A couple of years ago we were proud to premiere K.K Hammond’s version of “In The Pines”. A lot has changed since, not least K.K is now garnering from Metallica. Now she’s back with a new album, out this week. We are thrilled to have the title cut to Premiere below.
K.K. Hammond is a slide guitarist and singer-songwriter blending the Delta, old Appalachia and British Folk Horror into her own personal version of Gothic Blues and Pop Noir. Key influences include Skip James, Memphis Minnie, Charlie Patton and Lead Belly, as well as more contemporary acts such as Tom Waits and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. She also draws on elements of her past love of Metal and Alt.Rock.
Her cover of Metallica’s ‘Nothing Else Matters’ on TikTok gained the band’s approval, and a version of Nirvana’s ‘Heart Shaped Box’ has garnered 100,000s of views on social media. She has built a following of 66,000 + on Instagram purely by word-of-mouth, without a label or management.
Invoking the spirit of old American blues, folk songs and murder ballads, Death Roll Blues faces mortality and amorality squarely, in all their aspects from horror to humour. From the political pessimism of Anhedonia to the murderous whimsy of ‘Til Death. From a tribute to conceptual artist Allan Bridge, aka ‘Mr Apology’ who set up an answerphone where criminals could anonymously confess – to the epic showdown with Haitian Vodou God, Baron Samedi in Memento Mori, KK Hammond’s deceptively pure yet haunting voice matches her keening, seductive guitars.
The title track features David & The Devil, with whom KK duetted on an earlier single The Ballad Of Lampshade Ed, this made No. 1 on the iTunes Blues Chart and the accompanying video, directed by Tom Hughes of Ritual Video, won several awards. There are other very high quality videos to follow.
K.K. was enraptured by guitars and Americana from an early age and spent some years travelling around the USA. She settled back in the Buckinghamshire countryside, where she works with horses. A self-professed hermit living on a farm in the woods, K.K. enjoys exploring the wilderness surrounding her home to seek inspiration.
She is obsessed with Resonator guitars and has a collection of unique, National and Mule Resophonics. She plays slide in less usual open tunings and often uses baritone strings on standard scale resonator guitars. K.K. is also a big horror film aficionado and makes her own music videos and blues themed shorts. K.K has had several plays on Cerys Matthews’ BBC Radio 2 Blues Show and from Huey Morgan as well as many other radio stations worldwide.
- KK Hammond’s official website: https://www.kkhammond.com/
- KK Hammond’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kkhammondmusic
- KK Hammond’s Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/kkhammondmusic/
- KK Hammond’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8d6Hd9f-oyLylc_LzimE8g
- KK Hammond’s Spotify profile: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7r9iLOM74LsVWPH14R2zZV
