My name’s Alex Knight and I play drums for Kins. I met Thom [Savage] and Jacky [Cartwright] in Melbourne when I was touring Australia with an old band, but we didn’t end up playing together until three years later, after they’d moved here to the UK We released our debut album a little over a month ago and the plan now is tour it as far and wide as we can.
What’s your earliest memory of performing and who inspired you to start?
My first public appearance as a drummer was performing in front of patients at the local psychiatric hospital. I was in a three-piece with two brothers and their father worked there. That was in ’99. My dad had a worn out VHS from 1985 of when Midnight Oil played on Goat Island. I remember being particularly thrilled and inspired by watching the way Rob Hirst played.
‘Fess up. What records have you stolen from your parent’s record collection and why?
I took my dad’s copy of Ocean Rain by Echo & the Bunnymen when I moved out, as well as a bunch of Cocteau Twins albums and a few of Enya’s. I’d go back to his place and he’d have bought new copies after they’d all been ‘missing’ for so long.
Kins have been relocated to the UK for nearly two years now, what’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learned as a band from that experience?
That you can’t wait around for things to happen.
What’s the biggest difference to being a band operating in Brighton, England? Do you still identify as an Australian group?
For me Brighton is simply somewhere that’s not too far from London where the rent is relatively cheap and you’re by the seaside. If there’s any kind of scene here, then I’m not aware of it. As for identity, our bass player [Rob Walters] is from the midlands and I think it’d make the same difference to us if we were identified as being from up there. It’s not something that’s ever really raised by us.
You recently released your full-length debut album – the self-titled Kins – which has been a long time in the works. Can you give us a trajectory towards the final product?
There have been several incarnations for a Kins album since the band started, but the one that’s out now was turned over very quickly in fact. The majority of the material was written within a year of its release and the actual recording, mixing, and mastering took about two to three months.
Rhythm plays a big part in your music, can you talk about how that forms a basis for the songwriting? What is it about rhythm that you appreciate?
There’s often an effort to avoid the rhythms ever feeling too comfortable, there’s a deliberate awkwardness or obtuseness. This often leaves a lot of space for the rest of the parts. When it comes to the drum kit, the absence of constant cymbal crashing is a good example of this.
Tell us about the monkey and the puppy on the artwork? What drew you to that image?
We realised fairly early on that we wanted a photograph as opposed to an illustration and when Thom found it online one day, everyone loved it. It was taken by a Swiss man called Karl Ammann, who’s been working in Africa to protect the Apes for the last 25 years. We were looking forward to people reading whatever they wanted into it, but for me the image just resonates with the songs and I’m not sure why.
The album is currently availably digitally; do you have any plans to release it physically? A crowdfunding platform perhaps?
We do. I don’t think the magic of holding a real copy of a record in your hands will ever die. We haven’t ever discussed crowdfunding…
What would you say your evocative brand of music is the best soundtrack for?
Hopefully a new Mercedes Benz advert. I got kids to feed.
What’s on heavy rotation on your iPod right now? And how do you find new music?
Young Fathers, Part Chimp, Swans, Eyehategod and Popol Vuh. The Spotify ‘related artists’ tab is pretty useful I’ve found (for new music). Good ol’ Pitchfork seem to unearth a lot of metal bands from out of nowhere, I like that.
You’ve played the Great Escape and Latitude Festivals this year; has there been a particular highlight? How have they helped in terms of exposure?
Watching Young Fathers at The Great Escape was the highlight. They are extraordinary. Great Escape is essentially a ‘showcase’ festival not unlike SXSW, so the idea is that people from the business-end pop round to watch, so that there is a particularly potent form of exposure. Latitude, I’m not sure, although I suppose it can’t hurt to have your name listed next to Kraftwerk.
If you could curate your own festival, where would it be, who would be on the bill, how many people would you let in and what features would it have?
It would be a festival made up entirely of actor/musicians, held in Wolverhampton town hall. William Shatner would be there and so would Scarlett Johansson, Bruce Willis, and Steven Seagal. Punters would have the rare opportunity to see Seagal perform Songs From The Crystal Cave in its entirety.
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living Australian artist would you most like to collaborate with? Tell us why?
Lisa Gerrard. Because she’s one half of Dead Can Dance, the greatest antipodean band of the last 30 years.
Any plans for an Australian visit or tour on a future itinerary?
It’s something we’re all real keen to do. No concrete plans though.
Kins’ debut album is available worldwide on iTunes through East City Records and Kobalt Music.
Buy –https://itunes.apple.com/album/kins/id670291361?ls=1
Stream – https://soundcloud.com/kins/sets/kins-debut
