Today, Newcastle upon Tyne jazz trailblazers Knats return with the second single to be taken from their highly anticipated new Geordie Greep (black midi) produced album “A Great Day In Newcastle”. Since releasing their first single “Wor Jackie”, the band have already been breaking new ground, having now signed to the recently relaunched legendary label Fontana (UK home to AURORA, Jordan Rakei, Jacob Collier, Jon Batiste, Madison Cunningham and more). The album is set for release on 1st May as the band complete their headline UK tour. The new album was mixed by Hugh Padgham and executive produced and mastered by the world-renowned Gearbox Studios.
Led by three lifelong best friends from Newcastle, Stan Woodward (bass), King David-Ike Elechi (drums), and Ferg Kilsby (trumpet; flugelhorn), 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 released on Gearbox Records, 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.
Complete with fitting artwork emulating the beloved late-50s Harlem Art Kane shot, "A Great Day In Newcastle" acts as a musical documentation of the North East working class experience - the trials and tribulations, community, and culture. The record sees the band dig into stories of lived experiences - their own, their close friends, and local legends of years gone by – touching on topics such as toxic masculinity and fighting culture, crime, life after prison, alcoholism, and the mining industry (with the closing track using words from a BBC interview with Durham Miners from the 60s). The addition of poet, Cooper Robson, adds a new dynamic to the band's narrative, tackling these often dark themes with a playful approach that fully embodies “classic Northern optimism”.
Whereas "Wor Jackie", the first single to be taken from the new album, dived 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. The new track “Never Gonna Be A Boxer” is inspired by the culture of toxic masculinity in working class areas. The somewhat tongue-in-cheek track sees Knats at their most incendiary, combining intricate compositional work that nods to their roots in rock and experimentation with danceable grooves and high-octane soloing from Sandro Shargorodsky (keys/synth) and King.
Speaking on the single, the band say it “tells the story of a young lad who’s been scrapping on the estate and boxing in the gym. Everyone around him does the same and he feels like he should; when really, it’s not in his nature.”
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