Ebb (as in ebb and flow) are a 6-piece band based in Scotland. They stormed onto the prog scene in the UK in 2022/23 and have continued their upward trajectory since, becoming a firm favourite at the UK's biggest prog festivals. Their music can vary so much as to be dramatic, eclectic, moody, quite heavy (but not metal), and tuneful. It's often filled out by the classic Hammond organ sound provided by Nikki Francis, who also plays wind instruments. However, despite this nod to the 1970s, their music is fresh, inventive and arty, with poetry and stories occasionally recited by Kitty Biscuits, who also provides backing vocals, and when on stage, glides around in slow motion, dancing with various props, playing percussion, and even blowing bubbles. The lead singer and lead guitarist is the charismatic Erin Bennett, whose voice can range from gentle to powerful but always in tune. The band's sound is completed by the drums of Anna Fraser, the synths of Suna Dasi and the sole guy, Bad Dog on bass. After releasing their first EP in 2019, their debut album Mad and Killing Time was released in late 2022, with an accompanying EP to follow at the beginning of 2024. From: https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=12717
For many bands, living communally is part of the rock’n’roll dream – for Ebb it’s simply what they do and an important element of their shared identity. Wintering in their base, an arts collective in rural Scotland, lead singer and guitarist Erin Bennett, Kitty Biscuits (percussion, backing vocals) and producer-bassist Finn McGregor (aka Bad Dog) bask in the warmth of the hugely positive reception for current album, Mad & Killing Time. Its central tale of how love can be found between the most unexpected people in the most bizarre circumstances is told through a winning combination of eclectic storytelling and strong songwriting. “God, we’ve had incredible receptions from various different online and print publications; good, great, really killer reviews,” Bennett enthuses. “People have really listened to it from beginning to end, which is what we wanted. It’s like a film that takes you on a journey,” continues Biscuits. Although Ebb’s official recording career covers barely three years, the band share connections that go back much further.
Initially finding common cause personally and musically after an accidental meeting in the US in 2005, they formed strong bonds as friends and collaborators in various combinations over the next few years. A personal tragedy ultimately forged the present band, when Jo Heeley, Bennett’s civil partner and bandmate in folk rock trio Syren, passed away after a short illness in 2012. “When Jo died it was just appalling and Erin went down like the Titanic,” reflects McGregor. “And we formed the Erin Bennett Band around her to kind of get her going.” Although Bennett continued writing and performing, the evolution into Ebb was marked by 2019’s Death & The Maiden EP and fully bloomed during lockdown. “We completely smashed that backing band model, we were locked down together… and played for 18 months,” says Bennett. “It was very much about live jamming and the prog,” agrees McGregor. That prog derives from the rich and varied influences and experiences of Ebb’s members, which include folk, classical, performance art, shock rock and poetry or “symbiotic twins of American classic music and European innovation and eccentricity,” suggests Biscuits. From: https://progzilla.com/ebb/
