the girl's thinking, as boys do. With 'Lava Lamp Eyes', this was the first thing that we wrote, that understandably took us the longest. The easiest thing to write a song about really is the girl you've always wanted. Pretty classic, but you need one in there.
Finally, 'Mary Do You Wanna'. Read the title. Listen to the lyrics. Make of it what you will. Interpret it in both ways. The police siren has no real relevance really, it sounded sweet though. The build up bit could represent the point where everything starts to go wrong in the story. The siren is a sampled real sound.
What is 'Elefantasy' about, both as a name - where did that come from and what does it represent - and as a band?
A friend suggested 'Elefantasy' to us, and it fitted the bill nicely. We have always loved them made up words that consist of two words. 'Apocalipstick' was another option. It doesn't represent much really. Elephants and stuff?
Have you played live yet, or when can we expect that?
We both have a bit of experience live, Alex more so than me. But playing live is the best feeling ever. We haven't gigged yet unfortunately, but one is definitely on the cards soon! You heard it here first.
Who are some of the influences on you as songwriters and musicians?
Our biggest love is for 60s music. The Beatles - their late stuff more than there early, Hendrix and Santana. But we do love the current music scene. Foals, Peace, Jaws, Arctic Monkeys are our current favs. Pop and rap music does have its place though.
How hard is it for you as young individuals to get a foot in the door of the big music world? Gather you have lined up a manager already –how did that come about?
Before we started this, we thought we'd have an immense struggle. But things have started to go so well for us so early on, and hopefully things are only going to get better. The use of social media makes stuff like this so much easier Facebook pages etc. Soundcloud is also a great way to get it out there. But most importantly, its vital to surround yourself with inspiration and with people that will support you, such as Stuart Gwyer (Alex's uncle) who produced for us. We do have a manager too! We were told Andrew Dutton is the guy to get us out there, so we hit him up and he's done nothing but good things for us so far.
So there you have it. The first Elefantasy interview. Mark these guys down for the future.
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