KIN
A Profile
In 2020 many industries and businesses have been impacted, in some cases heavily, by the ongoing pandemic and the action taken in its repose. One particular industry that has come under immense pressure to survive is the world of Creative Arts. From Theatres big and small, to venues, independent and mainstream, these hubs for expression have been dismissed and left to survive by themselves.
However, despite this huge downturn in support and opportunities there does seem to be a slow growth and levelling of the playing field when it comes to recording artists that are part of the ever growing Unsigned and independent movement in the UK. Bands that would have spent months battling for slots on live bills are now streaming online to ever growing audiences. One such band that have seemingly thrived in this new virtual heavy music landscape are a humble Alternative Indie three piece form the heart of the UK, London.
“….We all just love working together, and honestly can’t believe the extent to which our music has reached people, we could have never imagined it would get the response it has…” Adam
Since releasing their first single in April this year, KIN have struck a chord with their already loyal fan base and have managed to pull in even more streams and views between then and now. So how did it happen, what is the key to the bands rising star….well its not to difficult to answer really. Two things have defined the band from the beginning, their passion for this project, and their hard work to see it through.
“….I know it can seem a bit easy from the outside, record a song, put it up, people listen, but I won’t lie to you, I spent ages drafting emails, finding magazines, blogs etc and asking them to listen to our music, and just really worked hard to promote it anywhere I could….” Grace
This hard work and intense passion to put their all into this new project is something that was there from the very beginning.
“….Adam had a friend who I was working with at the time, so he came along to one of my productions done by my theatre group, and it was after that we got chatting and found that swell as theatre and acting we were both eager to do music….” Grace
“….Yeah, I just asked Grace if she’d like to write some songs with me and we went from there….” Adam
“….At first I was a bit like, ‘Ah, can I do this, I haven’t written a song since I was fourteen!’ And I’d not really been in a band before, 
I’d sung in choirs and stuff, but never in a band, but I just went for it….” Grace
So, Adam and Grace began to write. For several months they played, wrote, and planned the foundations of what would become KIN.
“….We sort of reached a point where we were like, ‘yeah, I think we’ve got enough songs here to move forwards’ so we decided that what we needed was a drummer, so I threw a post up on one of the many musician Facebook pages, and that’s how we came to meet Ritu….” Grace
In an act of serendipity their new drummer just happened to have a background in acting as well. With the addition of Ritu behind the drums KIN was officially born and not too long after that they hit the stage for the first time.
“….It was around late 2018, we’d been writing for about nine months and so I went out and booked us a gig….” Adam
“….When Adam told us he’d booked this gig I immediately went into overdrive, ‘are we ready, is it too soon’, I was mostly nervous as this would be the first time anyone would have heard me sing, like fronting a band type sing….” Grace
However, despite these nerves the band took the stage and didn’t look back. Plus having a background in performing did come in handy when handling those on stage nerves.
“….I think, yeah, because of all the acting and performing I’d done, I felt I had the ability to feel nervous, but still be able to reel it in before it could start having a knock effect….” Grace
“….I do think I’m more nervous playing than acting, as it is just you up there, if you mess up, its only you that can fix it, but I just love playing on stage with Grace and Ritu, it’s just so natural and easy….” Adam
With their live shows growing and with the birth of a pre gig ritual featuring a shot glass and a splash of peach schnapps, KIN took their first steps into the studio to begin laying down what would be their first three releases.
At this point they entered Naatune Studios and partnered up with the talented producer Nicholas Alexander, who embraced their vision and helped to fine tune their evolving material.
“….I think the benefit to gigging the songs for so long before recording them was that we got an insight into them via audience reactions and the sort of vibes people were picking up from them….” Grace
“….It was kind of like a live editing process, as we had a tendency to write long songs, but as we played them live we began to shorten them slightly and slowly evolve and edit them into the songs you hear now….” Adam
So, armed with the confidence in their own material, it was time for KIN to hit the studio. To begin with they took on a more live performance angle to their recording until, yes you guessed it, the pandemic brought their efforts to record together to an end. However this didn’t stop them.
“….We got to work with the incredibly talented Laura Iredale who is just finishing her masters at the ‘Abbey Road Institute’, and so we were lucky enough to get some studio time there and at ‘Studio 13’ in West London….it was so surreal to get out of the car and walk up to ‘Abbey Road’ with my guitar, it felt like people were like “Who are they?” And we were just so excited and nervous all at the same time….” Adam
Managing to master and complete several of their tracks KIN launched their debut single to the world in April of this year and were immediately taken aback by the overwhelming positive response to the track.
“….We released the track not knowing what to expect to be honest. We had a lot of fun making it and our target was to reach 1,000 streams, so when I get notifications with numbers of streams I’m still a little bit in disbelief….” Adam
“….It’s just so nice to see so many people connecting with our music and just really enjoying listening to it, we just can’t wait to get out there again and start performing them live….” Grace
So as 2020 draws to a close, and KIN drop their third single ‘Wander & Lost’, they already have one eye on 2021. Whether its planning their debut EP or preparing for their anticipated slot at the Camden Calling Festival’, KIN are all ready for the moment they can release the brakes and once again take to the road performing in venues across the UK.
“….Like I said, we just love doing what we’re doing, and are so appreciative of the opportunity to do what we do, and honestly, just can’t wait to do more….” KIN
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They were theater crews 😆 Maybe that is why I found KIN mvs artistic and meaningful. I love how they develop their songs by playing and editing.