Introducing Worksop based multi instrumentalist ELLIOTT KEAN shortly after the release of his sophomore album
We at musomuso love helping unsigned artists and bands get their music out to people that may not have heard of them before, we do this in a variety of ways, playlists, news alerts and introducing features which allow the band or artist the chance to tell their side of the story.
We were contacted by an up and coming artist called Elliott Kean who released his sophomore album ‘Generation Breakdown’ in December 2021, we took a listen, loved what we heard and agreed to complete an introducing feature for him.
Read on to find out about Elliott’s hometown, how he got into writing music, his influences, his process for creating music, what everyone can do to aid climate & ecological issues and who he would choose for his dream festival lineup….
Firstly, please introduce yourself, tell us where you’re from and maybe a fascinating fact about your home town/city that not many people would know….
I’m Elliott Kean, 27. I was born in Scunthorpe before moving to Worksop. Needless to say, these areas are not known for their affluence! My hometown is probably only leading in drug abuse or teenage pregnancy in all honesty but I suppose it's part of who I am and therefore the music I make. What is fortunate is that I live very close to plenty of nature. I'm only a couple of miles from Sherwood Forest. It seems this area could still do with a Robin Hood today!
You say that you were singing and writing songs before you could even play an instrument, tell me at what age did you start to create your own music and did any of the early tracks make it to your debut release?
I was probably about 10 years old when I started singing melodies and writing lyrics. I would sometimes hear a song in my head and wonder what it was but realised later it was an original melody as far as I could tell. I remember writing songs about movies I'd seen and of course girls at school! These early songs were pretty terrible to be frank but a key part of my development.
Some of the songs I have released to date have been around many years. On the debut album System Restore, 'Here Until I’m Gone', 'Great God, The Supernatural' and 'Share The Night' were all written many years ago, before I could play guitar, using very simple piano chords.
On the new album Generation Breakdown, most of the tracks are brand new. The oldest song on the album however is 'I Want It All', I wrote that song with no music at all! I knew how I wanted to sing it and wrote the first verse of lyrics when I was about 18. It was incomplete for almost 10 years before I came back to it with a guitar and wrote the other verses, bridge, chorus etc! The funny thing is, after all that time is it actually the simplest song I've ever written, just 3 chords that were missing for a decade!
You are a solo artist and play multiple instruments. You have created everything yourself from start to finish including the composition of the songs, performing, recording and mixing the music, will you be following the same approach for future music or would you ever consider working alongside others to get the job done?
I do enjoy having full creative control to be honest but I am no expert when it come to the tech bit - recording, effects, mixing etc. I would love to get some of my stuff recorded in a professional studio in the future. I would also like to explore working with other musicians to see where the songs could go.
If you did choose to work with others, what would be your biggest fear?
I've actually joined a band recently as the drummer. The other members are keen to have a go with some of my songs that I haven't recorded and released yet so that will be exciting! I am wary about my songs being changed so much that you no longer feel the meaning as intended. I'd be worried about others taking credit obviously as well but these are good guys I’m with at the moment so I’m mainly just excited!
Have you considered that other people may have ideas that you hadn’t thought about in improving your songs?
Absolutely, I’m pretty hopeless at guitar solos for example! I'm looking forward to trying some stuff out with the band.
Generation Breakdown is your second album, did you approach this any differently from the way you did for the debut album? If so, what did you do differently?
I approached it quite similarly in terms of setup but I had improved my mixing skills which really helped. My debut album was recorded in the space of a few months whereas this album spread across a year and a half, so each song had a lot of breathing space where I could come back and work on it. Another big difference was that most of the new album consists of brand new songs that I've just written.
The songs on Generation Breakdown cover many topics ranging from mental health issues to climate & ecological issues, how did you become interested in these issues and what can everyone do in order to try and make things a bit better?
I’m a nature conservationist by training and occupation which does influence my music. It's easy to get confused about how you can help with big scary issues like the climate & ecological crisis' but there is actually loads you can do to help! My advice would be focus on the big stuff and don’t get side-tracked with little changes. You can for example: eat less meat, fly less, buy renewable energy, support nature conservation, choose to have fewer children, switch to ESG investments, buy second-hand...and so on.
The mental health part is just part of life I guess and I have many friends who have struggled a lot. Just talking is the thing to do there. Be vulnerable with friends. They'll be going through things too and you can help even if all you do is listen. Music and mental health are very closely linked. Music helps me process a lot on my feelings. Some things cant be said with words.
