Revere – These Halcyon Days
Revere is a seven-piece, London-based band incorporating violin, cello, keys, trumpet and glockenspiel. They combine elements of gypsy marches, klezmer, post-rock, film scores and gospel.
REVERE – ‘These Halcyon Days’ (Official Music Video)
Official video for ‘These Halcyon Days’ by REVERE.
Directed by Stephen Ellis & Joshua Watson
Shot on location by Joshua Watson
Edited by Ryan Pearce & Joshua Watson
Concept by Stephen Ellis & Joshua Watson; inspired by a photo taken by Mario Leko.
Formation and early years: Initially formed by Stephen Ellis, Revere (named after a comic-strip in 2000AD) wrote and performed with a rotating line up until 2005 when Ellis relocated to London. Soon after, guitarist and songwriter Jonathan Fletcher joined the band, recording the acoustic white label EP, As The Radars Sleep…. This was followed by the “Chloroform” EP later in 2005 and the singles Skin and Learning to Breathe in 2006. Much of 2007 was spent working on debut album Hey! Selim and a second acoustic EP, A Soundless Tree. Three more permanent members would join the group in 2007; Nicholas Hirst (Keyboards), Kathleen McKie (Cello) and Ellie Wilson (Violin). 2008 was largely spent on the road. Revere headlined at the Union Chapel, performed at Glastonbury after placing in the finals of the Glastonbury New Talent competition, and played at Standon Calling Festival. In September, Ellis supported Al Stewart on his US and UK tours. The year ended with another headlining performance at the Union Chapel.
A new song, What Am I If I’m Not Even Dust, written by Ellis towards the end of 2010, was performed on BBC Radio London’s Sunday Sessions,[21] followed by appearances at the Cambridge Folk Festival and Standon Calling. In October the band released their first single since We Won’t Be Here Tomorrow, entitled These Halcyon Days. The song was described by The Fly Magazine as “instantly uplifting”,[22] and was licensed by Sky Sports for their weekly show ‘Goals On Sunday’.
Ellis on stage with Vieux Farka Touré (2012) – Photo by Chris Walsh
The group sent out many of their earlier tracks to their musical peers for remixing and/or reworking: the resulting mixes and treatments would eventually be released towards the end of the year as a series of four digital EPs entitled Revere: Reworked #’s 1-4. In November 2011, Revere toured the UK with Malian kora player and 2-time Grammy winner Toumani Diabaté. Towards the end of the tour, Revere and Diabaté recorded several tracks together, including a cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. In early 2012, Stephen Ellis returned to The South Bank Centre to accompany Vieux Farka Touré on the track ‘All The Same’ (originally performed by Dave Matthews). In February 2012, Revere won Channel 5’s “Send Us Your Music” competition: their prize was a video for new song Keep This Channel Open. Later in 2012, Revere performed a secret unplugged show at The Finsbury in north London, at Field Day Festival in Victoria Park and at the WOMAD Festival. The band would also take time before more festival dates to shoot a video for These Halcyon Days. Wikipedia®
