Absent Elk

Absent Elk are a rock band from England who made their recording debut in 2009. Based in Brighton, England, the band is a quintet comprised of Kjetil Morland (vocals, guitar), Ross Martin (guitar, keyboards), Mike Hillman (guitar), James Penhallow (bass), and Ric Wilson (drums). The band's frontman, Morland, is a singer/songwriter from Grimstad, a town on the southern coast of Norway, who is influenced by British pop/rock (e.g., the Beatles, Blur, the Clash, Nick Drake) and who long harbored dreams of moving to England. In 2005 he moved from Norway to London, where he studied graphic design at Kingston University and pursued his ambitions as a British-style singer/songwriter in the meantime. Morland's girlfriend was from the town of Shoreham, on the southern coast of England, and she happened to know of some former schoolmates there who were musicians in a band in need of a frontman. The chance meeting between Morland and the others at a beer festival in Shoreham went well and ultimately led to the formation of Absent Elk. Named partly in tribute to Morland's Norwegian roots, Absent Elk were signed to a recording contract with Sony BMG and made their commercial recording debut in 2009 with the single "Sun & Water." The band's full-length album debut, produced by Toby Smith, was slated for release later in the year. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide