Having spent the last few years releasing a wave of bright and diverse indie-rock offerings, Salt Lake City-based outfit Krooked Kings now return with their latest toe-tapping endeavour 'Fool's Gold'.
With a wide range of influencers that include The Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin and Bon Iver, 'Fool's Gold' is the bright and uplifting release that we are all looking for right now. Layered with woozy vocals, reverb-soaked guitar riffs, and finely tuned rhythms, their newest delight looks set to see them become one of the United States' next big exports.
So with their new single doing the rounds right now, we sat down with them to find out more about their origins and what first kick started their love of music.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
Paul: Guitar hero! Seriously though, my parents made me get piano lessons when I was a kid and I never took them seriously. As soon as Guitar Hero III came out I developed an unhealthy obsession that eventually led me to start playing guitar.
What has been the most prominent inspiration behind your music so far?
David: Our lead singer Oli's tumultuous love life takes up most of the song subject matter.
What kind of music did you love as a teenager?
Matt: Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, Phoenix, STRFKR, any angsty early indie rock or indie electronica.
Can you remember the first song that made you want to pursue a life in music?
Oli: 'Holocene' by Bon Iver always hit really hard for me and I remember figuring out how to play it as soon as I got my first guitar.
When you wake up in the morning, what kind of music do you like to listen to?
Paul: Unpopular opinion but I'm a huge fan of reggae music. Anything from early dub stuff like Peter Tosh to the kinda new wave reggae like Rebelution is great for getting the morning started off.
How many of your songs have you written about people in your life?
Oli: Literally all of them. Through one avenue or another our music usually is about relationships or friendships we've had in the past or present, most of our lyrics are pretty on the nose with that stuff.
What has been the most memorable moment in your career so far?
Matt: Honestly we get a lot of support from friends and family, so when we started picking up some traction and realised there were people in the audience we've never met and they knew the words to some of our songs we were all pretty stoked.
Outside of music, what is your biggest passion?
Paul: We're from Utah which is right in the mountains. We all grew up camping, skiing, and mountain biking which is how a lot of us fill up our free time when we're not gigging or in the studio.
If you weren’t a musician, what other path do you think you might have taken?
David: I got my degree in English so I've always been really into writing. My brother and I actually bounce ideas for comedy scripts off each other from time to time and I would love to see that turn into something even if it's just a little side project. We grew up watching The Simpsons and Futurama so getting into something along those lines would be amazing.
And what advice would you give to other musicians looking to start a career in music?
Matt: I'd say start playing shows but the 'rona and LiveNation kinda screwed the pooch on that one. Next to that I'd say get some music on Spotify; it's easier than ever to record your music from home and if it catches the right ears, Spotify provides a huge platform for growth. I can honestly say I never thought we'd have the following we have now.
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Krooked Kings' new single 'Fool's Gold' is available to stream and download now. Have a listen to it in the player below.