TesseracT Feature Interview    with Elliot Coleman By Sarah Worsley

An EXCLUSIVE interview with new TesseracT vocalist Elliot Coleman

After the departure of Dan Tompkins, TesseracT entered a new chapter in their career, one which involved new front man Elliot Coleman. SoundShock’s Sarah Worsley talked exclusively to the newest Djentleman...  

Stepping into a former member shoes is never easy, especially as Dan Tompkins was such an integral member of UK based technical metallers TesseracT. Elliot Coleman doesn’t let his predecessor’s reputation unnerve him, on the contrary, it wasn’t until TesseracT sent a two minute track for him to sing over did Elliot even hear TesseracT material. “I was contacted by Amos at the very end of July, and I’d never actually heard of TesseracT before. I mean, I’d heard of them because of my friends in Periphery. So I’d had no idea what they sounded like or anything and they sent me a 2 minute clip to sing over and they like that. So the whole thing took less than two weeks really”.

Elliot Coleman is a name that many will not recognise, however his contacts and friends in the Djent scene (including Misha Mansoor of Periphery) meant his name started to be spread through the circle.  “I don’t know whether they knew me from Sky Eats Airplane or Of Legends, but what i think it was that i was recommended by The Safety Fire, who I’d never actually met. I think he’d shown them OMOM, which was project I and Misha Mansoor had and i guess still kinda have. They were actually the forth band that had asked me to audition for them, and i guess the other projects just weren’t ‘active’ enough for me. So i checked out TesseracT, and it seemed like a good thing to do. To be in the lead position was something I’d be aspiring to do for a while.

So, how are you settling in? 

“Great! They’re all really nice guys, and there’s no awkwardness between us and there wasn’t at all from the very beginning. I’ve fit in really quickly, despite only talking to them, i don’t know, very sparingly. It seems as though I’ve known these guys a long time.”

Former front man Dan Tompkins was such a commanding front man, was it daunting for you at all to step into his shoes?

“No not at all because another thing that i did was that i didn’t want to know anything about this band when they asked me. I thought I’m not going to really check them out on YouTube because i don’t want to psyche myself out or anything. Even during the first show, as soon as i walked into the sweaty, stinky venue with a bunch of kids, it was the exact same thing as i was doing before so i felt no pressure. Had my first show been in front of hundreds of people on the Between The Buried And Me tour it would have been worse.” Despite being friends with one of the leading musicians in the Djent scene (of which TesseracT are credited with being one of its main instigators), Elliot had very little knowledge of his future bands sound. This, in a way, would enable him to put his own mark onto the band. “The only thing I’d heard about them was based on the 2 minutes clip they’d sent me to audition over, which was my first exposure to the band. I would sing Dan’s parts, but i haven’t changed my sound at all, i still sound like me. I have learnt new ways to sing which is cool; he has a completely different style from anything I’ve ever done. Just practising over and over again has developed my break control and my ability to let notes ring out, so I’m learning new things.” Djent is a scene that has produced some of the most new, exciting and inventive bands over the last couple of years. It is a scene which many of Elliot’s friends have been involved in musically. “I’ve known Periphery since late 2006, so I’ve watching them grow. I think they’d only been around for a year when i met them, and I’ve watched this whole scene grow. The other projects I’ve been in like Of Legends definitely had a progressive element to them, the only difference is that is wasn’t placed in a ‘scene’ category. So I’ve definitely seen the scene come to the forefront, and it’s nice to see. It’s cool that people are appreciating technical abilities and song writing over than other stuff.” Sometimes our greatest influences are the people around us, the people who are in our lives almost 24/7. Having influence from mainstream bands can water down a sound, making it a copy of other bands out there. This is something was Elliot agrees with.

“My friends are probably my biggest influence in music, because all my friends are wonderful musicians. I’m been fortunate to play with some of the most creative and best musicians, like Misha Mansoor and Jake Bowen. There’s really no need for me to venture into the back catalogues of other musicians when i personally known some of the more creative musicians in the scene.  I think all the TesseracT guys do a wonderful job themselves; it’s a different take on the genre. It’s more haunting i think, and it focuses more on tight playing than anything else. If we’re talking about really well known musicians, i really like Jeff Buckley i love his voice. I don’t know i just like simple things like Jason Schwartzman’s ‘Coconut Records’ project. I kinda listen to anything i can get my hands on; as long as it sounds good I’ll listen to it. I think it shows in my song writing what my influences are, many people like I’m influenced by Matt Bellamy from Muse. But I’m not a Muse fan at all, and i don’t really like his voice [Laughs].” On the 8th September, TesseracT play their first UK show with Elliot on a headlining tour with fellow Djentlemen Chimp Spanner and Uneven Structure. It could be a daunting prospect, but Elliot takes it all in his stride.

“It’s gonna be cool, I’ve known Chimp Spanner for a pretty long time and they’re very enjoyable to listen to. I’m not really sure what the reception will be at this point, at least for me. The very first show we did at Milton Keynes i didn’t say anything about who i was, or why i was up there, i didn’t announce a name or anything. But now people know who i am, and maybe it’s given people time to research my other stuff and get a feel for my voice. But some people will be turned off because it’s not Dan singing, and no one’s going to see Dan’s songs but Dan; he wrote them for his voice. I’m not trying to ‘out-Dan’ him or anything. So I’m not really too concerned.”

So, what does the future hold for Elliot and TesseracT?

“I honestly look at it as a whole new beginning, ‘cos i had nothing to do with anything that has attributed to their success at this point. It’s really whatever they want to do, I’ll just do my best and offer input.”

Feature by Sarah Worsley
TesseracT are touring the UK from the 8-17th September starting at The Garage, London. If you haven’t got a ticket, get one!