Ellis Island Sound are an

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

band from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, consisting of multi-instrumentalists Peter Astor (formerly of the Loft,

the Weather Prophets The Weather Prophets were a British indie band formed in London in 1986 after the break-up of The Loft. After two studio albums, the band split up, with singer Peter Astor going on to a solo career. History Following the breakup of The Loft ...

) and

David Sheppard David Stuart Sheppard, Baron Sheppard of Liverpool (6 March 1929 – 5 March 2005) was a Church of England bishop who played cricket for Sussex and England in his youth, before serving as Bishop of Liverpool from 1975 to 1997. Sheppard remains ...

(of State River Widening).

Background

The band formed in 1996, and their music varies from electronic-tinged soundscapes to neo-

Krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...

and folk and African-tinged reveries. Astor and Sheppard have also recorded and toured together with

Matador A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activ ...

recording artists the Wisdom of Harry, while Sheppard makes records with State River Widening and in partnership with SRW's Keiron Phelan (for

the Leaf Label The Leaf Label is a British independent record label based in Yorkshire, England. Initially an electronic music label, releasing mainly instrumental music, the company's approach now features artists spanning jazz and post-punk. History The Le ...

) and for Anglo-Spanish group, Continental Film Night (Tinhorn/Dock) amongst others. As a duo, EIS recorded for labels including All City Chicago, Faux-Lux,

Static Caravan Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, in Antarctica * Static, Kentucky and Tennessee, U.S. * Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming, U.S. ** Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics *Static electricity, ...

Warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a D ...

and

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

and

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

, as well as remixing for other bands, including the

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...

single " Ocean Spray". The band released their debut album, in 2002, which was compiled from these recordings and released by Heavenly/EMI. This was followed by a limited edition, vinyl-only mini album (''Home Service'' released by

in 2003). EIS regrouped to record a self-styled 'agrarian' album, ''The Good Seed'', in 2005. Released in February 2007 on the

Peacefrog Records Peacefrog Records is a British independent record label based in London, England. The label produces releases in many different styles of electronic music, as well as branching out into folk and indie artists such as José González, Nouvell ...

label, it was recorded in a tiny, deconsecrated chapel in the

Waveney Waveney may refer to: * River Waveney, a river that forms the boundary between Suffolk and Norfolk, England * Waveney District, a local government district in Suffolk, England * Waveney (UK Parliament constituency) * Waveney class lifeboat, a class ...

Valley on the

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

border. The Good Seed features twenty rustic-yet-sophisticated new recordings concocted from acoustic instruments that range from parlour guitars and ukuleles to pump harmoniums,

dulcimer The term dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments. Hammered dulcimers The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...

s, goat skin drums and washboards. Recorded on an arcane 8-track tape recorder, it presented a stripped down EIS, though still finds room for such instruments as stylophones, a mini-sampler, a

Bentley Rhythm Ace Bentley Rhythm Ace (BRA) are a British electronic music act formed in Birmingham in 1995, originally consisting of Mike Stokes and Richard March. Career The band was formed in Birmingham by Richard March, formerly with the group Pop Will Eat I ...

drum machine and miscellaneous noise making devices. Josh Hillman (of the Willard Grant Conspiracy) contributed violin, viola and pedal steel. On completing the record, Astor and Sheppard expanded the band into a 12-piece 'The Ellis Island Sound Orchestra' for their 2007 tour of UK festivals. Apart from some low-key appearances on beneath-the-radar compilations, EIS fell largely silent while Astor and Sheppard attended to their other projects. Astor released his ''Songbox'' solo album on Second Language in 2010 while Sheppard released an album, under the name Snow Palms, in conjunction with producer Chris Leary, in 2012. EIS broke cover again in March 2014 with a 12" single, "Intro, Airborne, Travelling", on the Village Green label. A new album, ''Regions'', which fuses Krauftrock, African highlife and dub techniques and featured vocals from Radiohead associate John Matthias, was released on 7 April 2014.

Discography

Albums

*''Ellis Island Sound'' (2002), Heavenly/EMI *''Home Service'' (2003), Static Caravan *''The Good Seed'' (2007), Peacefrog *''Regions'' (2014), Village Green

Singles and EPs

*''All City EP'' *"Data Centre" (1999), Faux-Lux *"#7 Goes East" (2000), Static Caravan *"Gene Pool" (2006), Static Caravan *"Intro, Airborne, Travelling" (2014), Village Green

References

{{Authority control British instrumental musical groups English musical duos Musical groups from London Heavenly Recordings artists Peacefrog Records artists