New music: Spring King

Manchester band Spring King
Credit: © 2015 Amin Musa/Amin Musa

Who are they?

Spring King are a quartet led by producer and songwriter Tarek Musa. Their scuzzy, singalong tracks have been consistently championed by former Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, who played Musa’s first song a day after he wrote and recorded it, and then, three years later, chose the unsigned band’s single City as the first song to air on Apple’s Beats 1 radio station.

How did they get here?

Musa has been producing and mixing for a diverse range of cutting edge artists and bands since his teens, including Steeling Sheep and Cosmo Sheldrake, but was compelled to write songs after the restraints of a sound technology degree: “It was very physics and maths-orientated,” he explained, “so I wanted to write music after I graduated.”

Set up with a drum kit, amps, guitars and microphone in an unused granny annex of his family home, Musa set about writing and recording apace in March 2012. “I wanted to try to write and record in a day. Keep it really fast.” He shared the first song, Just Ride, on YouTube, and Lowe got hold of it swiftly after.

Spring King soon attracted three other musicians, guitarists Peter Darlington and Andy Morton, whom Musa has known since they were teenagers, and bassist James Green through Facebook. Musa sings and plays drums, but the band maintain a relaxed attitude when it comes to recording: “Sometimes we all play on stuff, sometimes we don’t. I’ve always just wanted to get whatever’s in my head out and recorded as quickly as possible, whether that involves other people or not.”  

Despite making digital radio history, an event which Spring King weren’t warned about and which “took about four days for it to sink in" the band remained unsigned. It puts limits on their touring and recording abilities ("when we’re on tour we sleep on floors and we drive in a tiny people carrier, we don’t bring all of our gear because we can’t physically fit it in the car”), but a recently received PRS grant will help them pay for proper studio time.

What do they sound like?

Like the bottled-up energy of a university house party in full swing. Their acclaimed chaotic sound has, in part, come from recording in an old lady’s bathroom, which Musa has "learned to commit to very quickly, as that’s the best we’ll get." City is a pounding slice of heavy pop singalong, which sweeps you along with thudding guitars and Musa’s compelling, half-shouted refrain.


Who are their influences?

Musa’s love of the Brian Wilson et al is shared by his bandmates, who also jointly appreciate the talents of Arcade Fire. Ty Seagall and the “raw, high energy” of The Black Lips feeds into their live sets. While Morton is “obsessed with bossanova and jazz”, Musa and Green listen to the punk they grew up on, such as Fugazi and Black Flag.

How do they describe their music?

"We’re trying to achieve really punchy records, in the same way a Jay Z record would be punchy, but with a gritty and garagey edge. We want it to kind of cross both borders.”

Spring King play Festival No.6 in Portmeirion, between 3-6 September, for which Virgin Trains is the official travel partner.