Spotlight On... Acolyte

Led by award-winning poet, artist, music-maker, storyteller and spoken word performer Iona Lee, Edinburgh four-piece Acolyte’s lineup is completed by bassist Ruairidh Morrison, synth player and vocalist Gloria Black and percussionist Daniel Hill. Having formed in 2018, the genre-blending outfit are by no means a fast project, going against the grain of the industry’s obsession with constantly churning out new tunes, and their debut EP The Blue Dark is all the better for it. 

The EP’s six tracks of complex and textured rhythms and harmonies paired with Lee's gloriously vivid imagery arrived last week, accompanied by three special remixes from local artists Maniatrix, Ravelston and Eyes of Others. Ahead of their launch show at Edinburgh’s very own Black Lodge, aka the Leith FAB Cricket Club, we catch up with Acolyte to find out more about the band, the EP and what to expect from this weekend’s celebrations.

You formed in 2018, so I’d love to jump back eight years and ask how the four of you first met and what was it that inspired you to start making music together?
Ruairidh: I had all these atmospheric soundscape ideas and was exploring more experimental ways of making sound. I’d always been a bass player for other musicians' projects, and wanted to do something different. I was captivated by Iona's poetry performances and thought we'd work well together. I liked the idea of jamming with someone other than a musician.

Iona: We all met at Henry's Cellar Bar, RIP. Acolyte was originally going to be a more simple 'poetry-with-music' project, but over time – with Daniel's percussion, Gloria's harmonies, and me getting braver with singing – we evolved into a band.

Over the years you’ve built up quite the following for your live performances. I read that one of the challenges you faced when recording your debut EP was making sure the essence of the live Acolyte experience came across. How did you ensure you captured that immediacy, movement and intimacy of a live setting?
Ruairidh: Our sound developed through playing live, and recording released us from some of the constraints that come with that. We were able to develop some musical ideas further.

Iona: I think we preserve the live feel by keeping my poetry vocals quite intimate, and by not letting anything get too polished. Ruairidh makes sounds in weird ways, using things like kids toys he’s collected from charity shops. We’re electronic, but not high tech. We like to make sure everything is at least a little bit fucked.

Image: Acolyte by Laura Meek

I wanted to talk a bit more about what you, Iona, have described as a “complex process of collaboration.” While that was in reference to the single Moon Disaster – which draws inspiration from a memo sent to Richard Nixon, Sibyls of the ancient world and a deep dive into the music of CAN – you said that really, it’s relevant to most of your music. So I’d love to know more about the process of an Acolyte song and how you go about developing a song from these initial, seemingly disparate ideas to the final product?
Iona: Generally it goes like this: Ru will be holed up in his bass dungeon making noises, and I'll be hard at work in my garret, and we meet up and introduce our ideas to each other and see if they procreate. From there it's a process of adding and subtracting, with Daniel and Gloria bringing percussion, counter-melodies, and all of us responding and evolving the track together.

Daniel: Ruairidh and I will play tracks relentlessly, over and over for hours, so that I can find the pockets of space in the rhythm to work with. I’m always trying to marry my analogue drums with the electronic sounds and organic textures. Because he builds the loops by hand, there’s always that human element, and I have to respond to those subtleties and find my place within the music.

Gloria: It’s all about finding the right space within Ru’s complex loops, often confusing the listener with what is bass and what is synth. With Iona’s poetry, I look for vocal hooks, adding choruses or counter melodies to shape our harmonies together. Playing off Daniel’s percussion is a joy too. Iona and Ru lead the core sound, while Daniel and I bring texture and expression, allowing a freedom to jam live. We all really lock into each other and I think you can tell that we’re all close friends when you hear us play.

Can you tell us more about the title track? You said it was written after a camping trip in Oban that “got a bit weird”, so I’d love to know what exactly happened there?
Iona: We arrived at our campsite in the dark, a sandy outcrop on the edge of a wood. We could hear the creep of the sea, but couldn't see it. The moon was a huge torchlight and the sky was eyed and ancient and we made a fire and got merry. There was a labyrinth made out of seashells which we danced through. It was all elemental and foreboding. It got me thinking about the folkloric trope of the devil making people dance until they die. How we're helplessly dancing in the eye of this spiral of cosmic forces – the inherent awe and unease of being alive.

A remic of The Blue Dark from Eyes of Others closes out the second side of the EP. I was surprised to hear John add his own vocals, but it sounds great! Alongside EOO, Maniatrix takes on Moon Disaster and Ravelston Warm Days In December. How did you settle on these three remixers?
Gloria: I dared John to add his own vocals. I love remixes that become something more, and as a vocalist who sings Iona’s poetry, I thought John might have fun trying it. It brings another dimension to the track and makes it his own. Why should remixes only have the original vocals involved?! Ravelston has been a fan of Acolyte’s for a while and approached me to remix Warm Days. And finally, I thought Maniatrix was the perfect producer. She brought a whole new energy to Moon Disaster, which has a challenging swung 7/4 rhythm, so the fact she’s managed to bring in breakbeats is incredibly impressive and something only rhythm nerds would even notice.

You’re celebrating the EP’s release by taking over the Leith FAB Cricket Club on 30 May – what can people expect on the night?
Iona: We're showcasing some of what’s recently been called Edinburgh's ‘gig turned performance art scene’ which Glo is known for in her curation of Microsteria. This is sort of like Acolyte’s version – a feast for the ears, eyes and imaginations. We've got frequent collaborator Suzi Cunningham, dance artist extraordinaire; the award-winning poet Tom Bailey; Maniatrix’s never-know-what-to-expect live set; and fellow fans of the goth and gloom Ascetic Practices to play the night out. We're all about interdisciplinary live performance and showcasing the artists we love.

And what does the rest of the year have in store for Acolyte?
Iona: We're doing two sets on the Saturday at Kelburn this year – 7pm on the Viewpoint stage; 11pm at The Black Lodge. Come to the first one for life-affirming communal joy. Come to the second one for existentialist doom grooving and a grim reaper. We'll be appearing at a Fuzz Bat all-dayer in August and Edinburgh’s Psych Fest in September too, and – fingers and toes crossed – we'll be recording our debut album.

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The Blue Dark is out now via Lost Map Records

Acolyte play Leith FAB Cricket Club, Edinburgh, 30 May; Kelburn Garden Party, Kelburn Castle, nr Largs, 4 Jul; Fuzz Bat All-Dayer, Leith Depot, Edinburgh, 1 Aug; Edinburgh Psych Fest, 6 Sep

Follow Acolyte on Instagram @acolyte.band