Izzy Morris
Brighton sextet Opus Kink caught up with Impact’s Izzy Morris ahead of their appearance at Dot to Dot festival right here in Nottingham on May 28th. They discussed influences, Nottingham memories and the year to come.
Opus Kink’s sound is well and truly a concoction of different influences, mixing punk, funk, jazz and a whole host of other genres. I asked Angus how he’d go about describing it to new listeners and they opted for two oddly accurate labels; “Goth salsa” and “Chainsaw pop. A bit of what you fancy.” These genre-surfers don’t shy away from experimentation, although it’s not quite so cut and dry as sticking two random things together – “It’s not like we wake up and pick genres that we’re going to fuse that day… that said, we haven’t ventured far enough into mumble rap yet.” Punchy, horn-fuelled mumble rap? Count me in.
Being a sextet, there’s a lot of band members weighing in with their ideas. When asked how their perspectives and different worlds collide within their song writing, Angus replied that it happens “often jarringly and sometimes flawlessly, which are both as good as each other.”
their lack of unity can perhaps be the explanation for their genre-blending recipe
We later went on to discuss their individual listening habits and how those compare, contrast, and compliment the other members. It would appear that their lack of unity can perhaps be the explanation for their genre-blending recipe. The Opus Kink tour van can expect an interesting mix of country from Angus, the Gladiator soundtrack from Jed and Jack’s big band jazz. “It all goes in.” I was curious to see if there was any one band that united the band, but he said “not really. We share a common delight in ‘New York taxi horn music’ like the Lounge Lizards… no-wave stuff.”
The band feature on the absolutely stellar lineup for the upcoming Dot to Dot festival in May in both Bristol and Nottingham, on the 27th and 28th respectively. As for their peers on the lineup, Angus said that they were most excited to see “Tapir and Nukuluk but I don’t know a lot of what’s on so hopefully we’ll stumble upon something new.” But Dot to Dot isn’t their first time in Nottingham; their last visit was to Rock City, supporting the equally eclectic post-punk band Warmduscher. “I have a fond memory of eating a cardboard hotdog in the cinema that day, and the show was a big doozy. Touring with Warmduscher is very good craic, they’re wonderful men.”
While the band has released a slew of excellent singles, the most recent of which being Dust back in February, we are almost due for an album. It turns out there’s one in the works. “We’re demoing the album now, a fair way along. It sounds good so far and will probably bring the world moaning to its knees.” Now that’s a promising claim.
Their post-punk experimentalism will only continue to intrigue and cultivate audiences
The lyrics of Opus Kink are extremely poetic, with Angus himself having recently released a poetry collection entitled Dog Replica. I asked Angus if there was a lyric that he was most proud of writing, to which he replied “Oh, occasionally for five minutes. Then you end up despairing of it. Then a few months later it’s back in favour. So, it’s best not to pin anything up on the wall. But I enjoy the physical feeling of singing them all.” And as for a favourite track to perform – “hopefully whatever the new one is. And then the smash hits, St Paul or the love song.”
The band are one of the most exciting within UK live music right now, receiving high praise from audience members both familiar and unfamiliar with their work. It’s clear that their post-punk experimentalism will only continue to intrigue and cultivate audiences.
“One: Never give your art away for free”
You can expect “the unexpected, of course” from an Opus Kink gig, and “godwilling, a better evening than staying at home.” They’ve got quite the year to come, both with Dot to Dot on the horizon and time in Europe later in the year. Angus said that we was most excited “to record the new project and play our biggest UK shows in May. Then spreading our seed across Europe some more. Often the moments that end up being the most exciting come screaming from the ether at the last minute.” With buzz constantly growing, and rightfully so, for the band, I have no doubts at all that they’ve got a brilliant year ahead.
To wrap up the interview, I wanted to give the outspoken, witty and wise frontman the opportunity to impart any wisdoms he fancied onto Impact readers. I was not disappointed.
“Two old adages. One: never give your art away for free. Two: just because it’s got a trumpet, doesn’t mean it’s f*****g ska.”
Izzy Morris
Featured image courtesy of Anya Rose. Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
In-article images courtesy of @opuskink via Instagram.com. No changes were made to these images.
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