Indie Rock Band Hey, King! On Debut Album

Femme empowerment duo Hey, King! have released an electric new self-titled album with songs full of love, resilience, and anthems. Produced by four-time Grammy winner Ben Harper, the record is a dazzling 11-track collection that matches the emotional intensity of the band’s live show concert experience.

Led by partners Natalie London and Taylor Plecity, the powerhouse duo has already garnered widespread praise from a few of the album’s tracks that have already been released, including “Beautiful,” “Sorry,” and “Road Rage.” London and Plecity have both experienced tumultuous pasts, and the pair created Hey, King! to express themselves and let others know that they are not alone. Their music can be utilized to uplift and bring comfort to those during dark times – and let loose during happy times.

OFM had the opportunity to chat more with London and Plecity about the album and working on music together.

Hi, Natalie and Taylor! Thank you both for taking some time to chat with me about your self-titled debut LP. What can listeners expect?
Natalie London: The LP comes out April 2, and I feel like listeners can definitely get a very good introduction to us as a whole. We have high energy, some rock stuff, and a lot of diary type split your heart open vulnerability. We expose some of our baggage, but our sense of humor is in there too. I think the biggest thing we focus on is just being as honest as possible and treating every track as an individual piece of work. It ended up coming together very well as an 11-song album, but each one is its own particular story and journey.

Can you talk more about the LP’s concept and inspiration?
Taylor Plecity: I think we approached the songs in a certain way. When we were writing them, we were not thinking about the album as a whole. We were thinking about what we needed to do for each individual song, and everything happened organically.

NL: “Hey, King!” is a quote from the Where the Wild Things Are movie. When they were yelling for Max, they did not know his name, so they would say, “Hey, King!” The record as a whole, our goal was to have it imbued with that same kind of feeling of childlike wonder, rage, hope, the whole spectrum, but especially the spectrum of feelings you have when you are in touch with your younger self. Speaking back to your younger self saying, you can get through this or we can have an adventure in the future.

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A few tracks of the album have already been released. How have they been received?
TP: I think OK? [Laughs]

NL: No, it has been so cool. The record had to be split because of the pandemic, so the EP came out back in August. The highlight of that one for sure, at least for us, “Half Alive” was our favorite. I used to call it sex song, but nobody would let me call it sex song. “Half Alive” was pretty well received because we got these comments from people saying, I have not seen a music video with the median of two girls making out with each other at the end of it. Then we would get these comments saying, have you read your Bible? Two girls should not be making out at the end of it. It’s like from an older woman saying she’s watched this video three times. Like, why are you watching it three times then if you are so offended?

TP: That was a fun one, but then “Beautiful” for me was one of my all-time favorite music video projects. I think during quarantine, that was what we were able to do to express ourselves creatively. We were not playing shows, everything was shut down, and everything is still fairly locked down currently, but we would put our hearts and souls into creating music videos. Natalie and I, we directed, produced, and edited them all in our house, and it was a lot of fun seeing “Beautiful” really take off and have a life of its own outside of our computer. I am very proud of the feedback we got on that.

What do you hope audiences take away from Hey, King!?
NL: I think it all goes back to the role music has played in our individual lives. Everybody has their own story, everybody has been through crazy and terrible things, and I feel music plays such a role in not only escaping from your circumstances, but also validating your emotions and what you are going through. I think that was the main role music played in my life. I have something cathartic to channel those emotions through. So, that has always been my hope for Hey, King! At least to give that peace of mind to somebody that is going through the same thing.

The album also includes a couple female empowerment anthems. Why are songs like these so important right now?
TP: I think they have always been important. Right now, it is a little bit more OK that they are getting a response.

NL: For me, gender never played a major role in it. I never really thought about it when I was writing music or in the studio. Even if I was the only girl in the band or whatever, I did not give it any thought to the songwriting. I feel like if you speak for who you are, and it resonates with people like you, then that is the best-case scenario. I feel like we took a turn with “Road Rage” because of everything that was going on. Taylor has been through a ton of this stuff, I have been through a ton of this stuff, and add being gay on top of that, we never really spoke about how annoying and frustrating it is not only to be harassed as a woman but be harassed as a couple. I think we just wanted to say something about it.

TP: Yes, definitely. It was really ironic because as soon as we got done recording “Road Rage,” we were walking out loading the equipment into our van, and this guy was making these cat calls. I had this little drum set with me, and he was like, ‘Hey little drummer girl!’ Like, dude, you are literally what we were just singing about.

