KIK
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KIK

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"KIK Back!"

There are few bands in Sheffield that should they walk down the street are instantly recognised as people in a band. Even Alice Cooper fans strolled right past Alice Cooper the last time he visited the city due to his stage demeanour failing to transfer to the sidewalk. The boys of KIK don’t have this problem. As we enter a café, heads turn and stare at the black glamness of it all and all eyes follow us to our table. The circus is in town baby, and the show’s about to begin.

KIK have just completed recording their debut album, a sumptuous collection of synth-keyboard-guitar-pomp-pop-rock that celebrates the magic lost when the likes of Mick Ronson hit the deck and over the top good old rock ‘n’ roll sleaze became a dirty word. But KIK have resurrected the dirty word and if you wanna argue about it, they’ll run you down in a silver limousine packed tight with lap dancers and Jack Daniels! This band can talk it ‘cos they live it. Though only two of the band are actually here to chat about the album. Vocalist and guitarist, D’lear and synth/vocoder man, Presley Taylor-Taylor — Whom after his initial enthusiastic response to our meeting suddenly reverses into his shell when I casually inform him that today is the anniversary of his namesakes death, way back in 1977.

“Is it the 16th?”, asks Presley. “Oh my God! Elvis died today! I’d forgotten. I think I’m going to have to have a cry, I’m feeling quite emotional. Can you turn the tape off please?”

So it’s more or less left up to D’lear to provide the quotes as Presley Taylor-Taylor sinks lower than a hooker at a midget convention and toasts the memory of The King, with large doses of Spanish lager.

"The album’s called RockScar”, begins D’lear. “And I can only describe it as rock ‘n’ roll electronica. Trying to get that sleazy rock ‘n’ roll feel to it, but with powerful electronic synthesizers. I’ve been after achieving this sound for a long long ime and I’ve sat back and listened to the album as a whole now and I’m kinda

proud of it. One of the tracks on the album, called ‘Crack-Whore-Barbi’, Kerrang! FM have just made it one of their modern day classic tracks, which is just brilliant for us. A lot of other stations are playing it, it’s a song that seems to have hit a nerve with a lot of people. It’s amazing to think they are calling it a modern day classic.”

The album was recorded in D’lear’s home studio and produced by the man himself who admits it was hard work at times just to get the balance right.

“Sitting there and going over and over parts of it trying to get it to sound right, but I still wanted the sleaze in there, so you’re kind of stick between over producing or keeping ot slightly dirty at the edges, but I think we managed to get the dirt round the edge, so yeah. Really good!”

If you’ve followed KIK over the last couple of years, you’ll be familiar with most of the tracks on the album, though some of them are new and written specifically for this project.

“’Crack-Whore-Barbi’ was the last song written for the album and it came out of a girl that I know, who was round at the studio, one night and announced “My nickname is Crack Whore Barbie”, and I pissed myself and thought ‘That’s great!’, scribbled it down and the song just came out of nowhere. We needed one more to finish the album, a big kind of number, and there’s a slight little bit of a rap on the end. Which is weird coming from me, but isn’t a ‘black rap’ it’s more of a pansy ‘white rap’, it’s not exactly gangsta! But in my mind, the song’s actually based on Sid & Nancy. How Nancy dragged him down, and the whole song finishes with the line ‘Shit, the last thing I’m gonna see is a crack whore Barbie on her knees!’ Just the fact that she’s killed you basically and the last thing you’re gonna see is this fucking bitch that’s brought you down to her level.”

Now as I mentioned earlier KIK are not exactly shy when it comes to looking and acting like a band, and I doubt very much if when they go home, the rock adornments are put back in the closet to be replaced by pipes and slippers. So tell me, D’lear, what’s it like round your house any given day of the week? Sexy? Slutty? Tell us?

“I call it our Tardis. Most weekends the house us locked in and there’s a party going on. There’s a Mick Jagger film, called ‘Performance’ and I think I’ve lived that a couple of times, and I thought you had to sell a million records to live like this but for some reason I’ve managed to get through it. Only difference is, instead of being in an Islington mansion, I’m locked away in a council house!”
So what do the neighbours think, with all these gorgeous women coming back and forth?

“Well, the problem is, at the minute we’re surrounded by chavs. So we usually get a lot of things shouted at us, ‘cos there’s girls walking in with pink and green hair and then weird guys in make-up. So I think from the estates point of view, we’re the weirdos who live at 145. But it’s a real rock ‘n’ - Sheffield Radio Coma Magazine


Discography

Still working on that hot first release.

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Bio

You can blame the love of music for the relationship of the five like-minded souls known as KIK. After dabbling in various bands, studios and nightclubs over the last five years it was inevitable that these guys would stumble across each other at some point in their musical journey. With influences from many genres, KIK collaborated in 2003 and began to develop a very interesting sound. Each member emerges from a completely different musical background, with diverse influences such as Bowie, Depeche Mode, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Tiësto and INXS to name but a few, its not surprising KIK have created a unique, 15 track album, entitled ROCKSCAR.

ROCKSCAR has taken 2 years to complete. It’s been an extremely tough time and a massive learning curve developing the album as the guys decided to record and produce it themselves. KIK’s ROCKSCAR is influential, no doubt about it. Delivering full on rock riffs and dirty synths layered with drum loops, sequences, electronic voices and powerful catchy vocals, in our MTV generation, to create a new sound is somewhat a complex task, KIK have conquered this.

KIK never fail to deliver an awe inspiring live show and believe that the look and attitude of the band is just as important as the music.

KIK have now developed a strong and diverse fan-base that isn't bound to just one geographical location thanks to extensive gigging and the use of myspace.

KIK have a growing alternative following but have the ability to cross over into the mainstream, which means they’re destined to tour stadiums. With more hooks than a pirate convention and their ability to have audiences singing along KIK are ready to dominate the global music scene for the next decade and beyond.

Kerrang! FM are very supportive of the band and to date have played 19 KIK tracks on air and have showcased the entire album plus additional material. They have named “Crack-Whore-Barbi” as one of their ‘Modern Classics’ and play-listed the song in their unsigned show. Kerrang! FM have selected KIK as their ‘Unsigned Band to Watch for 2006/07’.

KIK have the talent to be a globally successful band, all they need is the right label and promotion behind them.