Have a slab of alternative for your daily fix of new-ness.
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re from all over but formed in Leeds.
How did you meet?
Me and Jacob know each other from playing in bands back home in Kettering. We moved to Leeds together and met the other guys through studying music. I met Seb through working the bar with him at a Leeds venue called Belgrave.
How long have you been playing as a band?
Me and Jacob started KOYO in 2015 but the five of us have only been playing together properly since 2017.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Jacob got stoned once…
What are your influences?
The people and things going on around us.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Our new stuff has been described as gnarly post-rock, gritty guitar music, alt-rock. Our old stuff was described as space-pop, nu prog. You decide…We have a lot of different faces but it all ties in together. I think the vocals do that.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
I’d rather the listener read into the lyrics themselves.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Quite free, organic, raw and loud! The five of us have played roughly 54 gigs together.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Our good friend and tour manager Kieran climbed up on stage last year in Birmingham, danced with us and then tripped over the monitor backwards, falling off the stage and landing on his back on the floor…
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Our drummer mostly plays a Grestch kit. Can’t the model name right now. Dan plays a Jazz bass. Guitar wise I play a Les Paul and sometimes a Jazzmaster and Seb plays a Strat and sometimes a Jazzmaster too. The sometimes is mainly because neither of us actually own a Jazzmaster, we just borrow Jacob’s!
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
Our brand new single “Before”. Check it out on Spotify or Soundcloud or the music video on YouTube! Go on our website and you can link to everything from there.
What are your plans for 2019?
Releasing lots of new music throughout the year and playing as many shows and festivals as we can!
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be ing and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
Our dream band to would probably be Queens of the Stone Age. And we’d have our friends in No Violet us.
KOYO: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | youtube
