Elliot Minor

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To those that know Elliot Minor it is becoming clear that they are determined to stay put, writing and recording the music that they want to, not what is forced down the necks of music fans these days.
It was the depth of songwriting, a fresh approach to production, the renowned explosive live performances on the underground circuit, a willingness to tour up and down the country, take the time to talk to their fans which was rapidly built a strong fan base
Elliot Minor infiltrated the mainstream with five Top 20 singles and their eponymously titled Top 10 album in 2008. A process that started as young teens listening to as much music as they could find, writing songs about crazy ex girlfriends, obsessions with personalities, paranormal experiences and straight up punk pop themes. The recording process was spread out between touring over a year, which gave the band many opportunities to revisit, rethink and develop the sound of Elliot Minor.
Starting out as an independent label doing it themselves Parallel Worlds and Jessica were released to chart success despite a lack of airplay. It was Jessica charting in the Top 20 that drew the attention of Warner Music who entered a distribution and marketing agreement with Repossession Records. Their followed single releases of White One Is Evil, Still Figuring Out, Time After Time and a rerelease of Parallel Worlds. Much to the frustration of the band the album was continually moved back by Warner Music until April 2008 when it debuted at Number 6 on the UK national charts and went on to Gold certification. The band's wide appeal was reflected in their press coverage, with everyone from rock bible Kerrang! to Top of the Pops hailing the Elliot Minor sound.
After a hectic summer of Festivals and a sold out headline run across the UK & Ireland in October/November Alex Davies was settling into songwriting mode when the news came that Warner Music had fired their Managing Director and "everything was on hold". With no one at Warner Music to make decisions it took until April 2009 to negotiate an agreement to move their distribution to Essential and again the band were back DIY at Repossession Records.
Recording started immeadiatly on the Solaris album with Producer Jim Wirt (Something Corporate, Incubus) again at the helm This second collaboration meant that the band and Jim knew what had worked before but gave them a lot of room to add new creative ideas and to push into bold new territory. Mixing this time around, is handled by veteran Tom Lord-Alge and John Greatwood
With the songrwriting process started as soon as the band came off the road, songwriter Alex Davies has put together a collection of new material for the 'Solaris' album which pulls from his modern experiences of making the first album, touring and promoting it.
"Our first album was written over a period of 5 years and many different influences" says Davies "To pull from my recent experiences and having the time pressure to write an album, was a new approach and one that was long hours, excepting and rejecting ideas but also allowing myself to go off into fantasies to pull the ideas from."
That killer live show has seen the band travel what seems like an infinite amount of miles en route to the next show, the next festival, the next audience that's going to erupt into a euphoria of slamming mosh pits and impassioned singalongs. Every Elliot Minor headline tour has seen the venues become that little bit bigger and the audience that bit more frenzied. That reaction was transferred as the band became a mainstay of the festival circuit, playing at everything from Download, T in the Park, Reading / Leeds, Oxegen and Wakestock, as well as with support gigs with Fallout Boy and Simple Plan.
"It's real honour to play these festivals as we're usually sharing the bill with some of the biggest bands around often some of the biggest bands of all time," enthuses Davies. "Festivals are a challenge as you're not necessarily playing to your own fans, but I'm proud to say that we've won over the audience every time."
Elliot Minor was formed by five school friends who share a passion for music. The influence of the likes of Green Day, Blink 182 and NOFX is prevalent in Elliot Minor's rollicking melodies, infectious choruses and soaring vocal harmonies, but the band's sound stretches far beyond the simple pigeonholing of the pop-punk genre. A love of the likes of The Used, Audioslave and Lostprophets adds elements of thunderous straight-up rock and contemporary emo, but it's the band's musicianship that rises to the fore as orchestration and string arrangements add a cinematic dimension that differentiates them from the pack.
"Our songs are often based on the kind of harmonies you'd find in classical music. I'd say that John Williams, James Horner and Eric Rigler are as important influences as any rock band," explains Davies. "When you combine that with the power and aggression of a live band, it's clear that we offer something different."



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