Hey Alvarez Kings! Looking forward to having you in May but for those who are yet to hear you, what can they expect from the live show?
Our live shows are pretty energetic! We love to get in amongst the crowd and we absolutely pride ourselves on performance. The music takes you in all directions emotionally from ballad esc souring strings, to smashing drums and pulsing synthesis. You can expect an experience for sure.
You’ve recently been travelling all around Europe, how has the reaction been overseas to the shows and the album?
The crowd reception was unbelievable and to know we have so many fans all over Europe is very humbling. Reaction wise it was great to see such amazing audiences singing every word to songs that have been years in the making when it isn’t even their first language. The album has been going down really well especially in the Netherlands & Germany and those audiences have been particularly receptive!
You recently just released your incredibly eclectic debut album Somewhere Between, did your vision of the album change much over the time you were making it?
I would honestly say the development and sound of the album has been a few years in the making. From demo form and creating all the synthesis, string & brass scores on a laptop to having those things played by real violinists etc was an incredible experience. Being able to work with classic and very expensive analogue synthesisers and being able to record the instruments in a number of astounding studios in LA certainly gave the sound a certain flavour and character. Working with a great producer helped make our writing more concise and get a powerful drum sound but our main album concept in terms of sound and aesthetic has been in place for a long while. Only on a few occasions did we have to totally tear the song apart like in the case of Sleepwalking Pt.II and The Other Side of Sadness but that was a challenge in itself making those songs fit into the album’s soundscape.
The albums packed with summer anthems so what are your plans for the Summer and the rest of the year?
We have a great tour cycle ahead of us, after just coming back from Europe we have a UK headline tour in place from May 23rd, then hitting the U.S. for 6 weeks which takes in around 30 or so shows, festival dates in not only our home town but also Ireland and America and then after the summer plans to go back around Europe. And who knows, we may even have some big support slots in place so keep up to date on our socials to see when we’re near you.
You’ve achieved loads in the 5 years since you formed including having No Resolve as BBC Radio’s Single of the Year, did you find the album hard to make after all the acclaim you’d been given?
Not at all, it was a rush to record everything in 3 weeks but as flattered as we are with such praise, we just want to do ourselves and our musical vision proud. We play the music we love, we want to develop further and ultimately, we want to share the experience with whoever is willing to listen and give it a chance.
Finally, what experiences have you had from playing in Nottingham before? Any stand-out moments?
There’s only been a handful of times playing Nottingham and because we know and love the place so well, there have been many a drunken night spent plastered against the walls in Rock City after watching some amazing bands. It’s an awesome city and every time we’ve played we have an incredible time and really throw ourselves around. Come check us out at Bodega and you’ll see what I mean, we can’t wait!
Thanks guys, see you in May!