by Marvin Phythian.
Hey there musos, audiophiles and melomaniacs, here at RSR we’ve decided to give Desert island discs a 21st century reality check with our own version - Vinyl for the Apocalypse! In our first and possibly last episode of this nature we spoke to Gavin Searle from the Kings of Frog Island…
As the Zoom kicks in I see a silhouette with a background of space-age purple neon led lights before the focus adjusts to reveal Gavin Searle, lead singer and studio producer for the best Leicester band you may never have heard of.
The Kings of Frog Island, also known as KOFI, were predominantly borne out of
the ashes of classic Leicester/Wigston acts the Scumpups and Love Button as well as a solid contribution from previous member Mat Bethancourt from the bands Josiah, the Beginning and Cherry Choke. They sell records by the bucket load in Psych Rock and Stoner Rock circles internationally but if you don’t know KOFI, and you should, then think of a stoner rock act mingled with some classic psychedelic sounds and maybe a sprinkling of prog for good measure.
They are so called after their charismatic previous drummer R ‘Doj’ Watson said if the US have got the Queens of the Stone Age, the UK can have the Kings of Frog Island.
Although playing a one off gig on October 2nd in Leicester, the Kings are very much a studio act. From building their own studio and having a long relationship with the legendary Stayfree studios. And now that Stayfree have moved to Frog Island they really are the Kings of Frog Island, go figure!
Although their 1st album was well received, it was their 2nd album Vol.II that really caught attention with the epic 8 minute rock anthem: Welcome to the void. A track that took 2 years to lay down and mix. Now on it’s way to 2 million listens on Spotify it is a song of such depth and power I challenge anyone not to instantly dig those Stoner vibes. The album itself is very strong, I urge you to check it out.
These days they play with the standard back four of Lee Madel-Toner on Bass, Mark Buteux on rhythm and lead, Jim Robinson on drums and Gavin on the mic.
Their last album Vol VI is different but arguably just as good in my opinion as
Vol.II and the Frog King artwork is righteous.
3 of my favourite tracks from VI are Toxic Heart, Sicario (Spanish for hitman) and Murderer which has some killer haunting vocals. I try and second guess that they may be part of some kind of connected story akin to Pearl Jam’s Mamason trilogy. But Gavin although admiring my analysis tells me sadly that I am wrong and that they are separate entities, I think he should have lied!
Then I ask Gavin the question of all questions, “If you were to be stranded on a river on a barge or other aquatic vessel in the middle of some kind of zombie type apocalypse with just a record player and 5 vinyl masterpieces, what would they be and why?”
The albums he picked were:
- The daddy of classic stoner rock albums, Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age. Gavin said despite Josh Homme’s ground-breaking performance on the album that it is Mark Lannigan’s vocals that he often takes on as his vocal warm up pre-performance.
- 1991’s best album you didn’t hear Spine of God – Monster Magnet. Another Stoner rock beast of a record that would clearly take away any fear of the apocalypse and also includes a great cover of Grand Funk Railroad’s “Sin’s a man’s brother”. This is Gavin’s most nostalgic album reminding him of many good times with his band brothers.
- King of the road – Fu Manchu. Another Californian Palm Desert Stoner rock band at number 3. Featuring the quality driving track hell on wheels. Headbanging stoner rock at its finest.
- Led Zeppelin II. Man it’s always difficult to leave out a Led Zeppelin album and then choosing one is another headache. Gavin has gone with Led Zep 2 and who can blame him, as the original 1969 Rolling Stone review said Jimmy Page could shut down any bluesman with one hand tied behind his back. Whole lotta love, Ramble On, Heartbreaker? Enough said!
- Gavin was umming and arring on his fifth album so I’ll choose one for him. I’m gonna go with KOFI’s forthcoming album due to be released next month. The predictably titled Volume VII.
There are 2 singles currently released on VII, Dopamine a wonderfully sunny
and laid back rock track and a much awaited return to the void with Beyond the Void, a return to Stoner rock roots with some spacey, grungy bend and vibrato venom. I’ll be reviewing the album in the next couple of weeks, the album cover (a bad ass giant ram) is designed by renowned artist Alexander Von Weiding and is their best yet, and as for the music all I can say is that plenty of great things come out of lockdowns, it’s good, very good!
You will like the Kings of Frog Island if you like: The Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, Monster Magnet, Black Sabbath, Mudhoney.
Your only chance to see the Kings of Frog Island this year is October 2nd, Saturday night at the Sound House, along with Early Remains and the French Psych Rock act Karkara. Get your tickets now - we’ll be there too.
Tickets available at gigantic.com promoted by (4) The Other Window | Facebook (like their page for gig updates).
The band are signed to Kozmik Artifactz records and pressed in Germany by Pallas.
Last years excellent album VI and this years forthcoming album Volume VII are both available on limited splatter vinyl for pre-order at www.riversoarrecords.com
#Leicester vinyl records
#Leicester record shop