Interview With The Indie-Folk Duo, PERCIVAL ELLIOT

Writer – Justin Howard @Jthnomad

Band – Percival Elliott @percivalelliott

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” – Bob Marley

Nostalgia is a very powerful force, by it’s very nature it tugs at the soul and stirs up a longing for the past. Making us desire a moment in our lives when we were truly happy. The dynamic folk duo Olly Hite and Samuel Carter-Brazier, of Percival Elliott, do just that with their heart-rending lyrics and sorrowful melodies. When I listened to their music for the first time in rush hour traffic in LA, I found myself transported to a time in my life filled with the fires of love and romance. As that song ended I had almost had to pull over as I overcome by an emotional longing for what could have been… Literally with a bloody tear in my eye.

The name of the group comes from Hite’s great-grandfather, Percival Elliott, an inventor born in 1883 and who created one of the first ice-cream emporiums in Brighton. Percival Elliott have performed to sold-out audiences across the UK, as well as having collaborated with the likes of Fatboy Slim.

The story behind the creation of the group goes like this – Olly one day discovers a dusty box of trinkets in the back of his families home’s attic and uncovered an untouched time capsule filled with his great-grandfather Percival Elliott’s mysterious inventions, engraved ice-cream paraphernalia, haunting photographs and war medals. With these long-forgotten treasures revealed, they assumed a near iconic status in the duo’s imagination that it gave birth to a musical obsession and thus Percival Elliott was manifested.

Interview With The Indie-Folk Duo, PERCIVAL ELLIOT

Justin Howard for Black Chalk : Hi, boys. How are you both? For those new to your music – can you describe your musical style?

Olly : Good morning *Sips Tea* Pleasure to meet you

Sam : *Dunks Biscuit, into Olly’s mug*

Olly : Percival Elliott is like tumbling down a rabbit hole, just when you think you’ve settled on a musical label. You fall a few more meters into another strange part of our musical brains.

Sam : I’d say our sound is like flicking through a second hand record collection. You never really know what’s lurking behind the dust. To be honest we never know what sounds we’re going to achieve when we sit at our instruments. We just let the higher powers dictate.

Black Chalk : Did you lads want to become musicians when you were younger?

Olly : I have always looked up the singer songwriters of the 70’s and I have no doubt that this inspired me to become a musician.

Sam : My family have an extremely eclectic taste in music. Our house never fell silent. I remember sneaking into my parents room and stealing my Dad’s Les Paul guitar, turning the amp full blast and the noise was incredible. I knew that music was for me. To quote Trent Reznor “There’s something strangely musical about noise.”

Black Chalk : What inspired you lads to get into music?

Olly : Sam and I met through working for an antiques emporium we would spend hours on the road talking about politics, music and life. Sam used to make mix tapes (Yes, that’s right cassette tapes) for us to enjoy throughout our time on the road, anything from Radiohead, Muse and Porcupine tree. He’s an eclectic one.

Sam : I think after years of working together it was only natural for us to write together. It takes a lot of trust to reveal the more sensitive side of your nature to a dear friend. Music really does dig deep. Olly and I have a strong foundation on which we build our melodies, some may call it Bromance.

Black Chalk : I am curious about the name, ‘Percival Elliott’. I believe I read that it’s origin has something to do with your great-grandfather? Tell me more.

Olly : Percival Elliott was my great grandfather and he was a legend in his own right. He owned a sweet factory from 1900-1920 and would travel across the country in his horse and cart selling sweets, toys and coffee beans. He loved old clocks and musical instruments. He would go missing for days, family folk law suggests he was a believer in time travel. That’s what my grandma remembers. In the 1920’s he moved to the south of the UK to set up one of the first ice cream emporiums in Brighton UK, in Weston Road.

Sam : he had a kick ass moustache. From the first time I saw his portrait I knew the band had to be named after him.

Black Chalk : What’s your philosophy about the ART of Music?

Olly : Art is what you make of it, what you will pay for it and being prepared to die for it.

Sam: Composition is like painting an abstract masterpiece. You have to muddy the canvas and get your hands dirty. I suppose the art of music is like social media, fake, tortured and displayed for everyone to judge. Every now and again a song will come along which demonstrates that truth and beauty always prevail.

Black Chalk : Which artists did you lads grow up listening to? Which musicians have influenced your own music?

Olly : Elton John, Billy Joel and Barbara Streisand. I suppose everything I have had the pleasure of listening to over the years has had some sort of influence over my musical footprint.

Sam : Megadeath, Enigma and Peter Gabriel. Hearing Grace by Jeff Buckley completely changed my life, it’s a beautiful masterpiece.

Black Chalk : What do you enjoy most about creating music?

Olly : I love how random it can be. One day I’ll send over a piano melody to Sam, then next day he’ll email a demo of him singing through a shoe whilst hoping on one leg patting his belly.

Sam : I love how composing is like shining a torch into a pitch black room. You don’t ever really see the melody jump out at you and that’s scary.

Black Chalk : As a musician what is the most challenging part of your job?

Olly : Not getting enough of it. It’s like a drug.

Black Chalk : If you each had the chance to choose the one album that means the most to you – which would they be?

Olly : Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road it’s a pop/prog masterpiece.

Sam : It’s a tough one, I get obsessed with albums from time to time. I always return to Grace by Jeff Buckley as it is a truly amazing piece of art.

Black Chalk : What’s your favourite song on the new album? Why?

Olly : ‘Save your Soul’ as all our souls need saving from time to time. Especially in our current world of chaos.

Sam : ‘Captain’ because it’s all about the adventures of a sea captain who is a cat. It might be an album track but I love the narrative and images it creates.

Black Chalk : How do you intend people to feel when hearing your songs?

Olly : Hopefully inspired. If we are able to put a smile on someones face then our job as artists has paid off.

Sam : I’d love for the listener to mishear and mis-intemperate our songs. I think there is something magical in interpretation and letting your songs loose in the world. Like a wild animal.

Black Chalk : You lads have performed to sell-out audiences! What has been the highlight of your careers so far?

Olly : The biggest highlight was sharing the stage with Chesney Hawkes, Mark Read and Nik Kershaw.

Sam : Every gig is special in someway, you never know how people are going to react to your set. It’s all rather exciting.

Black Chalk : What do you wish people would understand about creating music in today’s world?

Olly : It doesn’t happen over night.

Sam : It’s a struggle, there are so many amazing artists out there and so many new toys. It’s hard to zone in and find inspiration. From a producer point of view, just because you can record at home doesn’t mean you should.

Black Chalk : Can we see you perform anywhere soon? What gigs do you have coming up?

Olly : In the Summer we shall be playing the same festival as Brian Wilson, Paul Weller and The Prodigy but we’re not aloud to officially announce that yet… shhhhhh (Mums the word)

Black Chalk : Anything we should keep our eyes open for in the future?

Sam : We will be dropping the album at some point this year but in the meantime we have a new single (Which is not featured on the album) called ‘Speak Easy’ which will be released on Mayfield Records on Star Wars day (May 4th).