Produced By and Featuring Geordie Greep
“They gleefully rewire jazz with a hard-as-nails rhythm section, drum’n’bass energy and punk aggression.”
–Guardian
“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
“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
“Jaw-dropping brilliance”
–Jazzwise
Today, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK jazz trailblazers Knats have shared details of their highly anticipated new album A Great Day In Newcastle. The record comes with production from long-time friend and collaborator Geordie Greep (black midi) – who also features on one of the tracks – and will be released March 6 digitally and March 29 physically via London analogue specialists Gearbox Records (Abdullah Ibrahim, Elliot Galvin, Liza Lo, Cahill//Costello).
Led by two lifelong best friends from Newcastle, Stan Woodward (bass) and King David-Ike Elechi (drums), 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, 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.
HEAR / SHARE “WOR JACKIE” HERE
The new album sees the band pull together the same sophisticated musical arrangements that have seen them win over crowds and critics across the country – the strong melodies and genre-fluid, danceable grooves – but also harks back to their roots in rock and experimentation, with much of the compositional work here is based around Olivier Messiaen’s modes, creating a suspended, uncanny, and colourful sound. Despite this, it never once feels inaccessible.
Wor Jackie,” the first single to be taken from the new album, dives 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, given that Milburn would apparently would do half days in the coal mine and half days on the football pitch for Newcastle in his heyday. The narrative is navigated via impassioned poetry from Cooper Robson and blistering solos from Stan and George Johnson (Tenor Saxophone). The track the marks of a change in sound for Knats, showcasing a heavier aesthetic combined with elements of storytelling, through the new addition to the group, Cooper Robson. The track was also Stan’s first experiment in using Messiaen modes as a vehicle for composition.
Speaking on the track, Stan says “‘Wor Jackie’ was written at a time when I was reading into the North East coal mining industry, after a conversation with me grandad talking about his time as a pitman. The community aspect amongst the pitman astounded me, given the dangerous nature of the job. The piece, I initially intended to be a moody sort of march, which then evolved with the addition of Cooper Robsons gorgeous poems. The title ‘Wor Jackie’ refers to Newcastle football player Jackie Milburn, who was believed to have done half days in the pit and half on the football pitch, and who I thought would be the perfect character to represent this story.”
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 aforementioned 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.”
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 continues:
“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 will head out on a UK headline tour this spring including an appearance at Brick Lane Jazz Festival. Ahead of the tour the band will also play a one-off headline show at London’s 100 Club as part of their January Jazz Festival.
Knats Tour Dates
Jan 21 – 100 Club, London
, UK
April 22 – The Hope & Ruin, Brighton
, UK
April 23 – Voodoo Daddy’s, Norwich
, UK
April 24 – Where Else?, Margate
, UK
April 25 – Brick Lane Jazz Festival, London
, UK
April 27 – Quarry, Liverpool
, UK
April 28 – Band On The Wall, Manchester
, UK
April 29 – Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds
, UK
April 30 – Hare & Hound, Birmingham
, UK
May 1 – The Glad Cafe, Glasgow
, UK
May 2 – Cobalt, Newcastle
, UK
