London based soulful-pop outfit, The King’s Parade have returned with their latest feel good single ‘How Long?‘ and have just dropped a playful and home-brewed music video for the track. Shot in lockdown, and depicting chaos at rehearsal, front-man Olly explains the inspiration behind the visual:
“We had this idea of a rehearsal that’s constantly going wrong, where I desperately try to get things back to normal despite a series of surreal interventions. We filmed it as a one shot, so as well as the action on camera it was absolute carnage behind the scenes, with people running on and off set, building drum kits, taking them away, moving different props into place and switching characters!”
‘How Long?’ it’s the second track to drop from their up-coming debut album, and follows first track ‘Mario‘. Early support for ‘How Long?‘ has come from Tom Robinson at BBC 6 Music, who described it as “an incredibly accomplished sound worthy of a far wider audience”.
Lyrically, ‘How Long?’ continues where ‘Mario‘ left off, with both tracks exploring feelings of nostalgia. Their latest effort ruefully looks back to better days, with feelings of regret and longing mixed with an underlying optimism. Sonically, this new series of singles (four in total before the album drops) represent a band at the peak of its powers, a close-knit group who have truly found their sound, embracing pop and funk sounds as well as a more soulful approach to their vocals and melodies.
Having established a loyal live fanbase and streams in the 10s of millions across all platforms online (through a series of tours, singles and EPs), news of their debut album is much overdue and highly anticipated. The album, out in December 2020 was recorded by Marco Pasquariello (credits include Coldplay and Snow Patrol) and was produced by Guy Massey (credits include Ed Sheeran, Jack Savoretti and The Libertines).
Their previous video for ‘Mario’ has gained over 100K views so far and has been lauded for its creativity, as the band like so many others, had to create something self-produced during lockdown. With the help of friends and fans from across the globe (spanning Europe, New Zealand, USA, Mexico, Uganda and South Africa), they created something totally joyous and celebratory, fitting for these strange times – watch the official music video for Mario here.
Prior to this, 2019 saw the release of their most recent EP ‘Mad’ which was backed by a sold-out headline European tour across Spain, Italy, France, Germany and the UK. The EP rallied strong tastemaker support from the likes of BBC 6Music, The Independent, Clash, Earmilk and many more. This year, the band utilised lockdown to engage with their fans more than ever before. Olly streamed acoustic #StayAtHome sessions live from his living room every day, for eight weeks straight and they all hosted a The King’s Parade themed quiz on Zoom which featured other artists, including Billy Lockett and Hollie Carmen. They even released #StayAtHome merch featuring fan art of Olly´s live-stream backdrop (his lounge), which sold out… twice!
‘How Long?’ is out now on all digital platforms
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