King King Interview: Alan Nimmo
King King has firmly planted itself as one of the best blues rock bands in the world. The band has a revamped lineup and is working on a new studio album due out later this year and recently released a new single titled “I Won’t Fall.” Blues Rock Review caught up with frontman Alan Nimmo to get the details on the upcoming album, how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the band, and more.
How has the new lineup affected the songwriting process for King King?
The change in line-up has been a wonderful success. The contribution from the lads in terms of omg writing and arrangement has been exciting and very fresh. The writing partnership between myself and Jonny Dyke (keyboards) has been a real pleasant surprise and we’ve managed to find a great working formula which has taken things to a new level.
What was the inspiration behind the first single “I Will Not Fall”?
I think the inspiration for our latest single “I Will Not Fall” came from simply being in the music business for a long time and realising that despite my love for what I do and my passion, there are and always will be people who will try and keep you down and take from you what isn’t theirs! You just have to stay strong and true to your convictions and trust in yourself to take whatever is thrown at you and use it as a means to make you stronger!
The new album is due out in 2020. Is there a specific timeline yet in terms of when the album will be released?
We are hoping for an early autumn release around the end of September but as you know with the global crisis that’s going on at the moment with Covid 19 then that could be disrupted so we’ll just have to carry on preparing for it and the rest is out of our hands.
You started up your own record label. What went into that decision?
Well…similar to what I was talking about before… I wanted to stay in control of my own destiny and have the people around me that I trust and have always trusted to have the best interests of King King at heart and help me and the group move forward in a positive direction. It’s a very difficult industry to survive in as a creative person and to be brutally honest… it’s myself, my band members and my dedicated team that I want to benefit from our hard work!
This has been an extremely difficult time for everyone in the world right now. While we don’t have touring right now, how much of a comfort has music been to you?
Well this is a horrendous time for everyone in the world and it’s something that none of us have ever been through but I can see from looking at social media and things like that that people are more and more often turning to music to bring them some relief from the stress and worry. Music Is a great comfort to me and lots of others… that’s plain to see! Imagine a world without music?? That would be a sad world!
Several musicians have done Facebook live concerts without the ability to have live concerts. Do you have any plans for any sort of live content?
Yes of course! I’ve been practicing a few different songs on my acoustic guitar to film from home and put out there for people to look at and listen to. I think it’s a great idea that lots of bands and artists are doing this for their fans. Once we’re allowed to be in the same room together again we do plan on doing a live stream but unfortunately, it’s become very difficult to do that and the studio that we planned to do the stream from (Morsecode Studios in Glasgow) is closed at the moment but… as soon as we can we’ll get right to it! Our fans are absolutely fantastic and we love and appreciate them so much! I’ve had so many messages from so many of them wishing us well and asking if there’s anything they can do to help us!!! You’ve no idea what that means to me! Words aren’t enough to describe how grateful we are for that!
Has the current situation in the world provided any fuel in terms of creativity for new music?
Of course it has.. if you’re any kind of creative person then a situation like this is always going to provide the inspiration to write about it! Watch this space!!!
Interview by Pete Francis
KING KING RESCHEDULED TOUR DATES
Bexhill De La Warr Pavilion
Friday 16 October 2020
York Grand Opera House
Wednesday 3 February 2021
Manchester Academy
Friday 5 February 2021
Sheffield Leadmill
Saturday 6 February 2021
Cardiff Y Plas
Sunday 7 February 2021
Birmingham Town Hall
Tuesday 9 February 2021
London Electric Ballroom
Saturday 13 February 2021
Salisbury City Hall
Sunday 14 February 2021
Bury St Edmunds The Apex Arts Centre
Tuesday 16 February 2021
Newcastle Boiler Shop
Wednesday 17 February 2021
Glasgow Old Fruitmarket
Thursday 18 February 2021
