KillerStar seamlessly merges elements of modern and classic rock to craft a distinctive sound characterized by sophisticated harmonies, infectious hooks, and hints of art rock. Their latest album showcases a collection of unforgettable tracks that marry crunchy guitars with layered synths, gripping vocals, and dreamy harmonies.

As they gear up for the release of their debut album on March 1st, we had the opportunity to chat with the band and delve deeper into their creative process.

1. Hi Robert and James, welcome to Music Talkers...You’ve just released the new song Got Me All Wrong, what can you tell us about the making of this single and the creative process?

We knew right away that this was a song that would suit Earl ‘s (Slick) playing. It needed a loose slightly shuffled feel that a lot of glam rock style songs had in the 1970s. Earl immediately said he loved it and it reminded him of the band ‘The Sweet’. Earl's guitar performance absolutely nailed it, he gave us a masterclass in riff playing with such a cool swagger. He also took Rob’s insanely catchy guitar riff and played it throughout the song, really amplifying the main hook. This in turn inspired me to play  the drum part in a loose swingy feel and add some extra heavy tom toms and handclaps for a nod to the 1970’s glam rock sound. Rob’s and Emm’s (Gryner) vocals compliment each other so well. As always Emm gave us harmonies and hooks that really  lifted the song. Gail Ann Dorsey played a cool driving bass take. I think the most unexpected performance was from Mike Garson. We had left space in the arrangement for Mike to solo and we expected a rock & roll piano type of thing. Both Rob and I were stunned to hear what he had played! He surpassed anything we could have thought of with an expansive avant-garde classical masterclass. Listen to the very end for a wonderful piano surprise that might remind you of a very famous song he played on.

2. You’re preparing to release your self-titled debut album on the 1st March - what can we expect from it? 

We are really proud of it!  Well, it has a distinct flavour and a big sound aided by some incredible mixing work from Dave Eringa.  All the songs are written by us and I guess are a mix of crunchy riffs, ethereal harmonies and synths, driving grooves and catchy hooks. We were thrilled to have such wonderful guests play on the album with us, the David Bowie band alumni who have contributed some wonderful playing. 

3. Which track on the record was the most interesting to create and why?

James -

‘Falling Through’ was an epic undertaking. Less is definitely not more for this song! You will pick out new highlights everytime you listen.
The demo had a relaxed half time  feel, but I thought I would play a double time groove to lift the verses, then drop to half time for the massive choruses.

There are overdubbed breakbeats fed through a Mellotron tape App, reversed breakbeats, toms and rototoms, reversed cymbals, sub bass kick drums, plus the usual drum kit and cymbals played throughout. Initially I was very excited to get Rob’s demo of the track, it had really interesting chords and there seemed room for expansion. So I extended the outro by around 3 minutes with all the drum overdubs etc, but I left room for Mike Garson and Donny McClaslin to have the opportunity to improvise. Donny McCaslin recorded a veritable orchestra of sax parts throughout the song, multiple saxes harmonising sections, with lead phrases answering vocal lines and finishing with an incredible solo. 

There are sweeping piano parts from Mike Garson, some melancholy and some dark-deep notes that show off the range of his grand piano. Expressive flourishes of notes create tension and release for the outro. Earl really went to town on this song. There are cool lead lines, low octave guitars, and more E-Bow that is reminiscent of mid 1970s Eno at times. Emm Gryner gave us a choir of beautiful backing vocals on the choruses with some ethereal high notes for the outro.

Tim Lefebvre provides a crunchy, driving bass part that underpins the song perfectly. Rob’s vocals have a sense of urgency, but he keeps to his lower register in the verses before hitting some high notes in the chorus. 

4. You called upon an array of his key collaborators as guests for the project that have all worked with David Bowie-  Earl Slick (guitar), Gail Ann Dorsey (bass), Mike Garson(piano), Emm Gryner (backing vocals), Mark Plati (bass), Tim Lefebvre (bass) and Donny McCaslin (saxophone)  - how did the initial idea come together? Reuse?

Rob’s High Wire record label (partnered with Alan Evans from Soulive) had been working with Emm Gryner (‘Business and Pleasure’ album) and Rob suggested asking her to do some vocals. She sent back the most amazing vocal tracks that worked perfectly with Rob’s voice and the songs. We immediately knew we were onto something special! 

Emm was in David Bowie’s band in the 2000s and as we moved from demos to album recording Emm helped us contact some of her old David Bowie bandmates starting with Gail Ann Dorsey on bass. One thing led to another, and one by one they all agreed to contribute to the album - they recorded some beautiful takes that really worked with the songs. Within a few months we had guitar tracks from Earl Slick, piano from Mike Garson and guitar and keys from Mark Plati. Finally we were delighted to have Tim Lefebvre playing bass on 3 songs, with his ‘Blackstar’ band mate  Donny McCaslin playing some incredible saxophone on one song.

5. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve had in your professional career? 

James -

Don’t second guess what the audience wants. Please yourself first.

7. If you could create a dream festival line-up - who would you have on it? 

Roxy Music (with Eno), Genesis (with Peter Gabriel), Iggy Pop,  Black Midi, Zappa with Beefheart, Talk Talk, Japan, Ian Dury, Fela Kuti, Grace Jones, Bjork, The Smiths, Blondshell, The Police, Led Zeppelin  and of course…David Bowie

8. You’re playing London’s iconic 100 Club on the 16th March - what are you looking forward to most about this gig - and what can fans expect? 

We are very excited to play our KillerStar album live at the iconic 100 Club in London.

We will be playing the album in full with a few surprises. We’re thrilled to have many of the musicians who guested on the album with us.

The band for this show comprises of:

Rob Fleming – Vocals, Guitar

James Sedge – Drums & Percussion

Mike Garson – Piano

Kevin Armstrong – Guitar

Mark Plati – Bass

Emm Gryner & Ulrika Berg – Backing Vocals

Dom Beken – Keyboards

Simon Bates will guest on Sax

We have support from Emm Gryner, who will be playing some of her amazing ‘Business and Pleasure’ album. It’s a Yacht Rock classic. 

We wanted to choose a special venue for our album launch. We’ve played The 100 Club many times before with other bands and it feels like a second home.  It has an incredible musical history, hosting many of the all time great bands and musicians. It's been there since the 1950s and it's still an independent venue.

Author: Andrew Braithwaite

Andrew is the founder and Managing Director of Music Talkers. He's also a keen music enthusiast and plays the guitar.