Elijah Minnelli interview

Elijah Minnelli is behind one of the most intriguing albums of 2024; Perpetual Musket. Folk songs re-interpreted as dub.

Tell us about Elijah Minnelli and Breadminster?

Breadminster is my hometown, and it’s steeped in interesting history. It was one of the first areas in the EU to demand discounted haircuts for those with smaller heads and was also at the forefront of the development of the domestic laminator. Beyond that, it’s kept me funded, and having lived in London for 10 years now, it’s great to be a cultural ambassador for this lesser-known place. My project, Elijah Minnelli, is based around Dub and Reggae, with various influences stemming from different folk traditions. I take influence from Calypso, Cumbia, but also Klezmer and other Eastern European music styles. I really wanted to just make normal reggae, but it never quite ended up sounding so normal in the end.

Where does the name Perpetual Musket come from?

Perpetual Musket is the name of an old Breadminster pacifist pressure group. The partnership of the Perpetual Musket would perform happenings and demonstrations around the area to broad indifference. It wasn’t until their performance of the Avian Purge that they gained any notoriety. This is when members of the partnership would release birds upon a figure covered in bread. I believe the breaded figure represented the people, and the birds that would peck represented aerial bombardment. People didn’t seem to grasp the symbolism of this spectacle but very much enjoyed it nonetheless. Music would often be involved, and as the tradition has gone on, the partnership have commissioned various artists to get involved. My recent record by the same name, Perpetual Musket, is in keeping with the themes of the original partnership. It’s four English folk songs performed by reggae singers. Some are ancient traditionals, and some more recent compositions like The Lifeboat Mona, written by one of our nation’s finest living songwriters, Peggy Seeger. Ideally, I was trying to give new source material to reggae singers and produce it in my way, rather than it being too clumsy a “fusion,” as that can definitely be shit. Reggae has always taken influence from all over, so I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to use folk as a starting point. Country is huge in Jamaica, and fundamentally, I think as a genre it’s concerned with great melodies and lyrics, and I think folk music at its best is those things in their rawest, most vulnerable form.

There is Ben Edge painting on the cover, what was his brief?

Having Ben do the cover was a great honour. His work documenting folklore has brought a lot of attention to some of this country’s beautiful and haunting rituals. His work is really great and worth supporting and seeing. I didn’t give a brief as such. However, he came down to Breadminster to witness a performance of the above-mentioned Avian Purge. I asked him to infuse the faces of the wonderful singers on the record: Little Roy, Shumba Youth, Earl 16, and Joe Yorke. I was slightly worried the singers might be taken aback by being depicted setting birds upon a bread-laden figure, but they were all game. I think to have agreed to the project in the first place required a certain amount of open-mindedness, to which I’m very grateful. It’s fantastic to have this more niche folk tradition catalogued and depicted by such a wonderful talent.

What else are you listening to at the moment?

At the moment, I’ve been listening to The Space Lady a lot. Her voice is really lovely, and for me, it ticks a lot of boxes. Cover versions, Casios, and space echoes. I have the song Bad Girl by Shirley Collins on loop in my head. It’s a wonderful song, and there are various other versions worth checking for, like the Alice Stuart one. A steady diet of Yabby You on the reggae front and the Gee Baby album by Phil Prat and Al Campbell. In terms of contemporary stuff, Lisa O’Neill is great. Olas Curativas by Lamina on Twin System is a wonderful ambient record well worth checking out. The Shovel Dance by the Shovel Dance Collective is a fantastic folk record also. Been getting into Merengue Tipico as well—Lidia de la Rosa is amazing on the accordion.

What are your future plans?

I’ve been commissioned to make a record for the Breadminster Board of Abstinence as part of their Clams as a Main Meal anti-aphrodisiac campaign. This new record will feature two vocals and five instrumental tracks, with some great featured artists. Breadminster County Council has also re-pressed my first record to help fund the cause and record. You can buy that here. Beyond that, I’m getting more into drone-y chaos and all that entails.​