Photo by Christa Holka
The Little Unsaid
The Little Unsaid began life in 2009 in a tiny bungalow in the Yorkshire mill town of Mirfield, fuelled by a restless imagination and large quantities of cheese on toast.
The solo project of multi-intrumentalist and songwriter John Patrick Elliott, his genre-hopping homemade recordings quickly drew the attention of renowned producers and long-term collaborators Sonny Johns (Ali Farka Touré, Portico Quartet), Graeme Stewart (Radiohead) and Brett Shaw (Florence and the Machine), resulting in a series of critically-acclaimed album releases, extensive UK and European tours, and the building of a die-hard international following.
By 2015 the project had evolved into an ensemble of diverse musicians featuring London Contemporary Orchestra violist Alison D’Souza (strings), Mariya Brachkova (synths and backing vocals) and Tim Heymerdinger (drums). Creating ‘some of the most soul-searching, brutally self-aware music around’ (KLOF Mag), the band earned a reputation for impassioned and electrifying live performances, becoming a regular feature at major festivals including Glastonbury, and receiving radio play from the likes of Guy Garvey and Iggy Pop.
In 2017 The Little Unsaid won the Steve Reid InNOVAtion Award judged by a panel of industry legends including Four Tet, Floating Points and Gilles Peterson.
Their music has been described as ‘bold and different’ (The Guardian), ‘a stunning interpretation of contemporary chaos’ (Line of Best Fit) and ‘mesmeric, atmospheric, totally beguiling’ (RnR Magazine).
The band celebrates their ten year anniversary in 2025 with a new album of entirely improvised songs recorded aboard a Lightship on the River Thames.
Press
9/10
‘A stunning interpretation of contemporary chaos…a gorgeous whiplash of delirium and hazy reveries.’
The Line of Best Fit
★★★★★
‘Mesmeric. Atmospheric. Totally beguiling.’
RnR (R2) Magazine
‘Bold and different’
The Guardian
‘A beautiful, bleak, progressive, symphonic, poetic, technically clever and at times heartbreaking masterpiece.’
FATEA
★★★★★
‘A chronicler of very real and very difficult human emotions…a perfect synthesis of hope and catharsis…perhaps his darkest and most hopeful album to date’
Folk Radio UK (Album of the Month)
‘A triumph. This is an album to treasure.’
Morning Star
‘Songs that peer into the gloom but spark a flicker of light to rise up and change both the world and ourselves, balancing the musically contemplative with the urge to stomp your feet.’
(Folk Radio UK) Album of The Month
'Entrancing… songwriting of a real rich quality, all held together by an intensity of approach, by a focus on the emotional weight music can carry’
Clash
‘Extraordinary music. This is an amazing act’
Bob Harris, BBC Radio 2