Entertainment

Kenelis set for GuilFest

By Nicola Hudson
July 02, 2009

ANGST rockers Kenelis are set to rock out GuilFest for the third year in a row next weekend.

After wowing the crowd last year with emotional powerhouse songs and explosive performances, the band is back with new tracks taken from their forthcoming second album as well as putting a new twist on some old favourites.

The Farnborough-based band formed five years ago when lead singer Mel Sanson was invited to play Farnham’s Party in the Park.

Not wanting to perform on her own, Mel gathered some musicians together to create Kenelis.

Their edgy rock music has seen the band compared to era-defining bands such as Sonic Youth, Fugazi and the Smashing Pumpkins.

“Our music is a mixture with lots of influences,” said Mel. “We grew up loving early ’90s grunge.

“We like some indie music and the heavy rock tracks as well.

“The goths like us, the metal fans, the indie fans – we even have fans who like dance and electro music. We are definitely not a pigeonholed band.

“I put it down to rock music. You get some rock bands who will experiment with different genres.”

When it comes to writing songs, the band’s inspiration does not come from a favoured genre, rather members’ life experiences and passion for music.

“The inspiration for the band as a whole is down to really loving music,” Mel said.

“In terms of lyrics and emotion, we put our whole heart and soul into it. We write from the heart, the lyrics are honest and it can sometimes feel a bit vulnerable with such truthful lyrics.”

In order to get its music out to the public Kenelis set up an independent label for the release of its first album.

The band has since seen its fan base grow rapidly and the musicians are now working in the studio on their second album with a bigger prize in sight.

Mel said: “Now we have our established fan base we will put together a demo. Then the aim is to get ourselves picked up with either a publishing deal or, hopefully, a bigger record deal.” The band will play three new tracks at GuilFest to gauge the reaction of the crowd.

As well as playing in the Rock Sound Cave next Saturday (July 11), they have been invited to perform on the acoustic stage the following day.

Mel said: “We have had to re-write our album acoustically so it’s like we are covering our own tracks. It’s going to have a very interesting sound.

“GuilFest is our local festival to play and is the biggest gig for us.

“We can’t wait to get out there.”

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