Ephemera | Imperative Management:
Hailing from Bradford in West Yorkshire, Ephemera came together amidst the trials and tribulations of lockdown as a collection of friends, bound by a shared creative spirit. They were a group of artists, designers, tattooists and musicians who formed Ephemera as an outlet for their restless imaginations and turbulent emotions, a release from the frustrations, restrictions and pressures of those troubled times. In the early days there wasn’t even an expectation of playing live, the band’s name reflecting the fact that this was not a project that was expected to last…but the music they wrote together soon took on a life of its own and the Ephemera freight train began to gather speed and momentum, almost of its own volition. As the world opened up once more one gig lead to another, with the band’s forceful, confrontational and cathartic performances capturing the hearts of fans in their local area – from Bradford to Leeds to Huddersfield and beyond. And the songs began to grow and develop, each one a ballistic attack of pure, desperate emotion.
The first Ephemera EP was released in 2021 – Why Did You Come Here? Part One – which captured the distinct blend of sounds that the band were already making their own. Their head on collision of hardcore and metalcore was raging and enraged, aggressive and wound up to the point of self destruct, but also atmospheric, thought provoking and distinctly melodic. Four complete and structured songs in little more than six blistering minutes. The wheels were rolling faster now – bigger crowds, bigger venues, audience members in Ephemera shirts screaming back the lyrics of songs like ‘Create: Isolate’ – this was no longer just a personal thing. People outside the band were embracing the spirit of Ephemera, seeing something they understood and seeing themselves understood in turn, in the fiercely passionate tumult of sound. In late 2022 the band were snapped up by Kingside Records and at the end of that year a second EP was released, entitled Somewhere Between Order And Chaos. By now the wider metal and hardcore scenes were beginning to sit up and take notice, with Metal Noise webzine being thrilled by the “hailstorm of Metallic Hardcore riffs” and predicting a bright future for Ephemera. Meanwhile Radio 1 DJ Alyx Holcombe picked up on what the band had to offer, featuring them on her BBC Introducing Rock show and becoming a stalwart supporter of the Ephemera cause.
In a January 2023 interview with Pete Devine’s Pete’s Rock News & Views webzine the band stated that their “current aspirations are to play live as much as possible” and that was certainly something they achieved in the year ahead, undertaking their first tour with Hounds, supporting the likes of Pupil Slicer, Waterlines and Thrown Into Exile and being invited to headline Shadowfest, a fundraising event for the S.O.P.H.I.E. organisation. Ephemera travelled all across the UK in 2023, devastating crowds wherever they went and then in mid-October they unleashed their third EP – Life On Basic. From the haunting opening notes of ‘Between Me And You’ to the caustic, jagged, bludgeoning closer ‘They Will Forget You Exist’, Life On Basic was the most diverse and accomplished collection of songs that Ephemera had released. 2024 dawned with the release of the crushing ‘Ghosted’ single and the live shows continued to come thick and fast – Ephemera appearing alongside Master’s Call, Master The Crown, Kill The Lights, Bitterwood, Cultura Tres, Swarms and Rituals among many others. They also became part of the family at the Metathetic booking agency alongside the likes of No Worth Of Man, Catalysis and Kill All The Gentlemen. As we reach the end of the year Ephemera have signed a new deal with renowned underground music label, Morning Star Heresy and joined the management roster of Imperative PR. 2025 is looking dangerous… “...punching hard with a swagger that gets bodies into the pit...”– METAL NOISE
Genre: Melodic Hardcore/Metalcore
For fans of: Every Time I Die | Fugazi | Continents
Line-up:
Mason Preece - Vocals
Adam Beard - Bass
Cris Baker - Guitar
Chris Jenkinson - Drums