“It’s a way of being able to portray this supremely confident person that I wish I could be in real life. I’m not sure that’s healthy or not.”
ELLiS·D is the solo project of Brighton-based multi-instrumentalist Ellis Dickson. A drummer initially, he played regularly on the basement scene with bands like Strange Cages and Jealous Nostril.
He became known for his all-action style, yet remained in the shadows. Now, stepping out from behind the kit has given him a fresh persona and a licence to thrill – and brought with it a sense of liberation.
“I think any time you get up on a stage, you’re playing a character of some kind. If you’re drumming or even playing the kazoo, as soon as those lights go on, you’re playing an alternate version of yourself. That’s what I love about performing.”
In taking to the spotlight, ELLiS·D has committed. The sound he creates and the fashion in which he expresses it are demonstrably outlandish, animated and darkly decadent. There’s no holding back.
“When I started the project, that was a big thing for me, trying to formulate the idea of a character. It’s very different to how I am in real life. I’m much more of a quiet, introverted person in day-to-day life.”
ELLiS·D’s frenetic, prog-rock vocal style has drawn comparisons with Talking Heads’ David Byrne. The lineage is clear to see. If anything, ELLiS·D presents an inflated version of Byrne, with convulsing yelps and skittish inflections rattling across every song. His idiosyncratic singing style has a rhythm all of its own.
Aside from the vocals, you can hear traces of various other post-punk agitators in the ELLiS·D timbre – the likes of Television, Joy Division and Tom Tom Club. He crafts a twisted kind of art-rock, festooned in devilish melodrama. In his own words, “flamboyant, nervous noir”.
Lyrically, you might expect extravagantly descriptive mysticism but he’s more prone to pointed, expressive jabs of intent. Last year’s seven-track EP, Hullo Reality! is full of lines that bear this out. I Want You To Know and I Am Here (featuring a Psycho Killer bass interlude) are targeted and stark. Straightjacket Blues and the EP’s title track are similarly efficient in their message.
“It’s a cathartic thing for me to get the words out. It might be that I don’t fully understand what I’m actually trying to say in that moment. What I tend to do is very much myself but it’s being funnelled through this character of ELLiS·D. But I like all kinds of lyricism. I also love the expressive lyricism of people like Nick Cave. He is a massive influence on me.”
This year, ELLiS·D has released two singles, Humdrum and Carousel, that carry even more tension, urgency and tautness.
“I was definitely looking to veer off into something slightly new and something a bit more direct just came out. Humdrum started off with that kind of drum pattern. I was just messing with it. I tried to make it as exciting as possible. And maybe go for a slightly darker sound with the new songs as well.”
ELLiS·D is a character and a charisma in evolution. It’s a dynamic that keeps his artistry innovative and progressive.
Check out ELLiS·D on bandcamp and follow him on Instagram.
The dark star is rising.
Main photo credit: Akos Szaro
Words: Stephen Desmond
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