JKLMNO

JKLMNO. No, I’m not reciting the alphabet, that’s the name of the winning band in Supajam’s Fast Track to Benicassim competition. The Wrexham based outfit triumphed against 1’000 bands and from their early doors set it’s easy to see why. An accidental collision of band member and equipment threatens their start but it’s unusual to find an unsigned one showing this much confidence.

Choruses build and pulsate, readily embracing the hope and candor that the likes of Snow Patrol and Sigur Ros possess with their endearing hits. The song they entered the competition with, The War Song, even pails in comparison to the rest of their set. In fact with a production gloss-over Nothing To Lose could easily become their singalong, arms aloft anthem. At one point it’s just lead singer Carl Harrison and the drummer Nick Roberts, stripping the sound down to its emotive bare bones. Harrison almost has the look of a budding Chris Martin at this point, concentrating on his keyboard before delivering sincerely soft lyrics.

It soon becomes a well rounded set. Gradually lulling the sound down with ornate feather-light guitar melodies leaving the lyrics to shine through whilst they aren’t afraid of ballsy, proud chords either. All this assured playing renders their complex name a paradox amongst such seemingly effortless songs. They end on a song entitled Future Potential, as if they needed to tell us.
- Omar Soliman, Roomthirteen.com

'..as young as they were, with your eyes closed they could have quite easily passed for a veteran pop-rock group cast in the epic mould. Passing on punk, these five youths have gone straight for emo in its most adult form, employing their remarkable instrumental prowess to emulate the hugely popular bands they so admire' - FIB Newspaper

It's safe to say Jklmno are the first band I have ever come across whose moniker is unpronounceable. Tricky name aside, for anyone who was a Snow Patrol fan from the days when you could turn up at Barfly on the night they were playing and still get a ticket, this could be your lucky day. 'Locking Doors' will sound vaguely familiar, as it strongly holds in a wide range of influences from the band, coming together to make one hell of a summer festival song. '7 Days In The Sky' is more of a single than the lead-off track, full of melodic spine tingling hooks that would have made it a worthy contender for an episode of the OC, with Carl Harrison's softly sung vocals pulling at your heart strings from the word go. As the EP comes to a close, the mellow swansong of 'Come Forth You Kings' leaves you wanting more - as well driving yourself crazy trying to say their name so you can run out and tell everyone you know about them. - Rock Midgets

Having launched to a phenomenal response on the 21st May through www.supajam.com/ fasttrack, the ultimate unsigned band competition 'Fast Track to FIB Heineken’ is estatic to announce that JKLMNO have fought off the stiff competition and won the gig of a lifetime at The Benicassim Music Festival.


From over 1,000 original entries JKLMNO will play alongside festival legends Morrissey, Gnarls Barkley, My Bloody Valentine and many more at this year’s Benicassim Music Festival on 20th July.

The nail-biting final stage of the competition took place on 1st July at the Pigalle Club, London where the 5 hotly-tipped finalists performed in front of a sell out crowd and a panel of music industry experts led by festival legend Vince Power and consisting of; Loaded Magazine creator James Brown, SupaJam founder David Court, Julie Cullen of BBC 6 Music / BBC News 24 and Kelly Chappell of Live Nation. After much nail-biting deliberation these 5 music industry tastemakers decided that JKLMNO’s phenomenal live set just set them apart from the 4 other outstanding bands on the night to take the 1st prize.

Well done JKLMNO, a thoroughly deserved victory and a big thank you to everyone who made this such a memorable night!

The 4 unlucky runners-up didn’t go home empty handed as Vince Power announced they would all receive VIP backstage passes to this year’s Benicassim festival.
- Music News.com

Here's a concept that works. Pit five upcoming bands against each other, get them to perform three songs each, and have them judged by some highly knowledgeable music industry heavyweights, including Vince Power, Joe Barnes (Front Magazine), Julie Cullen (6 Music) and Kelly Chapel (Live Nation). And for what prize? The chance to win their ticket to perform at the Benicassim festival in Spain this year.

Held at the intimate Pigalle Club in Piccadilly, Supajam was a lesson in how much new talent is out there and also, of course, how competitive the music industry really is. The bands, "CODES", "The Silk Pigs", "JKLMNO", "Doll & the Kicks", and "The Critical" each performed three original songs which proved to be exciting format for the crowd, which was made up of some key music industry players.

JKLMNO, the third band to play on the night, are clearly heading places and so thought the judges who awarded them with top performance for the night and flights to Benicassim. "We never do very well at this kind of thing", said lead-singer, as well as acoustic guitarist and keyboardist, Carl Harrison after they had won. "I was so nervous before the show, but it just came together once we got up on stage". It came as no surprise to hear from Carl that, "one of my greatest influences is Jeff Buckley", and the band plays a versatile mix of down-tempo melody-driven tunes, with some slightly more rockier tunes mixed in for good measure. The songs are lyric-driven, which Carl explains comes from studying English at university. Featuring acoustic, bass and electric guitars, the band is also progressive in style slightly reminisce of Radiohead. Clearly the band is chomping at the bit with excitement with the opportunity to head to Spain, and Carl summed it up when he said, "this is the biggest thing that's ever happened to us".

However, the result was never clear-cut as every single band that played impressed the punters. Starting off proceedings was CODES with their experimental rock and catchy choruses. Immediately chasing CODES was the Silk Pigs led by charismatic lead-singer Brandon Webb wearing a hat so wide-brimmed that you could have sworn he was already in the Spanish sun. "In Tents Humming" was a multi-paced rock song that without a doubt holds commercial appeal, but don't worry boys you are still true rockers. They may not yet have a record deal, but surely it must just be around the corner for this talented band that play a great range of melodically-focused rock music.

Doll & the Kicks is also a band on the move, especially in the Brighton scene where they hail from. Led by the wiry blonde-haired Doll, who captivated the audience with her prancing and dancing around stage but more particularly her singing, the band is as kooky as Tokyo. It will be no surprise if this band soon strikes gold.

Closing off the night were the rockers, "The Critical", who may not be heading to Spain but apparently have just had success in security £15,000 through www.slicethepie to help record an album. Lead singer, Ollie Benn, has a stellar voice and the kind of edge that distinguished Mike Patton of Faith No More.

Supajam was an extremely entertaining night, and a great chance for upcoming bands to show their wares.

Congratulations to the winners: JKLMNO - Wrexham - Tim Kernutt, Backstage Pass