KHARTOUM Words: Sam Taylor.
“WE'RE PRETTY HANDY WITH A NAIL GUN” JAK E TUL L E Y
FIRST ON.↓
form… when you write something, you're always excited about the next thing as writing and releasing is a form of therapy. In our heads, we're already on the next EP and ready to exercise some demons. How did you pull together your new EP, 'Some Days'? What was your starting point, and how did you approach curating the track-listing? Following our previous EP 'Vultures', this was just naturally the next step, I guess. By this point, we'd all had a good influence on each other's process and the kind of sound we wanted to pursue. Generally, we start with a lot of ideas, and those ideas get shaped and moulded into the songs that end up on the record… a chorus idea might end up as a middle 8, and seemingly incidental moments might end up as a key hook. We fine-tune things and then share it with the likes of George Murphy and Eduardo De La Paz (who's got a rather nice Grammy perched on his studio shelf). How did building your own studio come about? Cam moved out of London last year and converted an old milking shed into what we now call our studio. Cam nailed it with YouTube tutorials, and before we knew it, we had a fully functioning studio, complete with the aforementioned floating floors and soundproofing… although I don't think the cows would mind the odd rumbling bass-line.
Having already picked up comparisons to Wolf Alice and Sunflower Bean, London three-piece KHARTOUM guarantee a nice time with their warm guitar-pop tunes. With their second EP 'Some Days' fast approaching - written and recorded at their self-built studio - they're stepping up and into a mould all of their own.
Was building a studio difficult? What were the logistics like? Both Cam and I have worked in the trades so I like to think we're pretty handy with a nail gun. Essentially the studio was coming When did you all meet? Who's idea was it together at the same time as recording the to start making music together? Cam and I met at Uni, where we both studied EP, so it became about finishing the drum room to record the drums, and then next music; we lived together there and were always playing our guitars and messing about week finishing the vocal booth to record the musically. We bonded over a mutual respect vocals. It was full-on, but I think the end result for Josh Homme. We met Scarlett later down is a justified reflection of all the blood, sweat and tears. the line at a party in a field somewhere, and Hi Jake! It's weird that we're already she felt like the right person to complete the halfway through the year isn't it, how have missing piece of the band's puzzle. What are you working on at the moment? you found 2022 so far? More tunes to release soon! We want to get It's going quickly, definitely much quicker more than just this EP out this year, so we will How long did it take you to find your than the last couple of years has gone. be spending plenty of time in the studio and sound? This year has been excellent so far: we've already have a couple of songs in the works, We're always developing our sound, but managed to write and record our second EP getting where we are now stylistically has which we are really excited about. They are and get most of it out there with our label evolved over the last 12 months, having spent coming thick and fast, which is nice. Young Poet with some great support along It's a great space for rehearsals, too, so we'll time dug in at our own studio with fewer the way. We've got exciting plans for the distractions and more space to try things out be doing that too in preparations for the rest of the year; I think 2022 is going to be a shows in the pipeline. and really put the needle on the records we tasty one. want to be making. We all like different music Do you have a busy summer ahead? and have a vast range of influences, so the Tell us about your band then - who are process of working those influences together Plenty going on, so much. Not too much, you all, and what are your roles within the to create our sound has been a really fulfilling though. Never enough. group? We'll be returning to Glastonbury after the process for the three of us. We're named after the Racehorse in long Covid break and will be announcing The Godfather… the one that meets an some more festivals and shows very soon. What do you most enjoy writing songs unfortunate end. Hopefully, things work out about, are there any topics you're a bit better for the band. I'm Jake, the bass Is there anything else we should know? particularly drawn to? player and unofficial tour manager (meaning A lot of our writing comes from personal If you listen really carefully, you can check out I can be more relied upon than the others not experiences. I've found there's no better way one of our tunes in the current season 3 of to miss our train, plane, automobile). Cam is to process an experience than writing a song The Servant on Apple TV. ■ the guitarist, lead singer and producer and about it, and like a lot of people, the last 24 pretty much single-handedly built our studio months have thrown up a lot of things that KHARTOUM's EP 'Some Days' is out 17th in the depths of Devon where we recorded June. you want to get out there in some shape or
28. DORK
this EP (who knew floating drum floors could be so interesting), and Scarlett is the drummer extraordinaire.
GAG SALON
→ The press gubbins that comes with every new band describes Gag Salon as "the surviving members of a function band gone up in flames" and "the guinea pigs of experimental surgery and new age psychotherapy". Okay then. What they actually are is really very good indeed. With a sense of humour and a dynamic thrust towards the brilliantly bizarre, their new EP 'Get A Load of This Guy' drops on 16th June.
STRABE
→ Strabe formed after Angelica - originally from Scotland - stepped into the smoking section at a music festival in Cork. Emmett, born and raised in Ireland, kept her company despite not smoking himself. The resulting chat about music was fertile ground, but after filing to swap numbers, it was a chance meeting months later that gave them the chance to actually start making music. Relocating to London between lockdowns, they deal in relatable, real-life alt-pop that pulls all the emotional strings. With a debut EP due next month, the promise is obvious.
JUST WONDERING
→ Dublin's Just Wondering make the kind of indie alt-pop that colours outside the boundaries of genre. Take recent single 'idk, maybe'. With a bopping, bubbling groove, there's hints of The 1975 - not so much in the sound itself, but in the way it magpies from across the dial, pulling influences to create something that fits a vibe but never succumbs to expectation. That's the kind of talent to keep two eyes firmly locked.
C