Track Of The Day :: Kingsley Chapman & The Murder - Olympians

Delivering what they describe as "cabaret death songs", 'Olympians' is the first offering from Kingsley Chapman & The Murder - the newly formed outfit led by the ex-frontman of the late post-punk band The Chapman Family.

Anyone who saw the Chapmans will be conversant with its leader's often driven and incendiary  style, which, fortunately remains as intact in this new incarnation; even if, as it would seem, channelled through a different medium. Both Chapman and the rest of The Murder are all Teessiders, but unlike the savage thunder of The Chapman Family, we now see a parade of yes, the somewhat dark-tinged, but with the incorporation of strings, violin, and piano in its arrangement, it turns this first song from the new outfit into something as empyrean in structure as its title might suggest.

"This is very much a DIY collective," says Kingsley of the new collaboration. "The piano player, violinist and one of the percussionists are from a band up here called By Toutatis who all happen to be doing nothing at the moment as their singer lives and works abroad. I figured they were too talented to be sitting around doing nothing so am utilising them while I can."

On first hearing 'Olympians' I found I was at the same time trying to place where I had heard something similar in a few places in the song. After running a few decades worth of songs through my mind, I realised it was David Bowie's 'Heroes' that had been nudging at the grey cells. When I later voiced this to Kingsley, it seems I was in the right track.

"There are Bowie references in it," he acknowledges. "I've put Bowie references in pretty much every song I've ever recorded - and the "and we kiss" line is a direct nod to 'Heroes'. Musically, though it's gently tipping it's hat to earlier Bowie and Roxy, only gently though."

'Olympians', all five minutes-plus of it, has a certain majesty of its own. Unlike anything else you might currently hear. It's a ballad that grabs your attention from the powerfully arresting piano opening to the very last dying sax note.

And it would seem, from what we are told, that the follow-up to 'Olympians' might see yet another side of Kingsley Chapman & The Murder: "The next song I'll be putting up has a bit more venom and punch. The first one as an introduction is intentionally a bit of a curveball."

Live dates

Kingsley Chapman & The Murder play:

March 22 Sunderland Pop Records free event 1pm

April 04. Stockton Calling

April 17. Leeds, Eiger Music Studios

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