Elliott Morris
Encyclopedia
Elliott Morris is a young guitarist and singer/songwriter prominent in the Lincolnshire
, UK music scene who is known for his "unorthodox" style of percussive guitar
.
Morris was originally the guitarist for the local band Eponymous, but decided to go solo after most of his bandmates went off to university. He plays a custom made Hania guitar, built by Martin Harrison in 2009.
on 23 July 2010. He cited Frank Turner, John Martyn, John Mayer
and Eric Roche
as influences. In fact, it was the latter who turned Elliott to his style of percussive guitar
playing: "My guitar teacher Andy Taylor showed me an Eric Roche DVD and from then on I knew that is what I wanted to do."
Morris has appeared at the Cambridge Folk Festival
for three years. His "energetic style of highly percussive playing" at the Lincoln Folk Festival, where he opened for Martin Carthy
and Dave Swarbrick
, received a highly positive review from the Northern Sky Online Music Mag. He has also opened for Men Diamler - Beltane at The Buxton Festival Fringe. His virtuosic style has been described as "rhythmic, complex, unpretentious."
The "specialized heavy duty guitar" which Morris plays was custom built by Martin Harrison, known for his work with rock stars, and is mentioned in a 2010 BBC story as an example of this top guitar builder's work. In 2011, one of the world's largest guitar manufacturers, Cort Guitars
, featured Morris in its demonstration videos of new acoustic guitar models.
TV Lincoln wrote " Elliott...is one of the most talented and hard-working musicians in Lincolnshire today, mixing impressive melodic and percussive acoustic guitar work with catchy hooks and a growing maturity. His latest four-track collection is both his poppiest and most adult work yet, and shows how he deserves his place as one of Britain’s most up-and-coming musicians."
Something Like This reached number 11 on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart shortly after its release on 25 July 2011. This followed Spend Some Time, a number 1 single on the same iTunes chart which was a collaboration with Dancing Lotus, released in April 2011.
Elliott's brother Bevan Morris, who is the bassist and vocalist in Lincolnshire Rock Band Lines Across Maps, produced and played Bass, Drums and Double Bass on Elliott's latest two EPs.
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, UK music scene who is known for his "unorthodox" style of percussive guitar
Tapping
Tapping is a guitar playing technique, where a string is fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion of being pushed onto the fretboard, as opposed to the standard technique being fretted with one hand and picked with the other...
.
Morris was originally the guitarist for the local band Eponymous, but decided to go solo after most of his bandmates went off to university. He plays a custom made Hania guitar, built by Martin Harrison in 2009.
Style
Morris was profiled on BBC IntroducingBBC Introducing
BBC Introducing is the brand for new music programmes across the BBC radio stations, showcasing unsigned, self signed and other emerging musical talent primarily from the UK. Launched in 2007 the Introducing brand brings programming from across the BBC under a unified brand with each show retaining...
on 23 July 2010. He cited Frank Turner, John Martyn, John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
and Eric Roche
Eric Roche
Eric Roche was an Irish fingerstyle guitarist.-Biography:Roche was born in New York City, but his family soon moved to Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. He was a learnt accountant, but practised only for a short time before enlisting for classical guitar in 1992 at the London Musician's Institute...
as influences. In fact, it was the latter who turned Elliott to his style of percussive guitar
Tapping
Tapping is a guitar playing technique, where a string is fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion of being pushed onto the fretboard, as opposed to the standard technique being fretted with one hand and picked with the other...
playing: "My guitar teacher Andy Taylor showed me an Eric Roche DVD and from then on I knew that is what I wanted to do."
Morris has appeared at the Cambridge Folk Festival
Cambridge Folk Festival
The Cambridge Folk Festival is an annual music festival held on the site of Cherry Hinton Hall in Cherry Hinton, one of the villages subsumed by the city of Cambridge, England. The festival is renowned for its eclectic mix of music and a wide definition of what might be considered folk. It occurs...
for three years. His "energetic style of highly percussive playing" at the Lincoln Folk Festival, where he opened for Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy MBE is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon and later artists such as Richard Thompson since he emerged as a young musician in the early days...
and Dave Swarbrick
Dave Swarbrick
Dave Swarbrick is an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. He has been described by Ashley Hutchings as 'the most influential [British] fiddle player bar none' and his style has been copied or developed by almost every British, and many World folk violin players that have followed him...
, received a highly positive review from the Northern Sky Online Music Mag. He has also opened for Men Diamler - Beltane at The Buxton Festival Fringe. His virtuosic style has been described as "rhythmic, complex, unpretentious."
The "specialized heavy duty guitar" which Morris plays was custom built by Martin Harrison, known for his work with rock stars, and is mentioned in a 2010 BBC story as an example of this top guitar builder's work. In 2011, one of the world's largest guitar manufacturers, Cort Guitars
Cort Guitars
Cort Guitars is a guitar manufacturer centered in South Korea. The company is one of the largest guitar makers in the world, and produces instruments for many other companies.- History :...
, featured Morris in its demonstration videos of new acoustic guitar models.
Releases
Elliott has so far self-released 4 EPs since 2008. In 2011, Something Like This, earned him considerable exposure, with Lincoln Unsigned stating that the "standard response when asking if others are aware of him has gone from “Don’t you mean Elliott Minor?” to “Is he the one that hits his guitar?” ".TV Lincoln wrote " Elliott...is one of the most talented and hard-working musicians in Lincolnshire today, mixing impressive melodic and percussive acoustic guitar work with catchy hooks and a growing maturity. His latest four-track collection is both his poppiest and most adult work yet, and shows how he deserves his place as one of Britain’s most up-and-coming musicians."
Something Like This reached number 11 on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart shortly after its release on 25 July 2011. This followed Spend Some Time, a number 1 single on the same iTunes chart which was a collaboration with Dancing Lotus, released in April 2011.
Elliott's brother Bevan Morris, who is the bassist and vocalist in Lincolnshire Rock Band Lines Across Maps, produced and played Bass, Drums and Double Bass on Elliott's latest two EPs.
External links
- BBC Introducing Elliott Morris, July 2010
- Three Elliott Morris videos, from Cort Guitars
- Elliott Morris on MySpace