"WE LANDED A RECORD DEAL AND DITCHED UNI"

Sheffield melodic hardcore rock band Elegies have recently been signed up by respected record label Hassle Records.

The9amlecture spoke to bassist Chris Aitkenhead and vocalist Sam Gibson, both students at Sheffield Hallam University, on the clash between Uni deadlines and going on tour.

Radio play

Elegies (previously A Season of Secrets), got their big break in late January when two of their tracks were played on Hugh Stevens’ late night rock show on BBC Radio 1.

The airtime has proved to be a turning point for the band, as major festival invites followed. They are booked to play ‘Hit the Deck’ in Nottingham on 25th April and more appearances are in negotiation.

Sam Gibson, Philosophy student, is the vocalist in the band:

“If you look at who the label have signed in the past, about 90% of those acts have gone on to make it pretty big.”

Cancer Bats, Lonely The Brave and Rolo Tomassi were all on Hassle Records' books, which lead to them being snapped up by bigger labels like Sony.

Uni life became impossible

“I know me and Sam are at Uni… but we kinda just all sat down and agreed that this is what we really want to do.

So sometimes you’ve just got to bite the bullet and prioritise one over the other,” says bassist and Film and Media Production student Chris Aitkenhead.

Chris has struggled to balance the Uni deadlines and the music career:

“I remember a couple of years ago on tour I had an assessment day at Uni. Literally straight after we all drove down to Birmingham to do a gig."

"We had a gig in Brighton on a Monday and Sam spent the whole journey back through the night doing an essay that was in for that morning.”

Tour life

The band recently bought a new tour van, a three tonne long wheel base 13 year old Ford Transit… and Chris is the designated driver.

So it looks like there’ll be no more essay writing en route to shows for the bassist.

“It looks like Uni work will have to be done before the tour!” he says.

The tour starts with a hometown gig at Corporation on the 2nd May which also marks the start of Sam’s exam period:

“I’ll find a way around it but right now the band comes first.”

Chris and Sam’s choice isn't one they'd necessarily recommend:

“The reason we prioritise this over Uni is because we know we’re going somewhere here. You need to fully know this is something you could do as a career.”