Interview with the Band Elephant Takedown
By Mick Michaels
The Cosmick View: Hello, and welcome to The Cosmick View/MBM Ten Pounder! Thanks for taking some time to chat with us!
CV: Describe your definition of the band’s sound and style and how does that definition uniquely describe the music?
Elephant Takedown: Elephant Takedown’s sound is an interesting blend of punk and hard rock. How that becomes unique is our particular sound came from the disparate tastes of the band. Between us there’s a lot of influence from not just rock and punk, but also electronic music, and modern metal. Our music takes inspiration from all four corners and results in really punchy, bouncy hard rock, with punk drums, and melodic vocals.
CV:
Today, everyone talks about artist and audience connection. Is such a level of
connection actually achievable for an artist and if so, how have you made the
connection to your fans?
Elephant Takedown: Making a
connection with the audience is really important. Most of that comes from just
having fun in all honesty. If you’re having fun and let that show, the chances
are that your fans are too. On top of that we try to spend some time in the
crowd even after our set is done.
CV: Is
fan interaction an important part of the
band’s inner culture?
Elephant Takedown: We think it’s
important and more actively interacting is something that we’re trying to work
on, but when we design our set list, we’re usually trying to think about what’s
going to give the best experience.
CV: Can
a band truly interact with its fans and still maintain a level of personal
privacy without crossing the line and giving up their “personal space” in your
opinion?
Elephant Takedown: Yeah, that’s
possible. If someone sends us a message we do our best to respond, and we’ve
seen examples of other, much bigger bands who are regularly interacting with
fans. If anything it’s something we’d like to see more of, but we’re a
relatively new band on the block, so there could be a level of naivety to that
response.
CV: Is
music, and its value, viewed differently around the world in your
opinion? If so, what do you see as the biggest difference in such multiple
views among various cultures?
Elephant Takedown: I don't think it's
that differently valued, all cultures value music, it's just used for different
things, like generally it's an entertainment medium, but it's also used for
religious reasons/passing down folklore/telling stories.
CV: Do
you feel that a band that has an international appeal, will tend to connect
more so to American audiences? Would they be more enticed or intrigued to see
the band over indigenous acts because of the foreign flavor?
Elephant Takedown: It’s hard to say;
there’s obviously a common, stereotypical consensus to any given society
brought about from common thought and observation, but that’s not to say that
Americans would only listen to American music. It’s probably much the same as
the UK, where we’re from. You have subcultures, different ethnic backgrounds,
and exposure to those can make your music tastes more inclusive too. Music is a
melting pot as well, odds are you’ve listened to an artist who listened to an
artist, who visited India and learned to write in odd time signatures by
learning Konnakol. In fact, if you’ve listened to Elephant Takedown, that’s
you!
CV: Has modern-day digital technology made everyone an artist on some level in
your opinion? Have the actual lines of what really is an artist been blurred?
Elephant Takedown: It hasn’t made
everyone an artist, but it gives everyone the opportunity to become one if they
want to. You can say that everyone had that opportunity in the first place, but
it requires the means to own and play an instrument. Instruments aren’t the be
all and end all of music, electronic music is very accessible if you have a
computer but still requires an immense amount of skill to do well. Not everyone
can go out and program a synth or an electronic drum kit, just like not
everyone can play guitar. The line hasn’t blurred, the rules might just have
changed.
CV: How would you describe the difference between an artist who follows trends
and one who sets them?
Elephant Takedown: The biggest
difference is probably that artists who set trends aren’t trying to be something
in particular. They embrace who they are as musicians and make it work.
CV: Has music overall been splintered into too many sub-genres in an effort to appease fan tastes in your opinion? And has such fan appeasements, in actuality, weakened music’s impact as a whole by dividing audiences?
Elephant Takedown: This is where you might get a bit of a mixed reaction from us as individuals, but with that said the labels don’t really matter. Some bands and fans will like that. Some bands and fans won’t. Sometimes a band and their fans aren’t even united in that. Humans naturally like to compartmentalize things, it’s just to what degree. Within Elephant Takedown, we have members who are really into sub-dividing genres, and members who don’t really care, and there’s nothing wrong with either. This most important thing is having an open mind and experiencing something new once in a while. You never know what you might enjoy.
CV: What
can fans expect to see coming next from you?
Elephant Takedown: We’re currently
working on our debut album which is really exciting. Hopefully we’ll be in the
studio this summer! We’re also booking some shows for the year and preparing
for them. We’ll be at Portland Arms, Cambridge, UK on May 29th, and we’re
trying to arrange some festival spots and shows that take us further afield!
CV: Thanks again for taking some time and talking. It is greatly appreciated.
Check out Elephant Takedown at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elephanttakedown/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elephant_takedown
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5pmB69SG9YNuLZz9gZ2ed1o
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