Ahead of BN1 hosting their EP launch at The Joker on Fri 4 March, we decided to chat to Joel from ELKA, to see how life has changed, how they create their music and what’s in a name…
What’s with the name ELKA? Where did this come from?
We used to actually go by my name, Joel Peter, as I started the project as a songwriter WITH a band but I really missed the togetherness of being a band. We knew we had to escape the references to singer-songwriters; a name change was just necessary. After a brief flirtation with the name Sunset Cricket Party, ELKA stuck. It sounds a little bit Scandinavian, we like it.
The new EP ‘Burnt Out’ has an indie-pop sound to it, how long did it take to write? Any influences and did you enjoy the process?
The EP material was probably written over the course of July last year in Joel’s garden shed. Most songs have a bit of a theme in terms of how we might approach the arrangement, on this record probably the two most mentioned references were probably NWA and Fleetwood Mac – quite polarised!
You seem to have started the year in full swing, what’s next for you guys?
We’re just about to launch the record with a party at The Joker, from there we’re taking the EP out to play. Live has always been where we have most of our fun. We spent a week in the Czech Republic, surprisingly we have a following out there, that’d be fun to do again. Prague is crazy!
I hear Joel has quite an interesting way when thinking about ideas for a song, want to share them with us?
Haha! Yes, I do…. it’s becoming a bit of a Chinese whisper. In short, I go swimming. When I was much younger I used to swim for the county and so I’ve always been strong in that sense and so I find my mind wanders and I create these fully formed ideas, right down to production arrangements and sing them underwater. I guess it’s the peace of just being able to hear your head voice. That’s a little embarrassing. If I can remember the song in its majority whilst changing, I take it to the band.
What can we expect from your live performances?
Ultimately, we really want you to have a good time and so we aim for that. There will always be one jazzy shirt on show, some even jazzier dancing from Jack, a bunch of songs not afraid of their pop roots and usually some Alan Partridge/David Brent inspired comedic moments.
The Launch party for ELKA’s debut EP ‘Burnt Out’ comes to The Joker on Fri 4 March.
