Each month, we invite local artists to lay down a stripped-back live session. One take. No do-overs. This month features Kiziah Watson, lead singer of Kiziah and the Kings, who joined us to talk fresh takes on familiar songs, refusing to stay in one musical lane and a memorable dash from the day job to the stage.
It feels like a distant memory now that the mist and cold of November has closed in, but at the height of summer we invited Kiziah Watson to lay down a couple of tracks at Foundry Studios. Thanks to her usual high-energy performance and a roomful of musicians adding to the temperature, it was a sweltering afternoon’s work.
“I had a fan at the side of me and I’m fanning myself. Everyone thought I was being a diva, but I wasn’t. I was just trying to keep my face on!” says Kiziah, with her typically affable and down to earth nature.
Fortunately, the music was as fire as the temperature. For their original track, Kiziah and the Kings revisited a reggae-rooted track that has been part of the band’s repertoire for around a decade, evolving through different versions along the way. This time, playing alongside Joe Green and fellow guest musicians, they gave it another fresh twist.
“It was different hearing it with different musicians on, but it was still authentically us,” says Kiziah. “So I think it was nice to sort of blend the styles together.”
With Joe stepping in for regular drummer Wes, the session offered a chance to hear familiar material through different ears. Kiziah also wanted to bring a little extra bite to a song she knows inside out.
“It’s one of the older records, so, I thought I’d give it a bit more spice for you.”
The cover choice came from Joe: a Candi Staton number that initially prompted a sharp intake of breath. Kiziah is no stranger to a big vocal, but taking on a classic brings its own pressure.
“There’s a few songs I’ve sung in my time of performing that sort of push you vocally, push my voice differently.”
That challenge is part of the appeal. The band have always enjoyed putting their own stamp on other people’s songs, and once everyone settled into the groove, Kiziah says the nerves gave way to broad grins around the room.
“We’re quite good at twisting covers to give it our own authentic groove.”
The feeling followed her out of the studio, too.
“I went home. I was like, ‘Oh my god!’” she recalls. “And then I woke up in the morning. I was like, ‘Was it as good as I thought it was, or was it a dream, or not?’”
For a band used to bouncing ideas around their own rehearsal space, that spirit of collaboration felt familiar, even if the personnel were different. Kiziah and her brother founded the group in Doncaster, with him historically handling much of the music and her bringing the lyrics.
Pinning down an exact starting date proves trickier. There was a school-era version, followed by university and various stages of working out what the band could become. The arrival of Wes around eight to ten years ago marked a more definite turning point.
“Since that point, that’s when we’ve gone on to do so much more.”
Their sound has grown alongside the line-up. Rock and reggae remain recurring threads, but funk, soul, blues and ska all find their way into the mix. Adding a horn section opened further possibilities, with the players bringing their own jazz influences.
For Kiziah, that range is something to embrace. Earlier on, she felt more pressure to fit a recognisable category, compounded by assumptions about what a female singer should sound like.
“Back in the day, I’d say that you had to be pigeonholed,” she says.
These days, she’s considerably less concerned.
“We are who we are, and we’ll play what we want.”
Sheffield has played a significant part in that freedom. With the band now split between here and Doncaster, Kiziah credits the city’s musical community with helping them find opportunities and an audience.
“I love Doncaster. You know, Donnie girl at heart, but musically, Sheffield has took us under its wing and pushed us. It’s been amazing.”
There’s another Sheffield connection, too. Kiziah studied law here and still balances fronting the band with her legal career. Occasionally, those two worlds collide rather spectacularly.
One BBC Music Day appearance outside City Hall involved an especially hurried transformation. Having expected to take the day off, work commitments meant she instead found herself driving over straight from the office, still dressed for the day job.
As she approached, she could already hear the band playing one of her songs.
“I’m hitching my skirt up, my work clothes, whipping my glasses off, ruffling my hair up, trying to make myself look like a singer, not a lawyer.”
The band, meanwhile, were wondering where their singer had got to. She made it just in time, and the show went well.
“That was a real special moment, and because I graduated there, it was sort of like one of the moments, you know, like full circle.”
More recently, headlining the Tramlines Fringe stage on Devonshire Green provided another moment to take stock. Having once stood in the audience watching Ms Dynamite there, finding herself on the other side of the barrier felt particularly special.
Appearances at One Love Festival have also been important milestones, while a growing core following means there’s something to look forward to wherever they play.
And yes, they know how to get a crowd moving. Just be careful how you phrase it. The suggestion that they’re a “party band” briefly raises an eyebrow, thanks to years of people confusing their broad musical range and occasional covers with being a function act.
Once we establish that we mean bringing the party, rather than providing the soundtrack to somebody’s 40th, we’re back on the same page.
“We bring the storm. We bring a fire when we perform.”
A recent fundraising show at Crookes Social Club offered that energy a more poignant purpose. Invited by Sheffield music stalwart Alan (Papa) Deadman, the band took part in an event supporting projects in Palestine, with live links bringing Palestinian musicians into the programme.
“That was one of the highlights of our career, I’d say, because there was more to it than just a show.”
For Kiziah, the opportunity to contribute through music stayed with her.
“From a humanitarian perspective, to be able to help kids in a war, it was pretty amazing to be able to do that as an artist.”
There’s plenty ahead, too. Following the arrival of a baby with her wife, Kiziah is gearing up for another busy stretch. Two singles, ‘Talk Like That’ and ‘Equation’, are lined up, an album is in the works, and plans include a March headline show at Electric Studios alongside dates with Death of Guitar Pop further afield.
For a band whose reputation has largely been built on getting out and playing, releasing more of that music is the next priority.
“We’ve got big following in Yorkshire,” says Kiziah. “But we’re pushing further afield.”
Watch Kiziah and the Kings’ Red Light Session on the Patreon, and keep up with the band’s latest releases and upcoming gigs via their socials.
