Long Read - There’s a lot going on in the world of King Nun
King Nun’s Nathan has confidence their second album ‘Lamb’ will see their fans back again with a record that channels their live shows with strong songwriting.
Theo, Caius, James and Nathan released their debut album ‘Mass’ back in 2019, working with an external producer, but their plans were curtailed the following year for obvious reasons. It was a pity, as shows are where King Nun prove rulers. “We didn’t really want to return until live music was back, ‘cause I feel like that’s where we excel,” Nathan, the bassist, told When The Horn Blows.
The members have seen live shows from the stage and behind the scenes, but when that all stopped, the band – with new recruit Ethan - wrote songs to have something to do, without an album in mind. “Wrote so many songs – some great, some not so great. That’s part of the process, we’ve got to exercise that muscle,” Nathan said.
With ‘Mass’, there were certain things they wish they could have changed. Nathan thinks they’ve matured since making that. “I feel like we’ve all kind of sorted our lives out, as crazy as that sounds.”
Last year, they signed to Marshall Records, a move Nathan hailed as “a blessing”. They supported King Nun’s vision to have a “super hands-on approach”, bringing everything in-house. “Having that freedom and that belief is quite empowering. We owe them a lot for that.”
Drummer Caius produced ‘Lamb’, and did the lion’s share of the engineering, although everyone pitched in. Caius’s brother Ethan made the artwork, a 3ft x 3ft canvas. “The painting is massive,” Nathan joked. “He didn’t have to do it so big. I said next time you do a painting, don’t do it so big. You can fit nine records inside it.”
The five-piece drilled all the songs before entering Marshall’s studio in Milton Keynes, bar the closing title track, which came from a guitar and piano thing made by James, and built during tech breaks. “That’s quite special,” Nathan said. “Everything else was planned, that was a refresh.”
The rest of ‘Lamb’ is in King Nun’s brash but beautiful style, with sonic connections to ‘Mass’, but also a conduit for their successful live sound. Nathan said: “We wanted it to sound like us because we had confidence in what we sound like. It wasn’t the case of being scared to try anything different, it was like ‘Let’s do this because we like this’.”
Pre-released track ‘Selfish’ went through four different demos in four weeks, while ‘OCD’ might be Nathan’s favourite this week. “It’s weird, it’s angular, but you can kind of dance to it.” The track, resemblant of The Cure, was written in a day and stayed virtually the same ever since. “I think we made the intro slightly shorter, believe it or not, but it’s still like 50 seconds, which we don’t do regularly,” he admits.
Another highlight, ‘One Time Alarm’, did change in the studio. Nathan explained: “It didn’t have the intro section that it has, the dynamics were a bit different, and that changed. I really like it now. I really liked it before, but I really like what we did with that.”
Because they’d demoed the hell out of it, they made it in two weeks – and finished early. “We’d already made it, so we just remake it. I guess the way a chef perfects a dish.” They avoided the distraction of new tools, and stuck to their live equipment, and I can sense that vibe on ‘Lamb’. Nathan agreed. “I think we achieved that. I do think the record sounds like us.”
The tracklist flows like a setlist, so they’ve been practicing the album in order before touring for the next five months or so. It includes one-off shows, an in-store tour, and a huge jaunt supporting Nothing But Thieves. The latter includes two nights at Wembley Arena – previously a pipe dream to help inspire them in front of sparse crowds.
Nathan explained. “When you’re starting out in a band, sometimes it goes great, and sometimes you rock up and there’s four people there. Being a London band, our whole thing was ‘Treat it like it’s Wembley, just treat every show like it’s Wembley.’ Have that headspace, it doesn’t matter if there’s one person there, just try. It can be hard, really getting into it, looking up and there’s an empty floor. It can be difficult, because it just throws you.
“Now after doing so many gigs, and so many gigs that have not been ideal and going ‘think of Wembley, think of Wembley’, for us to be doing two Wembley Arenas is actually a bit strange. It feels a bit full circle. I think we’ve all been to shows there. It’s one of those, we’ve always wanted to do it.”
Nathan’s other ambitions include the iconic Red Rocks in Colorado, and one a lot closer to home for the London band. “Brixton, we haven’t done Brixton yet. Every gig I’ve been to at Brixton, I’ve loved being there. Great venue, great sound.”
He said it was “good news” Brixton Academy was given permission to re-open if it can meet the council’s safety conditions, after a fatal crowd crush in December last year. “I work in health and safety,” Nathan said. “I hope they can make it safe. That would be great. No fans should be dying at any concert. Live music should be safe. Anything for safety, I’m up for. I know some people would say that’s boring, I’m not saying make the stage 100 feet away from the crowd. People should be going away thinking ‘that was wicked’, not in ambulances. Without people being safe, there is no fun. And it should be fun, it’s entertainment at the end of the day. It’s more than that, but it is also entertainment.”
For King Nun, the enjoyment is making music for themselves. But Nathan is confident it will appeal to fans too. “There will be people who really like this album. I don’t mean that in an arrogant way. I think, not that it was made to appeal to people, but I feel like a lot of our fans will like it.
“We write music because we like to make music. If we were all millionaires, and never had to work again, we’d still be making music. That’s just who we are as people, it’s our favourite thing to do, it’s what we live for, as crazy as that sounds, it’s our thing. We don’t make music for people’s reactions or response, we’re just trying to make the best thing that we can.”
With real jobs, live shows to get nervous about, and a killer new album finally unleashed on the album after four years, there’s a lot going on in the world of King Nun.
“I think we’re all very proud at the minute,” Nathan said. “We’re all extremely knackered. It’s just been a lot, juggling a lot of things. Everyone’s mental health is good, but it’s constant. It’s not just about writing the songs, it’s the scheduling a normal life around it. But it’s good, we’re getting there.
“Don’t get me wrong, we’re all tired. We could all do with some more sleep.”
Don’t sleep on King Nun – unless it’s in a Travelodge. After the band’s relentless touring, Nathan is somewhat of an expert in the budget hotels. When recalling the first time they went around the country, he noted: “The part of that tour I remember the most is staying in East Midlands Airport, because the Travelodge has round windows.”
‘Lamb’ is out now on Marshall Records.
Feature by Samuel Draper
