King & Early

King & Early, aka Trevor King and Matt Early, have been in the music business for over twenty years, producing and writing under many different names, for some of the world’s biggest artists. After ten years of saying they would do a collaboration, they finally got together in 2018 and formed King & Early. Having received widespread support with their singles ‘Moving On’ and ‘Demons’, King & Early recently released ‘Walk On Water’ on Champion Records. DMC chatted with the duo…

Hey Trevor & Matthew, thanks for speaking with DMC! What have you been up to lately?

Hey, DMC, Thanks for having us! We’ve both been up to loads recently, working on projects, spending time with family and enjoying ourselves.  Music is currently playing a massive part of our lives at the moment, working on a few projects.

You’ve just released Walk On Water on Champion Records which samples Valley Of The Shadows. Tell us a bit about the release and why you decided to sample a classic D&B track…

Well, it’s an idea which came about early last year and quite literally we’ve been working on the track since then. It’s the longest project we’ve ever done as far as time goes. We wanted to get it right and there were so many different versions of this record. When we thought of the idea we both thought yes, this would work! It’s an all-time classic sample which we both grew up to really. It played a massive part in our lives growing up, and the scene as a whole in general. We just hope everyone loves it as much as we do!

King & Early feat. Lauren L'aimant - Walk on Water (Extended Vocal Mix) [Champion Records]

Walk On Water features the gorgeous vocals of Lauren L’Aimant. How did the collaboration happen?

We’ve known Lauren since working with Icarus and their label Fly Boy. We absolutely love her and think she’s such an amazing singer-songwriter. It’s fate we came together on this one.

You’ve both been working in the music industry for quite a few years. What made you decide to join up and form King & Early?

We both knew of each other in our local town, Romford. We knew each other and always said hello and spoke about getting together for about 10 years, which never happened. One evening, we were both booked to play at a local event and decided to come together to start this project, and never looked back! You also released Demons on Champion Records last year.

How did you get involved with the legendary Champion?

We were speaking with Robin (Tabor) already before he joined Champion Records and when he moved over as the A&R there, we messaged him and sent him some tracks. It went from there really. Love the label so much, it has been a big part of our lives growing up with their iconic releases.

Having worked in the music industry for so long, what lessons have you learnt that you would share with up and coming producers?

Take your time, be consistent. One thing we’ve learned is to do just that. If you’re producing your music, take time to hone in on your sound and be consistent with it all the time.

Which other producers really excite you?

Icarus, Cri, Tinlicker, Ben Bohmer, Lane 8. Their production levels are insane, something we strive to be like!

When not in the studio, how do you like to spend your time?

When we’re not in the studio, we like to chill, listen to music checking out new artists, spend time with friends and family. We work really hard in the studio, so sometimes you don’t have time to see your friends etc, so when there’s downtime we do just that! 

King & Early ‘Walk On Water’ is out now on Champion Records. Buy at…https://lnk.to/walk-on-water