The Kowloons are quickly carving out a reputation for their catchy melodies and authentic indie sound, drawing inspiration from Britpop greats while pushing confidently into new territory. With a new EP out this month and a series of standout live dates lined up, we caught up with the band to talk influences, Liverpool’s thriving music scene, and what 2026 has in store.
For people who are just discovering you, how would you describe The Kowloons in a few words?
Catchy, melodic and authentic.
Bands like The La’s, Oasis and Ocean Colour Scene often come up when people describe your sound. Are there any other artists or scenes that have influenced you?
The Britpop bands of the 90s are our bread and butter, it was what we were raised on. But I think more recently bands like The Killers and U2 have had an influence on how our sound has developed, we’re thinking more about how songs translate into the live set up, and trying to create bigger more anthemic tunes. We also love a lot of 60s bands, like The Kinks, The Who, The Beach Boys, we’ve been listening to these sorts of bands since we were kids so their melodies and harmonies are probably deep rooted in our musical subconscious.
Which Liverpool artists should we have on our radar right now?
There’s loads of great local bands about at the minute, The Cheap Thrills, Red Rum Club and Keyside are some of our favourites.
You’ve got an EP coming out on 23 April. Is there a particular track that you feel best represents where the band is right now?
Probably the title track Hallelujah, it feels like we’ve made a step up in our songwriting, we’re drawing inspiration from new places and trying new things musically. We see it as a stepping stone to what comes next, we’re never gonna be the type of band that’s happy to make the same sounding songs over and over again.
You’re headlining Arts Club – how does it feel to be stepping up to that stage as headliners?
We’ve been there loads over the years watching gigs so it feels great to be able to play it ourselves. It’s a decent step up from our first headline show last year, more than double the capacity, we’re just buzzing to put on a show for people and play the new tunes live.
2026 is shaping up to be a huge year for you – how excited are you to be joining Freddie Halkon on his sold-out UK tour?
The tour with Freddie was an amazing start to the year for us, we had such a good laugh and him and his team we’re all lovely so it was really good experience for us. We played loads of cities we’ve never been to before so hopefully we’ll be back on the road soon doing a UK tour of our own.
You’ll also be supporting Red Rum Club at On The Waterfront – what does it mean to play such a big event in your home city?
We’re so excited for this one, made up to be supporting Red Rum Club alongside all the other great bands that have been announced. It feels like a real celebration of the local music scene and it means a lot to us to be part of it, it’s definitely going to be one to remember.
With festivals across the UK and Europe coming up, are there any dates you’re particularly looking forward to?
We’ve got a few good ones to look forward to, we’re heading over to Germany in May to play a festival in Hamburg which is one we’re all buzzing for, that’ll be our first gig out of the country. We’re also playing at the Manchester tribute gig to Mani of the Stone Roses, which we’re honoured to be apart of, playing alongside Cast, Tom Meighan, Peter Hook (Joy Division) and loads of other great artists.
The Kowloons’ EP, Hallelujah, is out on 23 April.
Follow @the_kowloons on Instagram for updates.
