Something Like Elvis

Something Like Elvis zaczerpneli swa nazwe z filmu "Dzikosc Serca" Davida Lyncha. Poczatki zespolu siegaja 1994 roku. Dwa lata pózniej w instrumentarium pojawil sie rzadko spotykany w muzyce rockowej akordeon, który stal sie znakiem rozpoznawczym grupy. Juz pierwsza plyta "Personal Vertigo" (1997) spotkala sie z bardzo dobrym przyjeciem krytyki. Zaskoczonych muzyków okrzykiwano debiutantami roku, a debiutancki krazek doczekal sie edycji w holenderskiej wytwórni Smoeff/Konkurrent. SLE nigdy nie ograniczal sie tylko do rocka. Chetnie podejmujac wspólprace z performerami, goscil czesto w galeriach, muzeach czy klubach zorientowanych na muzyke improwizowana. O uznaniu, jakim cieszyl sie "Elvis" swiadczyc moze wystosowane w 1998 zaproszenie na europejska trase NoMeansNo (CAN). Tom Holliston, gitarzysta kanadyjskiej formacji uznal SLE za najlepszy europejski support jaki z nimi gral.



W 1999 roku ukazala sie druga, bardziej dopracowana i dojrzalsza plyta "Shape", z która jesienia tego samego roku zespól odwiedzil Niemcy, Belgie, Holandie, Czechy i Austrie. Czesc trasy stanowily koncerty u boku kolejnych gigantów alternatywy: Amerykanów z Fugazi.



Wydany w 2002 krazek "Cigarette Smoke Phantom" wykraczal juz znacznie poza estetyke hardcore'owa, stanowiac zestaw dlugich kompozycji, w oryginalny sposób nawiazujacych do post rocka i jazzu. "Te momenty plyty, kiedy monotonny rytm zageszcza sie do jazzujacej improwizacji, której wtóruje narastajacy jazgot gitary sa najbardziej przejmujacymi i poruszajacymi fragmentami tego bogatego i wieloplaszczyznowego materialu. Sa równiez tymi momentami, które chyba najlepiej definiuja zespól: poszukujacy nowych tropów, bawiacy sie dzwiekiem i jego brzmieniem, ale mimo wszystko i ponad wszystko chcacy wyzwalac energie." Ta zywiolowosc uwidaczniala sie przede wszystkim w trakcie legendarnych juz koncertów zespolu.



Mimo zaledwie kilku lat istnienia, Something Like Elvis tal sie jednym z filarów polskiego undergroundu. Swoja dzialalnosc zakonczyl w 2003, ale wciaz inspiruje innych artystów. Po rozwiazaniu Elvisa, bracia Kapsowie zalozyli Contemporary Noise Quintet, a reszta zespolu utworzyla grupe Potty Umbrella, która byla poczatkowo projektem pobocznym muzyków z SLE oraz Tissura Ani.

Po siedmiu latach milczenia Something Like Elvis powraca, pierwszy koncert na Off Festivalu, jesienia trasa w Polsce i byc moze za granica.



English

SOMETHING LIKE ELVIS It's hard to say when this outstanding band was born. The fact is that their name was taken from David Lynch's movie and I'm allmost sure that Nicolas Cage would change his text line if he would know that a Polish band would be named after his sentence. They've started as regular rock trio but the real sound was born when Mako and Szymbor joined. Their very first studio recording was made in 1997 in the Polish legendary Swarzedz studio. The cassette version of their first album entitled "Personal Vertigo" was released in Poland in November 1997. Noone expected such a good reaction from music press. SLE was voted as one of "the debuts of the year" by one of Polish biggests music magazines. Other magazines said that "Personal Vertigo" is the best record of the year. No wonder that they got so many offers to appear on different compilations including "Brum" magazine compilation that sold 20 000 copies! CD version of SLE's debut was released on Antena Krzyku in Poland and Smoeff/De Konkurrent in the Netherlands. SLE is more than just a punk band. They have been asked by many theatre companies and performance artists to do shows with them. That means entering different world. They've played shows in art museums, theatres and regular rock clubs. The band toured Germany and Poland with Canadian alternative music heroes NoMeansNo and have been invited by Tom Holliston to play with NMN again. New album "Shape" was released on September 1st 1999 on Antena Krzyku Unc. in Poland and it's allready the most talked about record of this month. September 1999 was the time of another great Europeant tour that covered Belgium, Holland, Poland, Czech and Germany. They have opened up for Fugazi in Germany and Czech Republic and as Ian says SLE is the only support band playing ancores. In October/November 1999 SLE played 20 days tour of Poland. The year 2000 is the next stream of never ending shows all around Poland plus plans to tour Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. After recording "Cigarette Smoke Phantom" in 2002 the band split up.

After seven years of silence, the band decided to reactivate. The first concert at Off Festival in Katowice - Poland, in August.

Kapsa brothers build their own recording studio, found a label called ELECTRIC EYE RECORDS and form a brand new band CONTEMPORARY NOISE QUINTET. Their debut album comes out in october 2006. check it out guys.!



www.myspace.com/cnquintet



Other members formed a band called POTTY UMBRELLA. check their brand new album ALL YOU KNOW IS WRONG

www.myspace.com/pottyumbrella