Led by two lifelong best friends from Newcastle,
Stan Woodward (bass) and King David-Ike Elechi (drums), Knats have forged
a sound as much at home in venues and clubs as it is at The Proms, and
have spent the last year building a significant word-of mouth buzz touring the
country and playing as the live band for both Greep and low-key R'n'B legend
Eddie Chacon on their respective EU/UK dates - including two sold-out nights at
London's Koko. Since releasing their critically acclaimed debut album last
year, they’ve been nominated for Best Breakthrough Artist at the Parliamentary
Jazz Awards, played sold-out headline shows across the UK and EU, and
given incendiary performances at The Great Escape, We Out Here, Love Supreme,
and more. The band also recently collaborated with Mike Keat of The Cuban
Brothers and Simon Bartholomew of The Brand New Heavies, and at the turn of the
year, released a new track with hometown noise-rock friends, lots of hands.
The new album sees the band pull together the same
sophisticated musical arrangements that have seen them win over crowds and
critics across the country - the strong melodies and genre-fluid, danceable
grooves - but also harks back to their roots in rock and experimentation, with
much of the compositional work here is based around Olivier Messiaen’s modes,
creating a suspended, uncanny, and colourful sound. Despite this, it never once
feels inaccessible.
"Wor Jackie", the first single to be
taken from the new album, dives into the experience of the North East pitman,
using the famous Geordie football player, Jackie Milburn or ‘Wor Jackie’, as an
archetypal figure for the story to unfold, given that Milburn would apparently
would do half days in the coal mine and half days on the football pitch for
Newcastle in his heyday. The narrative is navigated via impassioned poetry from
Cooper Robson and blistering solos from Stan and George Johnson (tenor
saxophone). The track the marks of a change in sound for Knats, showcasing a
heavier aesthetic combined with elements of storytelling, through the new
addition to the group, Cooper Robson. The track was also Stan's first
experiment in using Messiaen modes as a vehicle for composition.
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