Knats sign to Fontana share new single ‘Never Gonna Be A Boxer’ - new album ‘A Great Day In Newcastle’ out 1st May
Knats L-R: Ferg Kilsby, Stan Woodward, King David-Ike Elechi | Credit: Ellie Slorick
“they gleefully rewire jazz with a hard-as-nails rhythm section, drum’n’bass energy and punk aggression.” - The Guardian
“jaw-dropping brilliance” – Jazzwise
"For all the ink spilt over the UK jazz renaissance, it's been notable that most of the scene's activity to date has been confined to London. Offering an overdue corrective is Knats" – Uncut
"The band is a part of the UK’s new jazz scene, but they’re not playing the music, which is still synonymous with London. They’re playing Newcastle music" - The Line Of Best Fit
“like Jason Williamson fronting National Health had they been steeped in bebop and breakbeat culture” - The Wire
"Though Knats currently live in London, they do not play London jazz. They’re from the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the far north of the U.K., and pride themselves on playing Newcastle’s homegrown Geordie jazz, known for its deep, danceable drum’n‘bass grooves and infectious, aggressive melodies." – DownBeat
"an inventive collection of sophisticated horn-led grooves enhanced by piquant funk, Latin, classical, and drum and bass elements" - Record Collector
"there is an honesty and dynamism to this music that is likely to put Newcastle firmly on the map as a source of exciting new jazz sounds." - Jazz Journal
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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 RnB 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.”
Hear / share ‘Never Gonna Be A Boxer’ here
The album offers a compelling approach to chronicling the milieu of everyday life in Newcastle, in a similar vein to some of their contemporaries in, say, London. However, as the next generation of UK jazz artists start to break through, there is something quintessentially vital about this album coming from this region. Speaking on the album, Stan says:
"This album has been a few years of thought and writing in the making. In terms of how could we make a record as a love letter to our hometown, whilst still talking about some of problems working class people in the North East face, without seeming too self-pitiful. When Cooper Robson got involved, everything changed. These instrumental songs I’d been writing about certain specific topics now actually had stories to accompany them, with words delivered from a person who truly loves Newcastle as much as we do. A Great Day in Newcastle is an exploration through happy, sad and angry stories from Newcastle and the beginning of a new sound for Knats."
To celebrate the release of the new album, the band are currently out on a UK headline tour this spring including an appearance at Brick Lane Jazz Festival. The dates follow the band’s US debut at SXSW in March. Full dates are as follows:
April 24th - Where Else?, Margate - UK
April 25th - Brick Lane Jazz Festival, London - UK
April 27th - Quarry, Liverpool - UK
April 28th - Band On The Wall, Manchester - UK
April 29th - Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds - UK
April 30th - Hare & Hound, Birmingham - UK
May 1st - The Glad Cafe, Glasgow - UK
May 2nd - Cobalt, Newcastle - UK
"A Great Day In Newcastle" is out 1st May via Fontana - pre-order here / pre-save 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
Album credits:
Stanley Elvis Woodward - Writer; Arranger; Bass Guitar; Synth Bass; Words / Lyrics
King David Ike-Elechi - Drums; Percussion; Arranger
Ferg Kilsby - Trumpet; Flugelhorn; Co-writer; Arranger
Cooper Robson - Words / Lyrics
Geordie Greep - Producer; Electric Guitar
George Johnson - Tenor Saxophone
Sandro Shargorodsky - Keyboards; Piano; Synthesiser; Synth Bass
Tobias Amadio - Trumpet
Enya Barber - Violin
Frank Barr - Clarinet
Bertie Beaman - Trombone
Sebastian Barley - French Horn
Tom Ford - Electric Guitar
Viviane Ghiglino - Flute
Otto Kampa - Alto Saxophone; Conductor
Morgan Key - Cello
Josh Mitchell Rayner - Writer; Arranger; Piano
Dillon Pinder - Trombone
Ed Pickford - Writer
Lucy Rowan - Alto Flute
Natalia Solis Paredes - Viola
Congling Wu – Violin
Engineered by Simone Gallizio at Fish Factory Studios
Mixed by Hugh Padgham and Chris Webb at the Friary Studios
Mastered by Caspar Sutton-Jones at Gearbox Productions
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