Setting Sail

James Cook is a musical explorer. Like Captain Cook before him, the lead vocalist of Manchester trio Delphic is a risk taker and an innovator. Fiercely independent, Cook will set sail on his first Australian tour later this month.

“It's a common thing in England, either before you go to university or after you go to university you always make the pilgrimage to Australia,” Cook explains. “I've watched so many of my friends pack up and go to Australia and I've always been really jealous. I've heard about hot weather and blonde chicks, so I just hope everyone enjoys the music and the gigs go down really well.”

Delphic's music combines the best bits of pop, rock and dance. The trio's live show slides seamlessly from song to song, drawing on influences from Bjork, Radiohead and Kraftwerk.

A shared love of film and media has also inspired the boys to produce their own visuals as well as a YouTube channel, television ads and CD artwork. “Visuals for us go hand in hand with the music. It's like an extension of the music and we love that collaboration and what it can achieve. When you play on stage the music and the visuals come together as one. “We've never been told how to look on stage, what visuals to use, what track listing to have on an album. We're in control here, this is our vision.”

Delphic's debut album 'Acolyte' is sweet, sprawling, epic and energetic all at the same time. The ten-track collection is a brooding, bubbling soundtrack that moves you from one moment to the next. It's almost like an art exhibition in recorded form. “It's interesting, at the moment we don't really know when we'll be able to knuckle down and focus on the next release.

“When we started writing 'Acolyte' we were heavily into synthesizers, samplers and drum machines. Although we don't have a lot of time, the music we're making now is a lot more refined. “We're looking at all those great song writing techniques, and in terms of what we are listening to, it's a lot more organic and a lot more refined. I think in time that's something we'd like to embrace more in the live set. That's the sort of sound we've found for ourselves.”

Delphic play The Hi-Fi on March 25. ‘Acolyte’ IS OUT NOW THROUGH MODULAR.