Henry Derek Elis

Henry started creating acoustic based folk music under the moniker : To The Boy Elis, a reference from the Austrian born poet Georg Trakl. His love for roots & folk music eventually inspired him to take on a more sophisticated approach to the craft. Henry Derek Elis released his debut full length album, The Devil Is My Friend on October 26th.Tragic themes and a folk-tinged Southern Gothic Americana sound form the basis of The Devil Is My Friend, the haunting full-length solo debut by Henry Derek Elis, with contributions from Aubrey Richmond & John Schreffler Jr. (Shooter Jennings), Jarboe (Swans), Tara Vanflower (Lycia) Neal Tiemann (DevilDriver) Sera Timms (Black Mare) and more. In a marked stylistic departure from his persona as frontman for heavier rock acts, Henry has crafted a poetic and deeply personal solo debut, steeped in memories of his childhood in Milledgeville, GA, the same place Blind Willie McTell and Flannery O'Connor made their death beds; "the kind of small town with a haunted past that can swallow you up whole if you let it," says Henry. Dynamic rock arrangements reflect Henry's encyclopedic knowledge of dark folk, classic country, traditional blues and classical music, resulting in an atmospheric, apocalyptic landscape, where lonely sonic highways are littered with the detritus of misfortune and the soft glimmering of something that might be hope. - Caroline Ryder (Los Angeles)