King Kartel

MANCHESTER has been renowned for it's music heritage for a while now and I cannot help but feel that there aren't as many musicians coming out from the woodwork right now who are ready to make an impact themselves, stepping out of the The Stone Roses and Oasis limelight, then I came across King Kartel. 

The 4-piece divide their time between Newry and Manchester, creating an alternative rock sounding that shakes an audience to their knees, bringing a sing-a-long yet tactful gutsy factor back to the genre which is in need of desperate TLC. 

Their single, 'Stone Cold Killer', had me knocking at the King Kartel door instantly. It's heart-thumping beat has the capability of bringing a captivated silence upon all who hear, proving their musical prowess in under 30 seconds. Once the vocals begin, the whole track becomes stuck together by an addictive vibe which is injected through it's veins, making you crave its anthem-esque sound on a much more greater scale. Imagine a night out in town, fists in the air, music knocking at your eardrums, feeling invincible? King Kartel are the creators of this phenomenon with nothing comparing to the euphonious sound unfolding in front of our very eyes.



'Artillery', the next track I came across as. It's echoey, full-pelt electric introduction brings a thudding pace to the track, feet go tapping as you feel yourself propelling through the air, churning your stomach as you feel a fantastic buzz around the quartet, you know you have found your new favourite sound, craze and craving. The track is almost all instrumental, the occasional vocals are needed yet are not too overwhelming, helping the sound develop and exaggerate it's playfulness, you appreciate King Kartel a lot more as for this factor.


Cleverly using the Manchester link to their advantage, King Kartel take their music to build bridges from the old and carry to the new. I thoroughly enjoy what they're doing, the only way is up for these lads so watch out! I grabbed an interview with them to find out more about the guys behind the cool facade...


How did you all decide to become King Kartel?
We were in a band  and we hadn't the most imaginative name you could think of. We thought it might hold us back and it didn't really represent the direction our music was heading.
Where does your inspiration come from when writing tracks?
The tracks are inspired by any amount of things. Everyday experiences, drunken nights out and whatever music we've been listening to I guess.
Any pre-gig rituals that take place?
We usually sit down have a few drinks and a few smokes, Tom goes off on one about the economy, global warming and how we're all basically fucked and we tell Mick his hairs lovely.
Has anything surprised you now that you're working together in this way?
Just how much our sounds changing from the earlier stuff, we've become alot more open minded in what we're willing to do now.
We've learnt alot and it's changed our opinion of how things work. As much as we love making music It's nothing like the fairytale we thought it would be. The idea that you write a song and the next minute your on top of the pops wasn't long going out the window.
How has the response been to your new single, Stone Cold?
It's been pretty sweet. I think the video got around 15,000 views in the last month which is immense! If we could turn that into sales or people turning up to our gigs now that would be worth talking about.
What are your opinions of 'Battle Of The Bands' gigs?
We're not a big fan of these competitions, yet when we started out our first gig was in one which we won and it helped us gain exposure locally.
I went to watch a gig once which was the final of a botb in Manchester. There was one act that pissed over everyone but they won fuck all. There was a group of out of tune spotty teenagers who brought a bigger crowd down and they seemed to get the winning vote.
I'd prefer if they were judged on how good your songs are (not covers) and not how many tickets you sell for greedy promoters.
How did the name 'King Kartel' come about?
King Kartel seemed fitting as we call all our mates king. So we threw a few ideas together between us and one drunken night at Kendal Calling last year after our set we agreed on King Kartel. I'm not sure we even remembered the next morning but someone must have had a flashback and brought it up on the way home so we just went with it.
Where/what do you think holds the most opportunities to get your music heard?
Playing gigs probably, airplay or online plugging. Most management companies etc,. won't even listen unless your recommended to them so unless you've got the contacts you're fucked. You have to fight harder to get your music out there.
Are festivals something you would all be interested in?
Definitely. I'm not sure if there'll be many this year but that's top of the agenda for the summer of 2014.
What does this year hold for you?
This year holds the band maybe upgrading to a five piece, the release of our debut E.P, then an album along with a few stand alone singles.
We've got any amount of songs ready and by the end of the summer we should have two strong albums in the bag to choose from, with a wide variety of sing along crowd pleasers to foot stomping anthems & the odd ballad.

I'd like to thank King Kartel for this fantastic insight to their music, keep watch, we'll be hearing more very soon!

https://www.facebook.com/kingkartelofficial/
http://kingkartel.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/stone-cold-killer/id622740869?i=622743379


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