Interview: ELKAPATH
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What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?
We all do have our day jobs, music is our passion, a reason for the week to pass until we can meet and play music or just meet for a drink.
However, music is what we love doing the most.
What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?
We do love watching movies, we get a lot of inspiration from them, you can hear it in our music, influences from the Addam's Family; the Child's play, Puppet master etc.
How long has your band been around?
The first line-up, with a full band, formed in late 2018 but changes have been made and the current line-up was formed in 2019.
Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?
We are all live in Gloucestershire UK, we are not far from each other so we can regularly meet socially and do rehearsals. We are first of all very good friends and we do enjoy our time together, the band is just another excuse for us to get together, get creative and make some noise!
We are fortunate that we are not too far from Bristol and Birmingham, a couple of large cities that often attract many of the larger touring bands.
How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?
Elkapath came from two words put together.
As I was a sewing machinist at the time one machine had “Elka" written on it and another part had “path” written on it, so I put the two names together creating the word Elkapath. I liked the sound of it so that is how I came up with the name for the project. I also changed my second name to Elkapath because it is a name that means a lot to me personally as the music kept me going.
Tell me about your most memorable shows.
It has to be our beloved Cotswolds Inn, it is a local small pub but with such a vibe, we do love it there and the crowed there is full of energy and really responsive.
What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?
Because of covid we haven't been able to play the amount of shows we would like to but we hope to book a lot soon!!
We would love to play at big festival's one day and definitely the o2's are our dream!
Who knows, maybe one day!
If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the line up?
Some of our favourite bands of all the time are The Prodigy, Lacuna Coil, Cradle Of Filth, can you imagine such a line up?
What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?
If you build a castle of sand it will fall as easy, be patient and just keep doing what you love, first for your self!
We would say that to our younger selves along with newer musicians who share the same dream as us!
If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?
We should have formed Elkapath sooner
Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?
It would have to be Shields of Protection, the reason is personal to us but it is the most meaningful to all of us!
Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?
So far, in the local scene, we are known for our song Creepy Little Dolls. However, we just released our single Black Spiders and so far the feedback is great!
Our favourite song to play would have to be The Bigger The Better!
What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?
Carla is the main writer, we love her way of work... she once said “guys I need a break from social media, don't worry, I will be back in 10 days...” 10 days later she came back with the next album!
The way she writes is in an electro dark theme, with midi guitars and drums as it sounds in her head, then Trevor adds his bass over the original, Marios replicates the midi guitar with real guitar and Chris does his drums and boom, the pure magic done. All that is left from the original Is the synth and vocals.
Our songs are all about tricks of the mind, about phobias to spiders for example but also about personal experiences, nightmares and fantasies.
What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?
Our music, with the exception of fears and phobias, is about hope, brotherhood and union. The message we would like to pass to the people is to be positive, to carry on in the hard times we are all living in and be ready for the good ones that are coming ahead
Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?
We are a group of 4 individuals. We are really close friends, we do have our disagreements like pineapple on pizza but we keep working on our problems like a team.
What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?
The release of the album is just around the corner and we already have some pre-orders in!
We have already booked some shows and we are still looking to book as many as we can, we just hope to play a lot of shows as this is what we love doing the most.
https://www.facebook.com/elkapath
https://www.instagram.com/elkapath
https://www.youtube.com/c/elkapath
Elkapath - Black Spiders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlIiuSNTV_w