Music doesn’t get more magical than the sound of siblings Kitty, Daisy & Lewis. The London trio are adored by fans for their rhythm and blues, rockabilly pop style, with the commentary from Australian fans very loud.
Latest album Superscope is an energetic fusion of rockabilly and vintage country and sees the band return to production duties themselves after third album, 2015’s Kitty, Daisy & Lewis The Third, was made with Clash guitarist Mick Jones.
Multi-instrumentalists since the family were teenagers, the Durham siblings’ return to production duties is a natural progression. Daisy Durham says, “We’ve always done that really, except for the last album – the first one was playing covers we’d known since we were kids. The third one, it was like, that’s what people do, they get producers and stuff, so we may as well give it a go, and it takes it to another level. When it came to the fourth one we went back to do it ourselves, we know what we want to do.
“It’s not that we prefer it, that’s the way it is, we’re open to all sorts of things. When we actually got Mick Jones, we didn’t really know what the reason for getting a producer was. The great thing about him was he helped keep the peace a little bit and kept us on our best behaviour because there was an outsider present,” Daisy says.
“We’d just finished building our studio and he made us rehearse in there a lot, and he played with us in the room and was really enthusiastic. When it came down to the musicality of it there wasn’t much input, which worked out well because we’re kind of not set in our ways, but we know when we like something and when we don’t. When it came to Superscope, we knew what to do in the studio and felt positive that we were doing the right thing.”
Musicality is the operative word here, as Superscope presents a more well-rounded sound and tighter structure in songwriting than the band’s previous releases. There’s an element of maturity, while certainly more of their individual personalities shine through. The video for single ‘Down On My Knees’ is particularly hilarious, demonstrative of typical family feud elements in a comical manner. “I think with any band – whether you’re family or not – there are arguments. We’re older, but I wouldn’t say more mature,” Durham says. “We deal with things better and don’t bicker anymore. In rehearsals, it still gets pretty tense sometimes, but we get on with it.
“In terms of the music, when we started writing it was all first loves, heartbreak, that kind of thing. Now, well, definitely me, that kind of thing [was fine] at the time, [but this time] I wanted to write about fun instead of moaning about everything.
“You write about how you’re feeling at the time – I’m in a happy place right now, next year might be a different story.”
For their upcoming tour, Kitty Daisy & Lewis have certainly written an album of songs that will be sure to generate feel-good vibes, perfect for the glorious weather we’ve been having. From one album to the next, there’s always a slight variation for every performer in how they take to the live stage, but that isn’t necessarily the case for Kitty, Daisy & Lewis.
“We have toured this album a bit already, a two-week European tour, so it’s not completely new. The only real challenge is having the energy, especially travelling to Australia, because you’re never there and going over once a year, doing promo stuff as well, you’ve got to overcome that and block it out for when you get on stage,” says Daisy.
“Anywhere you go is different, even in European countries it’s different, even from town to town is different – Sydney is different to playing Melbourne. As well, as we’ve progressed in the music, the people have changed in the audience. We used to get a lot of rockabillies – our music still has that element but it’s more poppy now.”
