Elliot Porter is a London-based singer-songwriter, originally from Cambridge. He’s been on the music scene for almost 4 years and has been hard at work to write and record his debut album. Gigstarter had a chat with him about how this album came to be, and what else he has in store for us in 2019.
Firstly, how did you find out about Gigstarter?
'I found Gigstarter through another singer-songwriter from London who recommended it to me. I looked at the website and thought it was a great idea. There are a lot of different types of artists that play different types of venues, so a platform like this works well to get people connected.'
Elliot Porter
As you said, you released two EP’s. How do you feel about releasing a full album for the first time?
'It’s really exciting. I’ve never released anything with more than 5 or 6 tracks, so it was quite a daunting experience starting off. It was like climbing a mountain, doing 12 tracks. Especially getting them to the standard I wanted them to. The songs were already there, but the hardest thing was consistently working on all 12 of them. We kept coming back to them to see what else we could do to make them better. It was a lot bigger of a body of work than anything I’ve ever worked on before. We actually had about 15 or 16 songs to begin with. We have a few B-sides because of that, which we might put out at some point next year.'
Was it a lot of work to get the songs as good as you wanted them to be?
'It was! I was lucky to work with a really good producer, David Gerrard in London. There were some points along the line where we weren’t sure if we could keep every song on the album, but I’m thrilled to see it worked out and how they all made in on there. I love the way the album sounds overall.'
How does your inspiration for artists like Damien Rice and Neil Young translate onto this album?
'I think my love for Damien Rice has been apparent in my previous work. For my two EP’s I used a lot of strings, which are apparent on his albums too. On this album, especially the first two or three tracks, you hear his influence. However, as the album goes on, it evolves a bit more. There are some more melodic songs, such as ‘looking glass’ or ‘lights of Piccadilly’, that touch a bit more on the Neil Young-type harmonies. We’ve gone for more synthesizers and electric guitars on this album, which, funnily enough, wasn’t even a conscious decision. It was just how the songs came to be, that atmospheric guitars and piano fit better into the feel I wanted on this album.'
The album release trailerWhat do you have planned to promote the album?
'We’re planning on going to Europe first, instead of going around the U.K. as a first leg. The last three years I’ve been touring the U.K., so it’s fun to have some gigs planned in Europe before we go into the U.K. We’re going to Germany in March, and I’m also hoping to come to come to The Netherlands to do a couple of house concerts. Also, Denmark is on the list. We’re hoping to see more countries that will follow from that as well. It’s the first time we’re putting a string of dates together, which is very exciting.'
Check out Elliot's Gigstarter profile
Want to see Elliot on the road? Keep an eye on his website
His new album is available as a physical copy from the 1st of February onward.