NL: The whole way to the car, there was like a group of five guys across the street who would not shut up. That is exactly why we did this.

TP: Thank the universe. That was exactly the sign we needed to know that this song needs to be alive!

Hey, King! was produced by four-time Grammy Award-winner Ben Harper. What was it like to work with him?
TP: Amazing! It was a blast.

NL: Ben, especially at the beginning, he just created this entire playground of instruments. He has warehouses full of everything. For someone like me who arranges, I arranged all the music on the record and wrote for all the instruments, so to write for trumpet and French horn, I would hear harmonium and he would be like, let’s go get it. He also plays everything too, so him and I would jump around from instrument to instrument. It just kept growing because he was so game to see through all our ideas.

TP: Going on the road with him, we got a lot of inspiration for what kind of music we wanted to play for the rest of the songs that we were making that year. That was really cool, but when we were in the studio with Ben, he was such a good enabler for Natalie. To be able to hear something that she wanted to put into the arrangement, and then he would make it happen.

NL: Whether that came from instrumentation or great players, he would be like, ‘Are you free right now?’ Next thing you know, we have this amazing harpist in the room. It was so awesome.

TP: He also gave us the space to do weird things too.

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Not only are you partners in music, but you are also partners in life. How did you two meet?
NL: Taylor and I met at my brother’s birthday party. She was invited by a friend; it was a totally random occurrence.

TP: It was like, right place, right time. The universe guided us. It was nuts.

NL: I saw her across the room, and it was one of those things where I was like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t know who this is, but I have to talk to her.’ I came over to shake her hand, and this was the weirdest thing.

TP: I said, ‘Hey, I’m Taylor! Do you know this?’ Like a nerd, and we do this multi-step handshake.

NL: First time ever meeting. I just stood there. I was like, ‘That was my secret handshake with my best friend when I was nine years old.’ I never met another person who knew it. I have no idea what made you be like, ‘Yo, what’s up? Do you know this handshake?’

TP: The world just stood still for a second, and we have been together ever since that day.

When and how did Hey, King! come to be?
NL: I was playing music full-time when I was bitten by a tick and contracted Lyme disease. I had seizures, memory loss, and I could not walk, talk, read, or write. I was bedridden for over four years, and I never thought I would play music again. As I was recovering, all I did was watch old movies and stuff, but I got so into Where the Wild Things Are because I related so much to his loneliness and being stuck in a 10×10 room with three IVs to my heart. Hey, King! started as this longing for adventure. Longing to get out into the word and for a way to escape everything that was going on. I wanted to start new. It was a new life. Everything that I had in my old life was completely gone, so to start a new band with a new name and purpose was very important to me. We started playing and I wrote all these songs, then Taylor and I were together for almost a year before she joined the band.

TP: I would come up for shows and sing, but I was never a permanent member. I played a supporting role. I don’t know how it changed so far, but I remember Natalie asking me to be a permanent member. Natalie has written some of my all-time favorite songs, so I felt this immense joy and excitement. Like, really? Really? Then I also felt this need to level up. I am going to learn as much as I can and get as good as I can. I want to feel proud enough with my own ability and be able to stand next to this genius songwriter.

How has making music together brought you closer as a couple?
NL: For me, there are these really powerful and beautiful moments that you never expect to share with another person. The first time we were onstage, touring with Ben as his opener and seeing 5,000 people in the audience giving us standing ovations, and you get to look over and see that you are sharing that moment with your partner—that feeling is unreal. I never expected to have that level of intimacy in art. That has added a lot, and being able to be on the road together, traveling is such a huge part of that. To go to these places all over the country, play music, and share the experience of meeting all these new people. Being a couple and bandmates can also add some stress, but we do not let tension build up.

TP: We do not let tension sit or simmer. I have never worked so well with another person, and we are great at compartmentalizing.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention our plug?
NL: We would just love for people to check out all the music videos that are a part of this record. I think there are seven total now that are out. We are very proud that in a year where we were not able to tour or do any big public shows throughout this time, these videos are the main thing we were able to add into the album. We would love people to check those out.

Follow London and Plecity on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay up-to-date with their latest news and projects. Hey, King! is now available on digital streaming platforms.

Photos Courtesy of Hey, King!