Our regular run-down of as many of the Bloodstock bands as we can get to talk to us! King Kraken play the EMP stage on the Friday…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We usually state we’re from Cardiff on social media but are all based between West and South Wales. Llanelli, Swansea, Maesteg, Pontypridd and the dark side of Mordor or Tredegar as it’s sometimes known.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
Pete (rhythm guitar) started the band in 2018 after advertising for like-minded musicians in the area, which led to a strange group of people finding common ground and making noise.
Where does the name of the band come from?
The name of the band comes from the legendary beast, the Kraken. We thought, well what is even better and darker than a Kraken? And all loved the idea of the King Kraken! A beast who feasts on the blood of the lesser-known Kraken’s and generally wipes the rest of its competition out of existence. Born was King Kraken!
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We all have such a varied interest in different styles of music that when we write, our influences are thrown in to the boiling pot, which creates a unique sound that is us, simply put. We don’t try to sound like anybody else, and have heard people state that we sound like certain, mainly American bands but I personally disagree with this as an individual. I don’t see it myself. I’d say our sound is a hybrid of guitar orientated groove, with heavy undertones of metal and a strange fruity aroma of fucked up guitar and drummy goodness, with a side of gravel swallowing throat infection for good measure that sticks to your lips like a blueberry gobstopper. I can’t personally say we sound like anything out there at the moment. We aim to be independently unique and you will hear how our writing has become more honed and focused with our 2nd album, which is being recorded straight after Bloodstock Festival.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
Firstly, we love to have fun and our front man Mark is a big bearded character who reigns the audience in with his humour and sarcastic blend of dark twistedness and menacing grimaces…his voice isn’t too bad either. We’re a high octane band who loves to play and get involved with the music, we play it because we love it, and play it because we know the audience will love it too! We get involved and where able to, and actually get in the crowd too at any chance. We recently spent 4 days crafting 100 baby Krakens for a balloon drop and the whole place went fucking nuts. We can honestly say, we go the extra mile as a band because its our life!
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
Bloodstock is an iconic festival where most bands I know have tried and some succeeded to play. We’re like the cat who’s got the cream since being asked to play and can’t wait to plug in and let loose at a festival we love going to ourselves with friends and family. It’s an absolute dream come true for us all to be fair!
When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?
It’s a funny old story actually. We’re aware that bands who have only played Bloodstock or had previously won M2TM competitions are the only bands usually invited to headline the finals around the UK, and we were invited to play at the London final before finding out that we had been chosen to play Bloodstock itself…we agreed to play and wondered whether somebody had made a mistake and didn’t want to say they’d possibly made an error but the following day Simon Hall ed our manager Ceri Davies after applying on our behalf to tell us the fantastic news! We are all thrilled to bits!
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What sort of setlist can we expect?
We are focusing mainly on our first album as this is what’s out there being listened to. It’s a collection of work that we’re very proud of, our baby so to say, but we will throw in a new track or two if required as a taster of the goodness of what’s to come in our new album!
Stage times haven’t been announced yet, so which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
We are all hoping to be able to catch Clutch on the Friday night but there’s so many bands we want to see over the whole weekend to be honest! What a line-up. Well done to all involved!
What are you working on at the moment?
We’ve got 10 new tracks ready to go and can’t wait to show you all! You’re going to love it! We’ve sort of matured and have trimmed the fat focusing on the real meat! We can’t wait to show you this prime cut!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Apart from breaking a rib crowd surfing at a festival the day before playing mainstage and being unable to even lift my amp on to the cab due to this, it’s probably flying to Ibiza to play, not being given any details of hotels, pick up times or arrangements by anyone…we thought “fuck it, we’re still going!” and after two of the lads almost missing their flights as they were sitting in the wrong end of the airport, we managed to pull it all together with determination and a whole lot of laughter and free beer due to the music venue mistaking the hotel wrist bands for the free bar wristbands! What a palaver but great fun!
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
Before a gig we may have one pint of lager while waiting, but it’s usually soft or energy drinks to keep us on our toes!
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