G
eorge King (aka Catching Flies) is one gifted bloke: accomplished at drums and piano, his sound contains elements of everything from jazz to house, soul to hip hop; at first it appears to be the creation of many, yet his enterprise is a solo one.
In 2014, he supported Bonobo on the European leg of his tour, whilst this summer he played ten sold-out gigs in the States with genre-hopping Nightmares On Wax. He’s also written a string of EPs and recently put out a single called Satisfied, plus a short film featuring Kentish Town locations aplenty. We grab George for a chat.
What are your links to the area?
I grew up in Tufnell Park on Corinne Road. There’s something special about the neighbourhood; it’s been interesting to see it change for the good and bad. It’s difficult to explain love for a place because it’s so personal. Every time I tour – I can be anywhere in the world – coming back here just feels like home.
How has the locality shaped your music?
A lot of the things you’ll hear on the album are field recordings from Kentish Town. Even though the listener wouldn’t know, for me it’s a really private touch. I like the idea of those little soundbites, whether it’s the clink of glasses in Mario’s Cafe or kids knocking a football about at Talacre. They’re silly really, but in the bigger picture it’s nice for me. Even if I move, all of my past work is in a time machine that I can play back.
How did things kick off?
I used to be part of the Youth Jazz Band organised by Camden Music Service, a major turning point. I had a gig at the Jazz Cafe with them when I was sixteen, then we did the Royal Albert Hall. People five years older than me went on to perform with acts like Rudimental, Amy Winehouse and Kano. Seeing that as a young kid made it all feel possible and achievable; that was my start.
What’s the deal with the LP?
It’s a collection of tunes I’ve written over the last few years in my home studio. I went through various stages of not liking some of it, wondering whether I’d ever finish it. And then eventually I picked ten that represented something – a diary basically. One of the tracks is called Kite Hill; it started life on top of Parliament Hill. There was a guy messing around with a portable sound system: I recorded that then put it on loop and started placing chords over it. Many of the samples came from charity shops on Kentish Town Road. I’d spend a tenner on old vinyl, go through taking snippets, gather them all together and see what I could do. It’s creative, not just stealing ideas.
Where have you enjoyed playing the most?
In terms of travelling, India and China – culturally they’re so vibrant and inspiring. For performing live, The Forum a few years ago with Submotion Orchestra. I’d walked past that venue every day since I could remember. To be on stage there was massive and a marker of things going well. I took my mum along, it was a lovely full circle.
And where do you like to listen to acts?
The Jazz Cafe has incredible bookings at the moment; I saw Dego there a few months ago. For what I’m into it’s the centrepiece of things.
Who do you look up to?
Wiley: he’s pretty far removed from what I’m doing, but I like the way he’s stayed true to his ethos, stood the test of time. Locally, there’s Mr Hudson: someone who had already gone through the ranks doing big things – from Kentish Town to the world. There are things I want to achieve: I’m just getting to the next stage.
Catching Flies’ Top 5 hangouts
1. My top spot especially in summer is Dartmouth Park Reservoir: the view over the whole of London is like Primrose Hill and Hampstead Heath, but one that not many people have figured out.
2. The Pineapple – probably my favourite pub in the world.
3. Mario’s Cafe on Kelly Street – one of the places in the film. Those coloured roads have always been a symbol of home.
4. I spent a lot of my younger teenage years in Cantelowes Skate Park. It’s completely different now, but back then it was very ramshackle with graffiti everywhere.
5. Boston Arms – my mates and I used to go there every weekend and all had our eighteenth birthdays there.
Watch the video here…
Catching Flies’ new single Satisfied is out now. The release is accompanied by the locally-shot A Short Film About Catching Flies (above). More info here.
