Despite only forming last year, Essex rockers New City Kings have already gathered plenty of attention with a sold out London headline show under their belt along with an appearance at last year’s Bestival event.
Now having released their debut EP ‘Change’, the four-piece made up of brothers Mark (lead vocals/guitar) and Ben Kovic (lead guitar/vocals), Charlie Roberts on bass and drummer Ben Nyari, are ready to continue their rise.
‘Change’ showcases the bands radio-friendly rock sound that has seen them compared to a range of bands and artists; Foo Fighters, Deaf Havana, The Gaslight Anthem and John Mayer. It also sees them working with acclaimed producer Romesh Dodangoda.
With new material already in the works along with summer shows, Already Heard spoke to Mark Kovic to find out more about New City Kings. The vocalist discussed the bands beginnings, the importance of playing live, and more.
Already Heard: First off can you introduce yourselves and your role in New City Kings?
Mark:
I’m Mark Kovic and I’m the singer and guitarist in New City Kings.
AH: The band only formed last year. Can you bring us up to speed on events of the past few months?
Mark: We’ve basically locked ourselves in the studio working on new material, aside from that we’ve been allowed out of the darkness to play a few festivals and shows, we’ve also just rounded up our first UK support tour.
AH: How did New City Kings come together?
Mark:
Me and my brother wrote and produced a song to enter into a radio station to win a slot at a festival. We won the thing but didn’t have a band, so 15 minutes on Gumtree and the first two guys who walked through the door were in the band – and we never looked back. They’re our brothers now.
AH: As this is your first EP, what can people expect to hear when they listen to NCK?
Mark:
We love writing songs in a bunch of different styles and attitudes, so maybe a few surprises, but they can definitely expect a lot of new music coming out frequently.
AH: What bands would you compare your sound to?
Mark: Some songs I’d say we fit into a ‘Twin Atlantic meets the Killers’ and others I’d say ‘John Mayer meets Josh Record,’ so a pretty wide spectrum. It’s tricky to really compare to a few bands.
AH: You worked with producer Romesh Dodangoda who’s body of work is well known. How was it work with such an acclaimed producer?
Mark: Romesh is a great guy and we’ve known him for a while now. So it’s always a good working atmosphere when were in Cardiff, apart from when we’re eating Greggs and watching (The) IT crowd.
AH: How did Romesh assist the bands style and songwriting on ‘Change’?
Mark: On that track we just came in, and he had it recorded in the best part of a day. Some songs Romesh really doesn’t touch the writing and lets a band do what they do then make it sound big. ‘Change’ was one of those tracks for sure.
AH: Like we mentioned earlier you only just formed last year but you quicky got out on the road and played shows and several festivals. How vital was it to be playing shows so soon?
Mark:
Over the next 5 years I think we’re going to be seeing live performance being the only real vital asset that artists can have by the way things are going. So I think getting out live is literally the most important thing a band can do. Playing Bestival also puts you in the environment where you’re compared to massively successful artists, which is what you need to realise how much hard work is needed to get there.
AH: ‘Change’ has had radio support and tons of YouTube video views already, does that add any pressure on you to succed or is it a case of one step at a time?
Mark: Not really – it definitely feels like a 3 steps forward, two step back kind of development, so we’ve been working for this for a while. We’re just really excited people are starting to take notice of the band, and we’re ready to take the next three steps.
AH: What’s the plan for NCK over the coming months? More shows? New material?
Mark: We have a tonne of new songs, we’re putting together a tour in June, releasing more EP’s and looking at jumping on a few festivals in the summer.
AH: Finally why should Already Heard check out New City Kings?
Mark: Because if you don’t I’ll come and find you.
‘Change’ EP by New City Kings is out now.
New City Kings links: Website|Facebook|Twitter
Words by Sean Reid (@SeanReid86)