You know an interview is going to be interesting when Kiziah Watson, lead singer/songwriter of Kiziah and The Kings, bags us the best table in a crowded coffee house and quickly orders herself a cocktail, while I’m tucking in to my fourth coffee of the day (it’s only 1pm). Surrounded by wooden tables and white-washed walls, she demands your attention immediately with her bright, jazzy shirt and infectious personality.
Although the rest of the Kings – Dane Watson (guitar), Wrieff Muldoon (bass), Hayley Head (saxophone), Brad Clifford (drums) – were unable to join for the interview, I received the full lowdown on their respective talents through their impassioned lead singer. Kiziah and The Kings started up seven years previously with a different line-up alongside Kiziah and her brother, Dane, but it is with new recruits that pieces have really fallen into place. “It wasn’t until the past four years, when Wrieff joined the band, that I could say it became one sound, one vision and one aim.”
Kiziah and Dane were brought up in a very liberal family home by artist parents who influenced their joint love for reggae and motown – Kiziah had a particular fondness for huge voices and singers such as Etta James. I ask her how the brother/sister dynamics work within the band, but it’s clear that sibling rivalry doesn’t come into play. “Musically, it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. He always just seemed like an older brother, but now with music bringing us together we’re like a force; he writes the music I write the lyrics, and it’s a bit like we read each other’s minds sometimes.”
Throughout the past four years the band have progressed from strength to strength, an addition of new members and influences creating the unique sound we hear today. It was while sat on a church pew inside a Doncaster rock bar when Kiziah first met Wrieff:
“He is the funkiest bassist and you don’t hear that many of them around Doncaster, so when I first saw him play I was like, ‘we need to have him.’ Once he joined the band it all started to gel.”
Hayley has only been with the band for a year, but has definitely earned her King’s stripes during their biggest year to date. “Hayley’s music is sexy as hell,” says Kiziah. “We didn’t need a sax player but we all knew the band’s potential and what direction it was going in. When we met her, we were like ‘where the hell have you been hiding?’ She’s like a little pocket rocket but plays like fire.” Kiziah’s passion for music and life itself oozes through her, which is reflected in her lyrics and the band’s upbeat live performances. “I don’t actually sit down and write; it comes at me like a force from the sky. I’m always busy and constantly inspired by life. I put my phone on record and write a song or a hook and from there Dane creates the music. Dane is like the driving force to the band and I’m the ideas woman.”
The game changed for Kiziah and The Kings when they were spotted by Duke Fakir Jr whilst performing their West Street Live gig. Duke was so taken by the band that he invited them backstage to meet his father, Abdul ‘Duke’ Fakir of The Four Tops, on his 2016 tour. “I’d sang a cover of ‘American Boy’ and he came up to us and introduced himself. I didn’t believe it at first. All of his friends had gone back to the arena to get ready for the show but he’d stayed because he loved the band so much. We couldn’t believe our luck, it felt like fate.”
Since that moment, the band has continued to work with Duke, who is currently working on closing a deal with music giants Warner/Chappell. Kiziah and The Kings’ home studio, built by Dane, became their secret weapon for the new album, allowing them to record music and then send it over to Detroit where Duke mixes it.
Discussing their last EP release Heard It All Before I tell Kiziah my favourite track is ‘Lost and Found’, with its raw vocals and vulnerable lyrics masked within impressive, reggae beats.
“When it comes to music I’m honest as hell,” she tells me when I comment on the vulnerability of the track.
“I bare my soul in it because I can’t always do that in life. I’m not ashamed on stage, so I give my all. The lyrics say ‘save me’ and music is kind of my salvation. I’ve got so many nicknames and one of my mum’s names for me is ‘Lost and Found’, as when I was a kid I’d always be losing money or clothes and finding them again. It was a bit of a pun for myself because the lyrics don’t really relate.”
Kiziah’s distinctive sound could not be possible without her Kings, and it’s their prominent talent and passion combined that allow them to sell out gigs and open for the likes of Bob Geldof & The Boomtown Rats and The Blockheads. “When you’ve got the right formula everything is just easy, I know that when we perform my band are going to blow your face off.”
Whether at Kaya World Music Festival or 92 Burton Road, the band give their all to each performance – “We don’t care if we look and a mess, because it’s raw and real what we do. We feel music in every morsel of our bodies.” – and 2018 is shaping up to another notable chapter in the story of Kiziah and The Kings, with the release of their new album imminent in the next few months. They’re certainly ones to watch – keep an eye for their upcoming Exposed session and see for yourself.
