Interview
Interview
Keo: “We’re really not scared of what people say about us anymore”
Drawing word-of-mouth crowds and cited as British rock music's next big thing, Keo are more fearless than ever
Keo are already playing packed out shows, drawing huge crowds at festivals and blowing up on social media as the next generation of British rockstars. Not bad for a group with just five songs out. “It’s a bit of a phenomenon,” grins vocalist Finn Keogh after a hectic weekend of feeling a bit like an imposter at a fancy BRITs afterparty. “It was a bit wanky but I had some really good conversations with bigger artists.”
The excitement has been a long time coming for Finn, who’s always wanted to be in a band. Growing up in Portugal as a teenager after living in Devon, he and his bassist brother Conor would stay up late into the night talking about their dream group – before moving to London to make it a reality. They eventually teamed up with drummer Oli Spackman and guitarist Jimmy Lanwern, and have spent the past three years slowly building up a deafening amount of buzz with their outrageously energetic live show. Now, following the release of their own concert movie (filmed at London’s Village Underground) and with a live album on the way, Keo are ready for something new.
What made you first pick up the guitar?
My dad. He’s an Irish folk musician who plays in pubs around the UK. It’s a very funny show – it’s arguably more comedy than music. Every Sunday, I would watch him play. I can’t remember the first time I picked up a guitar, because it’s always just been engrained in me. Also growing up, if I was ever in a friend’s car, I would sing along to the radio like that was the most normal thing in the world.
One day I wanted to skive school and my dad said that was fine, but only if I learned a song on the guitar. I think I ended up learning something by Mumford & Sons or The Lumineers. I used those three chords and then wrote four songs of my own that same night. I’ve still got the book upstairs and they were some horrific lyrics. I was only nine though.
Me and my brother Connor would busk in Totnes. He had his own band in secondary school that was really inspired by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, then I started my own one. We were pretty good. It doesn’t matter what other jobs or hobbies we had, music was the thing I came back to. It’s always been that trustworthy friend.
What music did Keo bond over?
Jimmy’s a massive Radiohead fan and i think you can tell he’s very inspired by Johnny Greenwood. Connor is more into Pearl Jam and Nirvana. We still show each other music but we’ve stopped referencing other bands in the studio. I think it’s for the best because you end up with a more organic, unique sound. I like the idea of a blank canvas and you just need to figure it out.
You released your debut EP Siren last year, which is quite a scrappy record…
We recorded the five songs in five days because we didn’t have the money for anything else. Everything you hear is the first and only attempt we got at each song, which has its pros and cons to be honest.
And the lyrics are quite raw as well.
My family moved to Portugal when I was 14 because we were all having a bit of a rough time. When I was out there, I started writing songs about my time in the UK and the not very good times I’d been through. That was my first experience of therapy through music.
That EP is about relationships and break-ups mostly though. Thorn was the first time I really said what I meant in a song. There’s the lyric “I felt alone this week” and I was really worried it would make the rest of the band feel uncomfortable. But the more you let go of things like that, the stronger the music. I think people want to hear you say the uncomfortable thing, so they can use it to express themselves.
Why have you focused on playing gigs rather than racking up TikTok views?
Because I’d been playing shows since such a young age, it was the only thing that made sense when Keo started. I loved Pearl Jam because of how passionate Eddie Vedder was on stage, and I’ve always resonated with how vulnerable it is to be so passionate. When we moved to London, I saw the right bands that motivated us in the right way.
I think a lot of artists think they need to focus on TikTok and Instagram first, then figure out how to do it live if it blows up. I honestly think you need to spend at least three years gigging before you even think about the project name. Playing live will teach you so much about yourself, and the music you want to make. Also social media can give you a false sense of growth. Bands that are big one week are forgotten about the next, and I don’t know if I could handle that emotionally.
How have you found the hype? Has it made you question just how vulnerable you are with your music?
The more successful you are, the more people want to hear what you’ve got to say which can get in the way of the writing. We went away recently and I ended up with 15 new songs in ten days. Whilst I was there though, I had to convince myself that nobody would ever hear what I was writing, I knew in the back of my head that I was lying to myself because I’m ambitious and want the music to do well, but I ended up with the best stuff I’ve ever written. It’s uncomfortable because it’s so honest.
It does get more challenging knowing people will be listening tut the more you dive into being vulnerable, the easier the songs come. Songwriting is like having a giant antenna coming out of your head and you’ve got to let the songs come when they want to. If you’re too stubborn or if you’re trying to portray an image of yourself that isn’t accurate, you’re never going to write good songs. The truth always rises to the top.
So Keo’s success has never felt out of control?
It’s all just very rewarding. None of us are Nepo kids so the level we’re beginning to operate at is completely alien. When I was younger, I convinced myself that this was going to happen for me if I worked hard enough. I don’t know whether I truly believed it, but it’s worked out in my favour. There have been moments where it’s really felt like it’s happening for us. There have also been some moments that haven’t been as fun.
We had a phase where people were comparing us to Wunderhorse, and other people were really pissed off about that. It’s not nice when people are constantly slating you and it did start getting to us. Last year, we had conversations about what we were doing onstage so it didn’t come across like we were copying them – but that’s more disingenuous than ripping someone off and owning it, isn’t it? Anyway, we ended up bumping into Jacob [Slater, Wunderhorse vocalist] backstage at Reading and he spoke about how much he loved Keo. After having that chat with him, it felt very silly that we would ever take those comments seriously. Since then, we’ve been very ‘who cares?’. We’re really not scared of what people are going to say about us anymore, which feels like a blessing.
How inspiring is it as a guitar band to be able to look around and see groups like Fontaines D.C. or Wunderhorse breaking out and doing well?
I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had about guitar music coming back in recent years. It does feel like we are in the right place at the right time. I discovered Wunderhorse when they were still playing small venues but it was never about the rooms they were playing, or how far they might go that I loved. Even when they were playing The Lexington, they felt like a massive band because of how good they were. Any band feels like the biggest thing in the world if you really believe what they’re saying. There are so many great guitar records coming out but we’ve got our blinkers on. We want to take Keo further than people are willing to believe.
Talk to me about what’s next?
We’re gearing up for the next chapter of Keo. Without saying too much, we’re definitely building towards something. This upcoming headline tour is Siren’s last breath. It’s pretty phenomenal how far that EP has taken us and we’ll still play those songs for years to come but all the songs that didn’t make that EP, I’m not sure if we’ll play them after this. We’re still figuring all that out though.
What’s the vibe of a Keo show?
It’s very united and our fanbase is really, really dedicated, which makes for a great atmosphere. I think everyone is more open just because the songs are so vulnerable. Because we’re all in it together, people feel very comfortable. There are also kids on their mates’ shoulders, and people screaming the lyrics back at us. It just feels like people come to a Keo gig as the people they want to be. It’s loads of fun.
Keo are out on tour throughout the UK now. Find tickets here.
