An obsession with the pre war blues of the Mississippi delta inspires me to play and write music using the sounds heard back then in my own way...try to put my own spin on stuff, sometimes it can be straight blues/ragtime/old jazz sometimes it can be ballady/folky/whatevery...labels! Bottlenecks up and down strings are sometimes used, looking to experiment with new sounds, quite fancy an old organ.....

email here - ry1927@me.com

Plays with John Watkins (lead guitar). Acoustic tracks that pay homage to female legends such as Eva Cassidy, Etta James, Amy Winehouse and modern day heroes Ed Sheeran and Adele. Does originals too. 

Some of the hundreds of home-recordings that I've made over the years. Mostly with ex-bandmate and master of the backing-track, multi-instrumentalist Paul but often with current bandmates Ian and Norman (Uz3)... and, when desperate, on my own !

UZ3 (best pronounced with a Lancashire accent) is a vintage group from Bolton and Bury playing vintage songs of almost every type...ducking and diving twixt blues and pop, jazz and folk...and, occasionally, rocking of course. Band members: Eric, singing plus hesitant guitar; Ian, singing plus expert guitar; Norman singing plus bass. Rather than produce a carefully crafted CD we thought we'd use Soundcloud to let friends and relations and anyone else who's curious listen to recorded sounds. 

Ook and the Elephant like to start most of their practices with a BBQ. When the weather no longer permits, we move indoors for our pre-rehearsal feasting. We like to foist our music on unsuspecting ears in strange and beautiful places. We love to shake your bones and make you want to stomp, whilst eating something comforting. We are made for live performances and shared experiences. From melodic stomp to nu-folk, our sound is peculiar, tribal with contrapuntal melodies. Recent comparisons suggest Jefferson Airplane, The Decemberists, Tom Waits and Arcade Fire. The reality of the sound exists in the interstices of these, and we hope it is our own 


Praise for our debut ep "Find Yourself Gone"

"Picture Band of Skulls’ and Gogol Bordellos’ child, it comes in the shape of a Bolton based quartet.  Emily Cooke has some of the sweetest vocals you will hear in today’s music industry. Don McColl sings as low as his bass does, a contrapuntal sound compared to the lead vocals. For me it sums up their style, it’s like sugar coated fury."
Counterfeit Magazine


"Find Yourself Gone", has all the hallmarks of a band wanting to write a record for themselves, and yet coincidentally stumbling across everything they could need to give this record appeal to a much wider audience.
As with their live show, this EP is stunning.
I urge you to buy it.
And then I defy you not to instantly want to come and watch them at one of our gigs.
You won't regret it."
Leaf Promotions
Our new EP "Carry me Home" is also available to download via www.ookandtheelephant.bandcamp.com/

Contact Ook and the Elephant via ookandtheelephant@gmail.com

Joyce Haras is following