Kay Iris Talk Their Origins, Voices And More

Jul 13, 2024 | Interviews

Words by Glenn Sargeant

Photo Credit: Supplied By Artist

At JLTT we always enjoy hearing the music and talents of new artists and bands and sharing them with our loyal readers. Introducing… Kay Iris a UK-based Americana band who are making waves with their original music. They chatted to us about their origins, voices and more:

Who is in Kay Iris, what do they play and how did you meet?

Kay Iris is the collaboration between Kayleigh Ann and Matt Patmore. They both wanted to
move away from performing in function bands and create their own original music, sound and
look as well as making a platform to promote positive change. Kay got her start as a band
leader, performing vocals and rhythm guitar, and Matt had performed with a number of varied
function acts. Kay wanted to start a new original band and knew of Matt and decided to give
him a message. As it happened, Matt was on a flight back to the UK after leaving a job in
Mallorca, to return to the music scene. A serendipitous meeting, from there they began writing
together and starting a life together.

When did you begin songwriting and recording music?

Song ideas were passed around from 2019. As a songwriter, Kay had several ideas she was
working on, but wasn’t sure how to finish them. Matt was new to songwriting having been an
instrumentalist his whole career. Together, they filled in the gaps of each other’s knowledge,
and began studying and deep diving into harmony and melody. Over the next few years and
through Covid, they assembled an EPs worth of songs and were ready to record them.
Working with a close friend and Producer in town, they began the recording process in 2023.
As of now in July 24, Kay Iris has two singles released, another being mixed and mastered
and a fourth scheduled by the end of 2024.

You previously released the songs ‘A Tale Of Fate’ and ‘Dead Man Walking’. How did you want to approach the making of these tracks?

‘A Tale Of Fate’ was more of a love song. We wanted to incorporate an upbeat feel to it, as
opposed to making a ballad. There’s a dreamy quality to the harmony and chord voicings
used, as well as funky middle eight section. The lyrics explore the concept of ‘love’ and if it’s
something preordained by something greater or something resulted by chance alone. This is
why we chose to release the song in February to coincide with Valentine’s Day.

‘Dead Man Walking’ came about from our love of Quentin Tarantino movies and the desire to create our
own western style soundtrack. We did some research into Sergio Leone and his scores for
Spaghetti Western cinema, as well as looking into appropriate instrumentation to evoke a
‘Western’ sound. We decided on the idea of telling a story of a wanted fugitive on the run,
seeking a new life of peace with his love, but being unable to escape his past. Our songs
mostly start on two acoustic guitars, so we add rough electric, bass, drum, percussion and
other elements to a guide track to see how they translate. If any work well, we go about
getting the appropriate musicians to track those parts in the studio. Writing in this style helped
us decide that we enjoy an Americana sound.

Where did you record the tracks and who produced it?

The tracks are produced, engineered, mixed and mastered, by our good friend Dan Jeffries in
his home studio in St Leonards.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?

Studio work is always fun and we manage to balance a productive and relaxed environment.
Probably playing instruments we had no intention of playing and sampling interesting sounds.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

We love Sontronics microphones for live and studio use. Fender and Patrick James Eggle
guitars. Effects wise, we like Origin Effects, Lehle Pedals, Strymon Effects, TC Electronic, Mad
Professor effects, Line 6 and Providence effects. Amplifier wise we like Blackstar and Morgan
amps for both live use and recording.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?
Hastings – Diverse, Natural-beauty, Creative, Communal, Chips

Do you have any plans for live shows in Europe/UK in 2024?

We are currently scheduled to perform at Lakefest on the VIP stage as well as potentially
playing the main stage too. We are also performing at The Big Feastival on the Sundown
Saloon Stage in August. As of July we are currently part way through our ‘One Tank, One Tree’
tour, in which we are planning on donating funds based on our mileage, to Tree Nation to help
support their campaign to help reforest Java.

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

Alice in Wonderland, as there are so many twists and turns, oddities and revelations. So many
genres and ideas would be fair game to use. It would be a creative melting pot.

Which of your tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

A happiest) ‘A Tale Of Fate’ as it’s written as our love story. B angriest) ‘Last Top Be Sung’
although the message is a hopeful one, the topic of climate change is frustrating when
addressing indignant people. C reflective) ‘Dead Man Walking’, the line ‘Do we know know
what we’ve got till it’s gone’ repeated at the songs climax. We really feel for this sentiment and
plan to live life to the full appreciating what and who we have in our lives.

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

Fleetwood Mac, Tedeschi Trucks Band, The Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell,
Stephen Wilson Jr, Jeff Buckley, Aerosmith, Maddison Cunningham, Glen Campbell, Paul
Simon, Sting

How do you look after your voices?

Vocal warm ups, warm water, good diet, lack of sugar and spice, no dairy (we’re vegan),
mental health work (meditation, affirmations).

Do you have any further music releases planned for 2024?

WE DO! Single number three ‘Last To Be Sung’, an environmental song scheduled for release
September 2024 and single number four ‘Stories We Tell’ is scheduled for November 2024.

What makes Kay Iris happy and what makes you unhappy?

Happy: Conservation, Mindfulness, Veganism, Nature, Good Music, Travel, Learning, Fitness,
Cooking, Songwriting, Wanting to make a positive difference, good conversation, rewilding
projects.

Unhappy: Close minded individuals, Lack of citation, Cookie cutter music, Planetary
destruction, Tories, animal agriculture, Football culture.