Elder Island @ Siroco in Madrid

I was warned by the press release to beware before entering Elder Island’s world because once you’re in you won’t want to leave. It warned also to be prepared to be led down paths from which you can’t come back, to be captivated by sensual, soulful, shapeshifting songs, to encounter lyrics littered with clues. I couldn't see them when the visited Berlin some days ago but fortunately I could attend their show in Madrid at Siroco, where I evidenced their true magnetism.

There is magic in Elder Island’s music and perhaps a little witchcraft. Trying to pin the Bristol trio’s sound down is pointless because the usual pop rules don’t apply. Textures matter as much as melodies. Genres bend and blend. Electronics rub shoulders with odd instruments. Katy Sargent sings as though casting a spell.

The three piece band formed by Katy Sargent (Voice and Cello), David Harvard (Guitar and Synths) and Luke Thornton (Bass and Beats) met while they were studying at the University of Bristol (although none was actually born in Bristol), and it was six years ago when Elder Island was born. With an eclectic pop that oscillates between genres like R&B or Electronic and songs that remind me to bands like The XX, Mount Kimbie or Maribou State, their first hit would come soon (The Big Unknown) opening the doors of many festivals and giving them the opportunity of touring supporting bands like Glass Animals.

Last Friday, December 13th Elder Island arrived in Madrid to play the last show of a tour that has taken them all over Europe, and whose tickets for the Siroco concert had been sold out for days. It seemed that people were looking forward to seeing them and the British trio did not disappoint. Elegant, halfway between an electronic concert and a Jazz session, they certainly proved that the beginnings in which playing live was a problem for Katy are now far away. “Playing live was a struggle because the songs were tricky to recreate and Katy was a nervous wreck” said Luke. Something that Katy confirmed: “I was terrified. I’d always loved singing, but I’d never been in a band before. The only time I’d been on stage was in a Martin Luther King musical at school. At our early gigs, I’d be glued to the spot. It took me a long time to learn to loosen up.”

Very good concert where we listened to songs to lose ourselves in, to be swept away by, to send shivers up your spine. What they mean is for all of us to decipher. Alluring lyrics and turns with tempo-changing beats for a very special night.

Cover photograph by Ash Holdsworth