Revere (band)

Revere are a seven-piece, London-based band. They bind together a back-bone of drums and guitars with an unlikely approach to the violin, cello, and piano. The line-up is complimented by colliery-style brass set against layers of fractured vocal samples and distorted synths.

Biography

Initially formed by Stephen Ellis, Revere (named after a comic-strip in 2000AD)^[1] wrote and performed with a rotating line up until 2005 when Ellis relocated to London. The band self-released several singles and EPs in 2005-06, including As The Radars Sleep..., Chloroform, Skin^[2] and Learning to Breathe.^[3]

Revere spent the years between 2007 and 2010 touring, and working on their debut album Hey! Selim. Performances included the Union Chapel,^[4] Glastonbury, The Tabernacle in Notting Hill,^[5] and Standon Calling Festival.^[6][7] Ellis supported Al Stewart on his US and UK tours in 2009,^[8] and in spring 2010 the band embarked on a UK tour to promote the release of their third single We Won't Be Here Tomorrow.^[9]

Stephen Ellis in concert - Photo by Anthony Mark Saul

Ellis on stage with Vieux Farka Touré (2012) - Photo by Chris Walsh

September 2010 saw the release of Revere's debut album Hey! Selim. Two tracks were released as lead-up singles, The Escape Artist^[10][11] and We Won't Be Here Tomorrow. The band also recorded an in-studio session for "BBC Introducing".^[12]

After a short break, Revere regrouped to compose and rehearse more material. A new song, What Am I If I'm Not Even Dust was performed on BBC Radio London's Sunday Sessions,.^[13] The end of 2011 saw the release of four digital remix EPs entitled Revere: Reworked #'s 1-4.^[14]

In November 2011, Revere toured the UK with Malian kora player and 2-time Grammy winner Toumani Diabaté.^{[15][16][17][18][19]} Towards the end of the tour, Revere and Diabaté recorded several tracks together, including a cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart".^[20] In early 2012, Stephen Ellis returned to The South Bank Centre to accompany Vieux Farka Touré on the track 'All The Same' (originally performed by Dave Matthews).^[21]

In February 2012, Revere won Channel 5's "Send Us Your Music" competition: their prize was a video for new song Keep This Channel Open.^[22]

In September 2013 the band's second album 'My Mirror/Your Target' was released on V2 Benelux and the band launched the album on tour of Benelux, playing at venues including Amsterdam's Paradiso and Rotterdam's Rowtown and Belgium's Botanique. They also recorded a TV session for RTV's Live uit Lloyd, and a radio session with 3FM.

The album features contributions from Emily Barker, Ben Christophers (Bat For Lashes), Gabby Young, Jess Bryant & Kat Arney (Talk In Colour). In addition to this, b-side tracks feature artists such as Tom Moth (Florence & The Machine), Toumani Diabaté, & Diabel Cissokho.

Revere recently appeared in up-and-coming director Oliver Guy-Watkins’ debut feature-length film ‘Vitality’. The film deals with the social consequences experienced by a group of friends dealing with the recent suicide of a loved one. The filmmaker has been nominated for ‘best director’ at the Madrid International Film festival for his last short film ‘The End Of Lois Lane’. Their track ‘We Won’t Be Here Tomorrow features in the sound-track to the recent ‘indie-noir’ hit ‘Simon Killer’.

REVERE have latterly performed at a string of festivals;including Latitude, Glastonbury, Field Day, Womad, Larmer Tree, Standon Calling, Green Man, Glimpse and others. The group also made appearances at various taste-maker events such as The Great Escape, Camden Crawl and Liverpool Soundcity. REVERE recently performed live on Dermot O’Leary's BBC Radio 2 show.

Discography

Albums

• Hey! Selim (2010)
• My Mirror / Your Target (2013)

EPs

• As the Radars Sleep... EP (2005)
• Chloroform EP (2005)
• A Soundless Tree EP (2007)
• Reworked #1 - 4 (2011

Singles

• "Skin" (2006)
• "Learning to Breathe" (2006)
• "The Escape Artist" (2008)
• "As the Radars Sleep" (2009)
• "We Won't Be Here Tomorrow" (2010)
• "These Halcyon Days" (2011)

References

External links

• Official Site