Knats share new remix of ‘Never Gonna Be A Boxer’
L-R: Ferg Kilsby, Stan Woodward, King David-Ike Elechi | Photo Credit: Ellie Sloric
“It’s moments like this where Knats excel not only as individual players but as a collective whose compositions reach beyond the purview of UK jazz.” - Pitchfork
“A big compositional leap, boldly examining poverty, prison and crime via action-packed sonic fizz bombs” - MOJO
“Jazz that is sprawling and eclectic, with gritty, menacing percussion one moment, and bright, groove-led horns the next.” - The Guardian
“Newcastle collective Knats are transcending nostalgia to ask what it really means to trudge through inherited violence and working-class masculinity without a clean way out” - The Line Of Best Fit
“‘A Great Day In Newcastle’ is the best thing to come out of the North East since Andy Carroll. This is an album to get lost in. Lost in the killer melodies, time signatures and rhythms. Lost in the stories but most importantly a place to lose yourself from the grind of work.” - CLASH
“They bring a gust of fresh air straight off the River Tyne” - Observer (One To Watch)
“Jaw-dropping brilliance” - Jazzwise
“A triumphant celebration of regional identity; a soaring reminder that even in the shadow of industrial ghosts, new, restless, and beautiful rhythms can still emerge” - Far Out
“lLke Jason Williamson fronting National Health had they been steeped in bebop and breakbeat culture” - The Wire
“For Knats, it feels like this is just the opening act of something bigger.” - All About Jazz
“You will be hearing more from Knats.” - The Arts Desk
Today, Geordie jazz trailblazers Knats have shared a remix of their much-loved single ‘Never Gonna Be A Boxer’, which was playlisted on BBC Radio 6 Music’s b-list and performed by the band on Later… with Jools Holland back in June. The remix comes courtesy of the much-hyped Glasgow outfit corto.alto, and follows Knats’ second album ‘A Great Day In Newcastle’ being shortlisted as one of the 2026 Mercury Prize Albums Of The Year – which corto.alto where also shortlisted for in 2024.
A key face in the next generation of jazz artists coming through, Knats signed to legendary label Fontana (UK home to AURORA, Jordan Rakei, Jacob Collier, Jon Batiste, Madison Cunningham and more) just two weeks before their latest Geordie Greep produced album ‘A Great Day In Newcastle’ came out, landing a #2 position in the Official Jazz & Blues Chart and setting the band down a whirlwind path. The remix also follows the band’s politically charged recent single ‘Bowling Ball’, which was recorded, mixed, and mastered at London’s inimitable Metropolis studios, and featured artwork by Jim Moir AKA Vic Reeves.
The remix sees ‘Never Gonna Be A Boxer’ reimagined with liquid DnB bass lines and breakbeats, ambient synth, and distorted sampling of drummer King David-Ike Elechi’s closing line of “I ain’t never gonna be a boxer”. This all moves around the single’s original instrumentation which has been warped and augmented to create something which is equally as captivating while also driving the band into new territory.
Hear/share ‘Never Gonna Be A Boxer (corto.alto Remix)’ here
Speaking on the collaboration and remix, bassist Stan Woodward says, “We’ve been fans & pals of Liam’s for a while now, so it’s such a pleasure to finally get to work together; and even more special to big up the Northern scene bringing Newcastle & Glasgow together.”
Following an extensive run of summer festival performances – including the band’s first Montreux Jazz Festival appearance, a return to BBC Proms with Nadine Shah and slots at Love Supreme, We Out Here, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, and more – Knats will also embark on an extensive UK headline tour for autumn 2026. The dates include two London MOTH Club shows, which both sold out more than four months in advance. The band have also recently announced their biggest London headline show to date at Village Underground in April 2027 as well as their biggest homecoming show at the 1000 cap. venue Boiler Shop in Newcastle.
Never ones to be pigeonholed, tomorrow the band will also play at Anarchy Brew Co. in Newcastle alongside fellow Tyneside stoner metal band Pigs X7.
Full dates are as follows:
29 Aug – Anarchy Brew Co, UK (supporting Pigs X7)
23 Oct – King Street Social, North Shields
24 Oct – Durham Jazz Festival, Durham
25 Oct – The Crescent, York
26 Oct – Yellow Arch, Sheffield
27 Oct – Exchange, Bristol
28 Oct – Moth Club, London (second date added)
30 Oct – Moth Club, London (Sold Out)
2 Nov – Heartbreakers, Southampton
4 Nov – Cornish Bank, Falmouth
5 Nov – St Peters Church, Poole
18 Nov – Bodega, Nottingham
20 Nov – Amped, Huddersfield
21 Nov – Future Yard, Birkenhead
2nd Apr – Village Underground, London
3rd Apr – Boiler Shop, Newcastle
Guestlist available upon request
Tickets and more info here
Written by lifelong friends from Newcastle - led by Stan Woodward (bass), King David-Ike Elechi (drums), and Ferg Kilsby (Trumpet; Flugelhorn) - ‘A Great Day In Newcastle’ landed in May as an unflinching love letter to working class Tyneside, community, resilience, and lived experience tackled with the wit and warmth of classic Northern optimism. With poet Cooper Robson adding raw lyrical weight, and artwork evoking Art Kane's iconic Harlem photograph, the album is history alive in the present.
Mixed by the legendary Hugh Padgham and executive produced and mastered by the world-renowned Gearbox Studios, ‘A Great Day In Newcastle’s’ incendiary and captivating blood rush of high-energy and genre-bending, danceable grooves has been fervently devoured by fans and media alike. Not least because of their compelling approach to chronicling the milieu of the North East’s working-class. As the next generation of UK jazz artists start to break through, there is something quintessentially vital about this album coming from this region. From a band who’ve persevered for years with what they recently described to The Guardian as “Geordie optimism” and “hard graft”, pushing through regional disparities that have seen musicians faced with dwindling arts programmes, funding, and inequal opportunities. From Woodward learning to play on a “Tesco guitar” and the band being told they weren’t good enough to cover Arctic Monkeys as kids, to later performing at The Proms in 2024 and Later… with Jools Holland in 2026, there’s a diligence and resolve here that is emblematic of their home region.
‘A Great Day In Newcastle’ is out now via Gearbox/Fontana
Order here / stream here
Tracklisting:
1 Intro
2 Gainsborough Grove
3 Wor Jackie
4 Messy ln
5 Azure Blues
6 Big Market
7 Carpet Doctor ft. Geordie Greep
8 Never Gonna Be A Boxer
9 Farewell Johnny Miner
