Today, Newcastle Upon Tyne quintet Knats have released a new single titled "Beauty & The Beast (Peace)". The track sees them collaborating with Mike Keat of The Cuban Brothers and Simon Bartholomew of The Brand New Heavies. The single was recorded last year and sees tight jazz instrumentation glide and wind around Keats powerful soul vocals, and Bartolomew's funk-inflected guitars.
Speaking on the single, Keat says: "My past few releases as Mike Keat have been a little foray into soulful protest songs, ‘I’ll Keep My Light In My Window’ for example. With this release I wanted to speak more of the oppressed worldwide and give a message of solidarity without being overly political; and on hearing & hanging with Knats for the first time almost 3 years ago I wanted to do something dope with them…something that doesn’t sound like anything else. For me Stan and King are one of the most ‘in pocket’ rhythm sections rocking in the UK today - the whole outfit has crazy chops so it was a very natural vibe to rock Beauty and the Beast and flip it Geordie Jazz style. Alreet PEACE!"
The new single comes on the heels of an incendiary year for the band including releasing their critically acclaimed debut album as well as supporting Geordie Greep (black midi) and playing as the backing band for R&B legend Eddie Chacon on UK tours. They also played a sold out Jazz Refreshed headliner, supported Str4ta at a sold Jazz Cafe, and performed at the BBC Proms.
Led by two lifelong best friends from Newcastle, Stan Woodward (bass) and King David-Ike Elechi (drums), Knats pride themselves on making "Geordie Jazz", with sophisticated arrangements, strong melodies and danceable grooves. The band have developed an enviable word-of-mouth ascent, as well as earning Spotify playlist covers and plaudits from the likes of the Guardian, Jazzwise, Record Collector, Uncut, DownBeat, MOJO, and more. Their recent debut album marked the beginning of the Knats' sound, proper. It is a materialisation of the musical journey Stan and King have been on together over the past 10 years, drawn directly from their experiences growing up in the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne—overcoming hardship and figuring things out on their own. Eventually, they found their missing link: the virtuosic young Geordie trumpet player, Ferg Kilsby, who, with his slick melodic ideas, completes the full sound that is Knats.
The band will release the special edition LP of their self-titled debut album.
Knats' Geordie Vinyl is a 180g B&W vinyl (and a limited pressing of just 1000), which honours the band's Newcastle roots, set to come out on this summer. The release comes with a special virtual token that has lots of exciting benefits. Available for pre-order now.
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