‘Simon and Garfunkel-like acoustica and lilting West Coast soft-pop loveliness: the Londoners arrive at the perfect combination.”–Sunday Times Culture
“KAWALA are about to become your new fave – if albeit slightly illiterate – band. One of the most recent signings on Mahogany Records, their first track “Small Death” is an exciting look at what the band can do. With a Glass Animals-esque glee, it’s an overwhelmingly lovely song, blending enchanting melodies with captivating rhythms, and we can’t wait to hear more.”–Wonderland Magazine
“The band’s approach matches sterling acoustic songwriting to a refreshing, summer-tinged appeal. Only a few tracks into their career, everything KAWALA touch seems to turn to gold – such as their latest single.”- CLASH
“The first single from KAWALA, ‘Small Death’, is bathed in melancholy, showcasing the delicate intricacies of their voices that melt together in ethereal harmony”- TMRW Magazine
KAWALA return with a spring in their step in 2019 with the release of their new single ‘Runaway’ on January 30th through Mahogany Records. ‘Runaway’ is the second single to be taken from their forthcoming sophomore EP ‘Counting The Miles’. Listen to ‘Runaway’ HERE
Speaking about ‘Runaway’ KAWALA explain,“With our new single ‘Runaway’, we wanted to start the new year with something more upbeat, rhythmic and dancey. While we’ve maintained a strong running theme of journey & exploration, we’ve also managed to pair that with a video about space aliens and monsters, obviously.”
2018 was quite the year for KAWALA. They released theircompelling debut ‘D.I.L.Y.D’ EP, which featured singles ‘Small Death’, ‘Do It Like You Do’and ‘Funky’. Amassed over 9 million streams. Played their third sold out London headline show, as well as appearances at Liverpool Sound City, Dot To Dot Festival and Neighbourhood Festival. They headlined BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders presents Hopscotch Tour alongside Apre and Sun Silva as well as performing at The Great Escape’s First Fifty showcase in November. The KAWALA juggernaut continues apace in 2019 having been announced as support for Dodie on her UK and IRL tour in March, as well as appearances at Eurosonic, Live at Leeds, This Is Tomorrow and Neighbourhood Festival and their own headline UK tour in May, which goes on sale Friday 1stFebruary. Headline tour tickets will be available here.
The journey of KAWALA so far has been anything but traditional. Releasing through Mahogany Records (the new venture between Mahogany Sessions and Marathon Artists), the band, led by Jim Higson (vocals) and Daniel McCarthy (guitar), came together whilst studying at Leeds College Of Music. It was only a few months before they agreed to dropout, head back to their beloved North London and start the band.
Over the course of the 12 months since the release of their first single – ‘Small Death’ – KAWALA picked up major support from Spotify, including five inclusions on New Music Friday UK, as well as plays on BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music and Radio X and a tonne of online tastemaker support from the likes of Wonderland, DORK Magazine, CLASH, TMRW Magazine, Euphoria Magazine and many more as well as The Sunday Times Culture’s Hottest Tracks for ‘Moonlight’.
TOUR DATES:
March
13th – Bristol – O2 Academy w/ Dodie
14th – Birmingham – O2 Academy
w/ Dodie
15th – Glasgow – Barrowland w/ Dodie
20th – Nottingham – Rock City w/ Dodie
21st – Manchester – Manchester Academy w/ Dodie
23rd – Norwich – UEA
w/ Dodie
24th – London – Roundhouse w/ Dodie (Sold Out)
Headline + City Festival Shows [bold italics]
May
1st – Manchester, The Deaf Institute
2nd – Glasgow, The Garage Attic Bar
4th – Live At Leeds Festival
5th – Newcastle, Hit The North Festival
7th – Birmingham, The Sunflower Lounge
8th – London, The Dome
9th – Brighton, The Great Escape, The Hope & Ruin
15th – Upstairs At Whelans, Dublin
24th – Newcastle, This Is Tomorrow Festival w Foals
25th– Warrington, Neighbourhood Weekender
