Kicking out the jams: Interview with Kent's Wez King
Maidstone musician Wez King on doing it for the love, the XFM doc soundtrack and why a bit of rain can help
While watching music documentary Kick Out the Jams: The Story of XFM last Christmas, a funny thing happened. You had your expected soundtrack staples from Suede, Oasis and The Libertines, but there were another couple of tracks that I recognised but couldn’t for the life of me work out who they were.
Shazam wasn’t picking them up, but I knew them, the style, the voice. So, in waiting for the final credits, as the names of Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Alan McGhee, Steve Craddock, Peter Doherty, Carl Barat, Steve Lamacq and many more rolled past, I was astounded to finally see that of Wez King.
“Yeah, I think they used five songs altogether,” says Wez. “I got put in touch with a PR company called Songbird and we worked on a few releases with Sally Newman. She’s just had our back ever since, and she’s now our manager.
“She got us our first Radio X play and sorted that out with the XFM documentary. I was so chuffed when that happened. I couldn’t believe it.”
While it helps who you know, Wez’s music suits the film perfectly. Interesting and vibrant indie rock with plenty of swagger.
When the Kasabian-esque drums kicked in on the 2021 single Loaded Gun, I remember thinking at the time “This guy knows what he’s doing”.
“The tent we were playing in was on the way to the mainstage. And just before our set it started pissing it down. So everyone came in!”
“Do you know what? That drumbeat was on a keyboard, but I’ve had so many people mention those drums,” says Wez. “My producer at the time, Mark Allen, made them pop. It’s funny, I can’t listen to Loaded Gun, I just don’t really like it.”
Having previously been in a successful band, Tres Kings, Wez went out on his own and bagged some early success appearing on bills alongside the likes of Doves, Tom Grennan and The Vaccines. And while tracks like Clay and the popular We Were Young have continued to flow, the past 18 months have seen the Maidstone-born artist jump to another level.
Hailed by Radio X’s John Kennedy, Wez has been busy recruiting, with a line-up now comprising Sahib Dhinsa on bass, Josh Caister on lead guitar and Alfie Carroll on drums.
“I’ve been writing songs for ages, but most of it’s been behind closed doors,” he says. “Since pretty much after Loaded Gun came out, I’ve been looking for a band. We’ve got such a great team now. We all support each other. And like most bands, no one’s getting paid. Everyone’s just into the music. I feel really lucky to have the boys with me.”
This year has seen the releases of the Jamie T-style Cool Kid and the anthemic Officer, recorded at The Libertines’ Albion Rooms studio.
“I’ve known the producer Jason Stafford for years,” says Wez. “I used to gig with him and his old band Crybaby Special. He’s backed me since day one as well, so it’s just really nice recording with him because he knows me very well and knows what I want out of it. He’s just a great producer.”
A carpenter by day, Wez has been around the block. He’s done the pub gigs and the covers-only gigs. But he is far from jaded. In fact, he’s just getting started.
“I love writing songs,” he says. “For me, it’s like therapy in a way, as weird as that sounds. I love the creative process. The new stuff that we’ve got to release in the coming months is different again. I like to just try out new things, but I like the music to come across as real as possible.
“But in the last few studio sessions that we’ve recorded the new songs, everyone’s had their input. I’ve made it really clear that I want this thing to be a band. I don’t want it to be all about me as a solo artist. I’m not interested in that. It’s a team effort, so everyone really believes in the music.”
While the group have already bagged gigs at The Brighton Rock’n’Roll Circus, as well as at Islington’s O2 Academy in early summer, the 2023 appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival will live long in the memory.
“That was wicked,” recalls Wez. “We got really lucky on that day. The tent we were playing was on the way to the mainstage. And just before our set it started pissing it down. So everyone came in! We had a good 500 people in that tent. That was definitely a highlight.”
It’s those moments, playing live in front of a crowd that’s up for it, that keeps smaller bands doing what they do in an industry that is almost impossible to career in now.
“The way I see it, it’s not even really an industry anymore,” says Wes. “It’s just people doing their hobbies. No one’s making money. I can see why a lot of artists and bands just pack it in. Because if you’re doing it for the money, you’re in the wrong job - it doesn’t pay well.
“But the way I see it, it’s an investment. I mean, I never thought that my songs would be in a film, especially with Ricky Gervais and stuff like that. That was crazy. I’m just writing songs and making sure that the songs have a bit of substance to them. Just keep knocking out quality and then hope for the best, really.”
