Mallory Knox talk new single and upcoming tour exclusively with VIVA

Following the release of their newest single ‘Black Holes’, I spoke to Sam Douglas, bass player for Mallory Knox about their upcoming tour that kicks off in April. The rock band, who formed in 2009 have released three studio albums to date and are hopeful that their new release of ‘Black Holes’ will take their music in a new direction as they continue as a four-piece.

Since the departure of the bands lead vocalist Mikey Chapman earlier this month, Sam has stepped up to vocal duties.

 

What is the story behind your new single Black Holes?

We started writing Black Holes mid 2017. Well, the beginnings of it anyway. It was good because it meant we had a lot of time to mess around with the structure, melodies & lyrics to turn it into what it is you hear now. The song itself is about how people put out a completely different persona online in comparison how they would act in a real life situation. People are so quick to have opinions online with stuff they don’t have the first clue about & I don’t think they realise how that can affect the individuals they’re talking about. Everything just seems to be so negative all the time & this was just me getting it off my chest because it does my head in.

 

What was your favourite part in the production of the Black Holes music video?

I just loved how relaxed the whole day was. I normally dread shooting music videos, it’s just something I don’t normally enjoy, but this one was different. The four of us just all seemed very relaxed when we were shooting it & I can promise you that’s not normally the case. I’d been a bit apprehensive about it because really that was my first big test of stepping into a “frontman” role, the whole looking into the camera & singing into it, I wasn’t used to that but I actually ended up really enjoying it.

 

How have your fans reacted to your new single?

Overall it’s been really positive. I think people can appreciate that we’re trying to do something different now & a lot of people seem to be buying into that. It’s been really cool to see people talk about this one actually because it’s our first song as a four piece & you wanna see how people perceive it. Some people aren’t gonna accept it but I’m already over that. If you can’t listen to the song for what it is instead of what we were & you want me to sing like our old singer then you won’t be into it. However, I love that so many people have listened to it with fresh ears & not compared it to our previous work & have enjoyed it that way, that’s what it’s all about.

 

The music video to ‘Black Holes’ – the latest release from Mallory Knox.

 

What has been your favourite tour memory so far?

I just love how unique It is. Going on tour as a band is not something many people get to do & I’ve been lucky enough to have done so many. The shows obviously are the best part but sometimes you just can’t beat a day off sitting in Wetherspoons on a day sesh surrounded by a load of your mates in a part of the country you would never have bothered visiting if it wasn’t for you being on tour.

 

How are you feeling about your next tour? What are you most looking forward to?

I’m excited, I just wanna get back out there. I’m excited to get back to playing small venues again, it’s something we’ve wanted to do for a while now & with everything that has happened it just made complete sense to do this kind of tour now. Stepping up into the frontman role is gonna be something very new & different for me but the more we write & the more new songs we release the more natural it will become. I’m excited to play new songs alongside some of our back catalogue & people forget I wrote the majority of the lyrics to our old stuff so for me to sing those words to an audience for the first time is gonna be really cool for me.

 

What UK Venue is your favourite to play and why?

We’ve been privileged enough to have played some of the most iconic venues in the UK & there are so many we look forward to going back to but I feel the one that holds a special place for all of us is The Junction in Cambridge. That feels like our venue ya know. We’ve played that venue to 20 people, then 40, people, then 100 people until we finally played to 800 & sold it out. It feels like the venue where we watched the growth of our band happen right in front of us. It was the one place that reminded us how far we’d come & how much we had to do to get there. I’d love to play that venue again soon.

 

What do you most want to achieve together as a band?

At this point, honestly, I just want to make our next record the best thing we’ve ever done. I want this record to be the best thing I’ve ever been a part of. We’ve achieved so much and done everything I ever thought we could & then some. We started this band with the ambition of selling out The Junction in Cambridge & at a time it was hard to see past that. To do what we’ve done for as long as we have has been the most incredible journey but I hope when the time comes to release our new record, it takes us on a different journey because the songs on it do all the talking for us.

 

What do you think has been the most important landmark in your career as a band to date?

Nothing is more important than where we are right now. Every single step has made Mallory what it is today but the steps we take now could be the most important ones we ever take. We find ourselves with a completely clean slate, no more Sony, no more presumptions of what Mallory should sound like. We find ourselves with the option to do anything that we want as musicians & that is the most exciting thing for a band like us. We’re starting again in a way, but we’ve already got some very solid foundations in place because of our history & how we build on this is up to us & we’ve never been more driven & as passionate as we are right now, so let’s see what happens.

 

6 months ago I wasn’t sure we’d ever have a new song played on the radio ever again but here we are. A lot of work to get here. Whatever people say/think. Proud of what we’ve done

— Sam Douglas (@Sam_Mallory) February 19, 2018

 

 

Purchase the new single ‘Black Holes’ here

Tickets for the upcoming tour are available here