Tell me about how you approach things such as the writing process, choosing the right melodies for the songs and how you know when a track is ‘finished’…..
I tend to write on guitar these days. I never start with the intention of writing a song. I think that's the wrong approach. You're suppose to 'play' music. One day I'll mess around and nothing is produced, other days I'll spot potential in something I’m playing and hear an accompaniment in my head. The best songs happen by accident. Vocals often start with a few words and a theme and the initial noises and gibberish are later developed into lyrics.
You tend to be able to tell when adding something else is effective and improves a track or just makes it busier and detracts from the other parts. That's when it's finished really.
Do you come from a musical family?
My family enjoys music and has similar taste. We would listen to music a lot in the car and sing along when I was growing up. My dad plays guitar so when I learned to play the drums we would often play together. I tried to get my dad to teach me guitar two or three times as I was growing up but I didn't have the patience until many years later!
Let’s talk influences, you cite Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stereophonics, Foo Fighters, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Linkin Park amongst bands that have helped to shape your sound and style of music, what is it about these bands that you enjoy so much?
I think these bands have great music. It is meaningful but simultaneously groovy and fun to listen to. That's not easy and a lot of music is either one or the other but never normally both.
Have you ever seen any of these bands live? How was the experience?
I’ve seen Red Hot Chili Peppers and Catfish and the Bottlemen a few times and had a great time. I would love to see RHCP with John Frusciante now he's apparently back with the group but looks like they're not cheap these days! I'm going to see Stereophonics in a couple of months' time.
RHCP are my favourite band. One big thing for me is they don't just reproduce the studio version live, they 'play' it, with slight changes, embellishments, different ending etc. as well as totally improvised jams which make a live gig a unique experience.
If you could have the chance to meet any of your influences, who would you most like to speak to and what would you say?
I’d probably like to speak to Anthony Kiedis from RHCP. I'd ask him what the writing process is like for him and how much he's dabbled with playing instruments himself. I love his lyrics. Although...Dave Grohl...now that's a tough one!
Let’s pretend that you have been asked to nominate the headliners for Glastonbury Festival 22, you can choose between bands and artists that are alive and kicking or no longer with us, who will you have on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday night slots and which act would be playing the ‘Legends’ slot on Sunday afternoon?
Friday – Biffy Clyro
Saturday – Foo Fighters
Sunday – Red Hot Chili Peppers
Legend Slot - Led Zeppelin
For the first track on the Generation Breakdown album ‘Twice The Man’, you created a split-screen video of you, dressed up as different band members in silly outfits to show fans what goes into the production and how the band would look if it existed! Tell me how you created the video and what feedback you have received from it….
Yes, that was a lot of fun. I recorded five separate videos of me playing along to the track on aIl the instruments and singing along. I then had help from a friend with the technical bit of stitching them together and making sure they were in time with the music.
People seemed to find it quite interesting to actually see me doing all the parts and get an insight into how a song comes together. There's a lot going on so it's quite engaging to watch. I think people were amused by 'shaker guy' as well who was inevitably stood around for much of the song!
Have you recorded any other videos for other tracks? Any plans to do so?
There is a lyric video for 'Kings Of Old' on YouTube which was created by ZenoMusic. Apart from that, I post a lot of live acoustic videos, both originals and covers, on my Facebook page, Elliott Kean Music. A proper music video is something I’ve got my eye on for the near future.
My next question is how do you go about performing live, you can’t play all instruments at the same time (unless of course you’re one of the old style ‘one man bands’ – which you’re not) do you use backing tracks for certain instruments or have you considered performing alongside other musicians on stage to re-create your music?
At the moment, acoustic sets at open mics are the way for me but I am thinking about getting a band together if things take off as it would be great to get the full sound. Just a case of seeing how many people listen to/download the album first so that will be exciting.
Lastly, it’s a jungle out there with so many social media channels, which ones are best to keep up to date with your musical happenings?
It is indeed! I try not to get preoccupied with too many different platforms so I tend to use my Facebook page Elliott Kean Music (@elliottkeanmusic42). That's the best place to stay up to date. I have my music available for download plus more information, lyrics etc. at elliottkean.bandcamp.com
This new album is also on all the major streaming services - Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music etc.
I'm a small fish in a big pond so every stream/like/share/download is appreciated. Thanks for supporting my music!
Talking about the new album, here it is, enjoy every second of it!