Dubbed “The Strokes of Hamburg” by Consequence of Sound, The Kecks emerge from a worldwide lockdown with an infectiously catchy new single, “Tonight Might Be Different”.
A swaggering new single that harbours an infectiously catchy dirty disco groove, hinged on the narrative that life is a constant shambles, yet we always live with the hope that tonight might be different.
Following on from the dramatically self-aware heart-breaking ballad “All for Me”, The Kecks have returned with a fierce edge, combining an intensely visceral groove alongside their trademark raw and honest lyrics, all built around huge hooks before building towards a crescendo. This song is exactly the kind of danceable self-destructive indie banger that encapsulates the energy and frustration of this seemingly never-ending global nightmare.
The video was cut together by U.S cinematographer and director Andy Ray Lemon – director of the cult underground grunge documentary MondoFuzz. The Kecks have long been fans of his work since first discovering his infamous documentary upon its release. Once Andy heard the song, he immediately set about patching together some old trash VHS footage, adding some psychedelic visual effects and cutting together a short narrative – and this weird and wonderful video was born.
Having already established a firm DIY ethic after releasing three singles and touring both the UK and Europe, The Kecks have teamed up with Blaggers Records for their debut label release, but still cling to their DIY values with a hand painted artwork by frontman Lennart Uschmann.
“Tonight Might Be Different” was also the band’s first physical release earlier this summer, with the limited pressing coming on see through vinyl on U.K based Butterfly Effect Records selling out in
a matter of days.
With their first post-lockdown show very much on home turf, the cross-continental rockers return to their roots at a sold out Molotow in Hamburg. This marks a new dawn for the band having spent the unexpected worldwide hiatus locked away lovingly crafting new songs and sounds.
Exciting times are on the horizon for The Kecks, with a recording session at Hamburg’s illustrious Clouds Hill Studios with the sonic wizard Gordon Raphael, the producer behind the legendary first two The Strokes albums in the diary for later this summer….
Where are you based?
We are based in Hamburg, Germany.
How long have you been making music?
We first shared a urinal about 2 years ago and never looked back.
What genre would you consider your music to be?
Sort of garage/indie we suppose.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music?
We’re all huge music lovers and once we found an instrument that clicked, we don’t think there was any other option.
What are your biggest musical influences?
We have a weird mix of influences. Our shared tastes would be Growlers, Voidz, Tame Impala, The Kills and that kind of thing. Then we all have our own tastes like Nick Cave, JID, Tyler, Denzel Curry, old country stars, some old 80s German pop or old Motown.
Are you signed to a label or are you an independent artist?
We’re currently releasing our debut label single with Blaggers Records to see how things work together. Up to now everything we’ve done was purely independent.
What have been the biggest challenges in your music career?
Not know if this was our biggest challenge, but we had a cursed recording session last time we went to record at Buffalo Studio in London. It was actually the session where we recorded our newest single Tonight Might Be Different. We lost half a day due to delayed flights, then our guitar player Sam got a stomach bug and couldn’t eat or sleep while we tried to make up for lost time by doing 12-hour days for the rest of the session. Luckily our producer JB Pilon is an absolute wizard and handled it all amazingly.
How many songs or albums have you released to date?
“Tonight Might Be Different” will be our fourth single – with more songs and live tracks coming soon.
Can you tell us a few things about your latest release?
“Tonight Might Be Different” was an early song for us which is still in the set because it’s so much fun to play. The song is about life being a mess and struggling with every day, and somehow looking for the hope that tonight might be different. It came out of a long midnight talk between our singer Lennart and guitarist Sam during a pretty rough time in their lives.
Any plans for new music or upcoming projects we should know about?
In October, we’ll be heading to the studio again. This time we’re going to Clouds Hill Recordings in Berlin to work with Gordon Raphael – legendary producer of the first two Strokes albums. He’s such an icon but at the same time down to earth and all about the music – so we’re really excited to get in the studio with him and work on our latest batch of songs together.
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