Started as the lo-fi bedroom project of Hamburg-based artist Erik Hamann, with a musical past embedded in the hardcore and punk scene, ellks has gradually evolved and took shape from the collection of haunting lo-fi vignettes in the tradition of Mt Eerie, Okkervil River, and early Bright Eyes of the first EP „Conifer Hell“, released in May 2019, to the current post-punk infused soundscapes of heartbreak and nostalgia, atmospherics and distortion, with subtle melodic flair.
„B L I B B“ is the first single off of ellks‘ upcoming sophomore EP „First Frost“ due out sometime this Winter, via independent label LA DOUBLE VIE, accompanied by the Video directed & edited by German–Brazilian multidisciplinary visual artist, musician and LDV label head, Gloria de Oliveira, based on an idea by Erik Hamann.
The song unleashes an angry trembling bassline that rumbles under hypnotic emotional guitar melody’s melancholic bleed, as ominous chilling synth notes pierce the sombre soundscape swept in intense dire male vocals, disintegrating in pain and disconnection, amid distant ghost-like echoes left longing in the past.
Devastated lyrics search for answers along with a shocking discovery of broken truths and false promises.
Shades of steel grey sky, sea, and mood form an ominous backdrop for a heart-wrenching video about lost love. Photography zooms in on a lone airport tower spinning in steadfast isolation shift scene to choppy waters wherein lies a body face down and motionless. Color arrives on an electric guitar wading in the shallows before the figure suddenly rises, gasping for breath. A struggle for life ensues as the young man, anchored by his beloved six-string, stumbles and falls in a disoriented dance of death intermingled with a shell-shocked backstory left to the imagination.
A wonderfully creative and dramatic concept executed magnificently with Gloria de Oliveira‘s signature style of direction and ability to draw out haunting human emotion through song and film.
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Photo by @gloriaendresdeoliveira
