Elliott Morris

– 2013 CELTIC CONNECTIONS DANNY KYLE AWARD WINNER –

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“Extraordinary…ludicrously youthful and absurdly talented” Tom Robinson, BBC 6Music

“Very nice!” Andy Mckee — “Lovely playing” Martin Carthy

“I like his EP ‘Shadows and Whispers’ very much…I suspect we’re going to be hearing quite a bit more of that lad in the weeks and months to come!” Mike Harding

“Fantastic…Really high quality stuff!” Will Gompertz (BBC Arts Editor)

“As the guy who has had the honour, for many years now, to present Cambridge Folk Festival’s Saturday afternoon Stage 2 Session, I regularly get to see the cream of the international folk scene. In 2014, Elliott Morris walked on and quite simply, stole the show. Go and see him, now.” Brian McNeill (The Battlefield Band)

“You’ve got the tapping thing down man!” Frank Turner

“One of the most impressive guitarists to grace our studio for a very long time…a compelling listen – and mesmerizing to watch!” Dean Jackson – The Beat / BBC Introducing

“His guitar playing is intricate and skilful and his voice is strong and honest…heartfelt folky pop” Dave Gorman

“Very nice hammer-type-playing-thing-style” Adrian Lester (Hustle)

“Super-talented” Acoustic Magazine -

Award-winning British singer-songwriter Elliott Morris showcases his writing, guitar playing and singing on latest EP, 'It Seemed To Make Sense At The Time'. With contributions from, among others, Treacherous Orchestra's Innes Watson, his folk-based songwriting is a cut above. - R2 (Rock 'n' Reel) Magazine

Half Welsh, half Scottish, it's not surprising Elliott Morris won Glasgow Celtic Connections' Danny Kyle award back in 2013. However the presumption is that the award was for his music as opposed to his roots and listening to this four song EP it's plain to see that he was a deserving winner. His songs are warm and woody with burbling double bass and splinters of guitar finesse, nothing groundbreaking and while he sits well in the tradition of John Martyn and Nick Drake he is just leaving the start line. His voice has a winsome quality, fresh and light and his guitar playing on the one solo acoustic song here is initially brash before a short and scintillating coda that echoes some of Martyn's fretwork from years gone by.

The other three songs are fuller fleshed with Morris playing guitar, banjo, lap slide and Fender Rhodes with Bevan Morris (Elliott's brother and bassist with Newcastle's Pons Aelius) on sinewy double bass and percussion. Innes Watson (Treacherous Orchestra) adds fiddle to the opening song "Love And War" which is an anthem to England of sorts and swells from a tender beginning to folk anthem stature in the space of five minutes. "Let It Out" is memorable for the fine musical grip the Morris brothers have on the song with the double bass hefty yet nimble, the beating heart of the song. There's a sense that Morris is still growing into his talent, the song writing trying to catch up with the musical skills but he ups his game for the closing song, "Some Things Aren't meant To Be." Lyrically he's rooting about in Richard Thompson or early Gerry Rafferty territory and with the addition of some skirling electric guitar flashes the song bodes well for the future. - Americana UK

'Paul had invited Elliott Morris to open the gig, who coincidently was born in Swindon. He is a fearsome young guitarist, performing a mix of his own compositions and some blues classics from such luminaries as Eric Roche and John Martyn. His mastery of guitar earned him his place on stage and his slap guitar was entertaining as well as skilful. One to watch.' - Swindon Advertiser

'...acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter Elliott Morris absorbingly entertains and amuses with genuine guitar wizardry, tenor voice, sometimes both together, observant and wry lyrics, and some fun anecdotes and audience teasing.' - Worthing Herald

'Support tonight comes from guitarist, singer songwriter and young talent that is Elliott Morris (as he says 2 Ls, 2 Ts, 2 Rs, one S – so he doesn’t get confused with a goalkeeper who gets lots of grief on Twitter!). He receives a warm and friendly reception from the audience as he gives us songs and his guitar dabbling – which entails tapping, slapping, strumming and fretting and playing his guitar all at the same time. Inspired by the likes of guitar legends Michael Hedges, his performance is quite mesmerising to watch. He’s entirely unsigned, Paul Carrack spotted him at a gig and asked his to support him on this tour. From his own stuff to covers, he completes his set with his take on the classic ‘Billie Jean.’' - Gigjunkies

I was delighted to have the chance to review Elliott Morris’ latest E.P.; after discovering this talented troubadour when he opened for Paul Carrack on his Current Tour. Elliott was full of charm and engaged the audience and captivated them while they waited for the main act once again demonstrating the power of One Man and his Guitar, when they have energy, talent and their own style of delivery. So the question now as I load up the download, he can cut the mustard on the large stage can he do the same when recording in a studio; I can assure you he can, the four tracks on the EP are a delight this is a young man who can write, sing and play guitar the holy trinity for any solo performer.

Love and War opens quietly and builds to a crescendo as the story unveils about the trials of a relationship and the crowd vocals swell and sound more than two additional vocals and the fiddling builds the tonal quality of this track. Let It Out is a song that is Elliott and acoustic and is poetry set to song so that the music moulds the mood through tempo and a painting of emotion through the layers of notes. The penultimate track has a dance beat tempo that gets the feet tapping and has an urgency in the delivery that is not seen in the previous tracks giving the EP another dimension especially with the percussive use of the guitar body. The final track, Some Things Aren’t Meant To Be is full of humour and makes you smile and certainly leaves you wanting more a full CD next time please.

