Hunted By Elephants formed just a couple of years ago by Apostolos Liapis (vocals), Roman Flourendzou (guitar) and Raymond Phelan (bass), and are now joined by Alex Butticè (drums). RAMzine caught up with the band ahead of the release their new hard rock album, Carry On, which is out on Friday 15th January 2021.
It’s been a strange year for most people with the music and arts industries hugely impacted, was your band impacted by the global pandemic?
Back in March when it all dropped we were pretty disheartened as we had gigs and festivals lined up and we couldn’t wait to be on stage for the summer, it was a big blow.
Since we couldn’t play live, we had to switch pace a bit and we focussed on writing and recording our second album [Carry On], so our whole energy went into that as well as planning the band’s next moves. We were planning to spend our time on that anyway but it just meant it became the sole focus earlier than planned.
Additionally, we were very lucky between lockdowns finding our new drummer Alex and creating a great chemistry with him, so that gave us something really positive.
We could say there was a silver lining – we’ve been lucky in some ways and missed out in others, overall, we are grateful for where we are now and we are just wishing the best for the industry.
What have you learnt from 2020?
Trying to move forward in the space we’re in can be hard at the best of times and no one wants the curveball that is 2020 thrown at them! It’s something you just have to take on the chin and in all honesty, it’s been a real learning experience – [of] what happens when all your plans are thrown up in the air.
We’ve really taken a step back and we are grateful for what we have now and what we’ve achieved as a band. We’ve realised we always need to have a positive way of thinking and keep moving forward. As a band these difficult times taught us to be more patient, focused on our goals and communicate more as for a long time we couldn’t even meet for rehearsals.
The music industry has definitely shined a light through though, it’s been great to see how people have come together to help each other.
Do you think 2020 will have any lasting effects on the music industry?
All of the sudden changes definitely hit the music industry hard. It’s probably something that will make people realise you have to be flexible and expect the worst sometimes, but so much positivity will be brought back when everyone can enjoy a gig again. Some small things might change for the long term but mostly everyone is waiting to get back to normal.
People are thirsty for new music and gigs and the industry can come back with a bang. It is something we’re all gonna see soon!
You are set to release your album Carry On early next year, what was the thinking behind the title?
There’s kind of a double meaning behind it. The name comes from the title track which is about a personal new beginning after a long period of heartbreak.
From this, Carry On became the album title as it’s a follow on from our first release and it’s the band holding strong and moving on.
Which are your favourite tracks to record?
We really enjoyed the recording process as a whole. Every time we were recording a song we were getting excited just to listen back to the result.
Our favourite songs to play are the ones that give the band the most energy, the ones that on the first note everyone just throws themselves into it. The same goes for the recording as that energy comes across in the recording, so the ones that come to mind really are ‘Let Me Be’ and ‘Carry On’.
Your video for ‘Let Me Be’ looks to be filmed in an interesting location, where was it filmed? How did the video shoot go?
We know a guy who owns a studio in London and he’s got a great room under the railway arches which is painted completely white. We thought it was interesting too and although it’s plain it’s got something artistic and raw about it.
We had a really good time recording, blasting the track through a PA and rocking out in front of the camera. We plugged in all our instruments so we were playing live whilst the track played.
A few beers helped too, although it turned out we’d inadvertently bought the “double” version of the band favourite beer, so we got a bit more merry than anticipated…
Do you have any plans for further videos?
In short, yeah.
The second lockdown has made our lives very difficult, but we’re working around its limits and will have something to accompany the next release.
Further down the line we’re planning on doing more as well for future releases.
Talk us through track 4 on the album ‘Wiseman’, what are the lyrics about?
This song talks about our society and our potential as human beings. You can look at the world in different ways and some might say the world isn’t in a good place at the moment (Covid excluded!).
Regardless of everyone’s opinion, in every matter of life each of us should achieve personal enlightenment and a realisation of what really matters in life.
Every human being has the potential to be wise and lead themselves down a better path.
Does the band have any touring plans waiting to emerge once things settle down?
Most definitely! They’re not ready yet, but this is one of the big things we’re looking forward to focussing on when we can.
Everyone is missing a good show and we can’t wait to get back out there on stage!
See RAMzine’s review of Carry On by Hunted By Elephants in our latest zine:
