Continuing our series of interviews with unsigned and independent acts, we had the pleasure of submitting questions to Canadian-based pop-rock band Kings Of Our Kin.
How would you describe your music?
“Mainly rock. We do jump around and draw inspiration from many styles as well, so we frequently throw in some pop, funk, and alternative influences into our sound.”
You first formed as a folk act before the hiatus, why the change?
“In our early days, we played as a folk act mostly because of the environment that we were working in as musicians. We’d started jamming as students, and we would meet up in university residence common areas to practice on acoustic instruments to avoid excessive noise. It just wasn’t practical to rehearse with a full band setup at the time. Likewise, most of our early gigs were things like open mic nights, coffee houses, etc., so again it was just easier to play as an acoustic act. Once we got interested in recording our original songs, we realized that they could sound better in a full band context. As a result, we began to record demos and rehearse as a rock band. Having prior experience playing in rock bands, the switch felt quite natural when it happened – though we’ve only really fine-tuned our sound since reuniting.”
You released your first full album in January, talk us through the process
“In early August 2017, we went into the studio. We were there for three straight days and managed to get all five songs recorded during that time. We did most of the recording live off the floor, which was a lot of fun. This left mainly vocals, some extra guitar and keyboard tracks to do as overdubs for the remainder of August and September. Later in the fall, we completed mixing and mastering. At the beginning of December, we released My Man as a pre-release single. It was a nice way to build a little bit of hype and experiment with audience-building before the EP came out at the end of January.”
What are your live gigs like?
“We try to make our gigs as lively as possible. The majority of the songs we play during our sets have a good level of energy where people can get up and move around – we still include a few slower ones and covers too to keep things interesting. Tom tends to interact with the audience while onstage. Sometimes, if the audience is a little slow to get energized, he’ll even step out into the crowd to encourage them.”
Would you ever consider touring the UK?
“Absolutely! Though it may not happen in the near future, it’s something that we would love to do at some point.”
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