Now to categorise Elliott, well he has been influenced by Michael Hedges who describes himself as Heavy Mental, Thrash Acoustic and Irish finger-picker Eric Roach, the common thread is they use the guitar with attitude using the strings to create clear notes and the body as a percussive accessory. Do not worry about definitions Elliott Morris is a young man with energy and fizz who loves and believes in the quality music he is producing so sit back listen enjoy and go see him live. Elliott has loads of potential as a musician who plays and sings well but above that he entertains you. - Bluesdoodles

'Supporting Paul Carrack on the tour is Elliott Morris, a young solo acoustic artist who delivered a stylish set. His voice is powerful and he engaged with the audience with funny tales and setting the context for his songs which were a mix of folk and country tinged with blue. The numbers were self-penned full of clever lyrics, this is a songwriter who understands the power of the story, he has been influenced by Michael Hedges and Eric Roach which shone through with his percussive acoustic guitar playing. He delighted the audience they were charmed and entertained the perfect warm-up act for Paul Carrack, with his charismatic approach as he delivered songs which included Courting For Pleasure and Something’s Got To Give and if you see him playing live locally check amiable Elliott Morris out; he has a new E.P. It Seemed to Make Sense at the Time; release date 2nd March 2015.' - Bluesdoodles

'I should also mention the support act, Elliott Morris, because his superlative slappy-tappy guitar playing had most of us in the hall looking at each other in sheer disbelief. And he’s a charmer.

He is just 25, Paul and the band asked him to support when they spotted him playing at a festival, and it appears he is unsigned and independent, so the question really is why? With that ability and the looks of a more angelic Jamie Dornan, it surely won’t be long, so hang in there Elliott. Judging by the queue for your CDs, the future’s looking bright. I don’t think I’ll ever hear Billie Jean in the same way again.' - Gloucester Citizen

When Elliott Morris was described by Acoustic magazine as 'the next big thing', I knew what they were talking about. My own initial encounter with this young singer/songwriter/guitarist was around five years ago, when the 18 year-old musician demonstrated what he could do whilst supporting Carthy and Swarb at a school in Lincoln. Those Eric Roche, Jon Gomm and John Martyn influences were apparent from the beginning, but in the subsequent five years Elliott has crafted his own particular style and has carved out his own niche with a series of EPs made up of both self-penned compositions and adventurous adaptations of traditional material.

The traditional re-works and originals on this new EP are split 50/50, with Elliott providing sensitive arrangements on both Unquiet Grave and Fare Thee Well (10,000 Miles), with an even greater emphasis on the two originals, Smoke and Mirrors and the opening song Eyes. With Elliott taking care of all the guitar work and vocals on the EP, his multi-instrumentalist sibling Bevan takes the helm as producer and also steps up on double bass, keyboards and percussion, with further assistance from Sam Pirt and Gemma Teffer on accordions and Katherine Hurdley on fiddle.

Right up there with the likes of Blair Dunlop, Fabian Holland and Luke Jackson, Elliott's youthful zest and versatility comes over both on record and in a live setting and as those settings increase in size, it won't be long until Elliott Morris comes along your way, if he hasn't already.

Allan Wilkinson
Northern Sky - Allan Wilkinson Northern Sky

Being under the sole spotlight at Milton Keynes Theatre standing before a packed auditorium could be a lonely place, or so you might imagine.

Not that Elliott Morris would know though, because no sooner had this young talent with an unassuming air made it to centre stage and strummed out the self-penned track Man on a Wire (written about Philippe Petit, who walked a tightrope between New York’s Twin Towers in 1974) than he was walking his own path to success before an audience of Paul Carrack fans.

The finger style work of late guitarist Eric Roche has played its large part in influencing Elliott, and he p(l)ays musical tribute, delivering a sterling version of Roche’s instrumental delivery Spin.

Swapping his guitar for a smaller Tenor guitar (‘It’s what happens if you water a ukulele,’ someone once told our music man) and he delivers folk standard Courting is a Pleasure, and the beautifully simple Throw Me A Rope.

What’s worse for a guitarist than having a guitar string snap during a live performance? Possibly when the replacement snaps too.

An impromptu mini-interval for the percussive guitar player to rectify things could have been a woeful moment of eerie silence, but Elliott has already transfixed and impressed the assembled.

“…the rest of the tour has gone smoothly!” he says, returning to the stage to wow us with a rather tremendous version of Jackson’s Billy Jean.

By rights, it’s a gargantuan track that should be left alone. That Elliott has taken it on and shines brightly with a glowing arrangement, speaks volumes.

The last person performing at the venue before Elliott was Derren Brown, the illusionist and hypnotist.

Elliott’s set hypnotises too, but he doesn’t need to use trickery to get us there. He oozes style, walks his own path and uses raw talent to do it. - Sammy Jones

Brilliant young Lincolnshire guitarist…


Eight or nine years ago I used to drive over to my home town of Grimsby to see some very talented acoustic guitarists play at the College Bar. These musicians came from all over England and Europe and the gigs were always well supported. Once my friends had emigrated to Spain I stopped going and lost touch with the music scene over there. Last night brought back many of those memories when I called in at Bar 67 in Lincoln, a brilliant retro themed bar at the Lincoln Hotel. As luck would have it the music night had been brought forward a day and last night it was Elliott Morris, a solo performer who played a remarkable set.

I love this kind of music, there are overtones of folk, jazz and blues. Lots of finger pulls and taps, the rhythm knocked on the guitar body along to very good vocals and original material. Elliott ply’s his craft up and down the country and his relaxed stage persona shows how comfortable he is up there despite his young age. To me it’s really important to support local music, how many of us bemoan the loss of something when we’ve never done anything to help it? Music is a classic case. For a tenner I bought two cd’s he sold out of one of his guitar cases, I like that.

His music is engaging, there is a very good version of Billie Jean at the end of his show and he has a great website to follow him on at www.elliottmorris.co.uk - Miles Collins