When Dork drops KuleeAngee a line, they’re mid-cleanup. “We just finished up cleaning our studio ‘cos Kesh had his birthday here the other night,” they admit, half-apologetically, half-proudly. “We’re sweating buckets and now doing this interview, haha.” You get the sense that this combo – hedonism and hustle – is precisely what makes the band tick.
Formed two years ago by Duncan Grant (from suburban Edinburgh) and Keshav Kanabar (from South Glasgow), KuleeAngee are less a band and more a mission: to make music that bangs hard enough for clubs but weird enough to still feel like a fever dream. Bonding over a shared love of Confidence Man and the Blues, the pair’s ethos is straightforward: “Let’s write some tunes.” That’s it. No overcooking. Just pure gut instinct.
“We’d both been going at playing live for ages,” they explain, “so we were keen to do something that just focused on making tunes. Cos it’s just the two of us, we do everything – write, produce, sing, play all the instruments…”
Before KuleeAngee, the pair were jobbing musicians – session work, residencies, “whatever paid, haha.” They met in London on the scene, clicking immediately. “This is the first time we’ve really done something for ourselves,” the duo consider. The band’s name even has personal roots – borrowed from a distant Indian relative and re-spelt into something euphonious and just a bit trippy.
When asked where the idea for their debut EP ‘Is It Awryt’ came from, they both shrug in unison – metaphorically speaking. “It kinda happened by accident,” they explain. “When we started to write about two years ago, there was never any intention other than ‘Lets make stuff that gets us pumped’. And now we’ve written a bunch of tunes and this EP just came about from looking at everything we’ve done and thinking, ‘This should be the first stuff we put out’.”
There’s no grand concept, no PR-mandated statement of intent. “We spend ages listening to our favourite tunes, figuring out why they make us feel so good, and then try and put that into our stuff.” The result is a sort of sonic grab-bag – acid squelch, sleazy disco, snarling riffs – held together by rhythm and instinct.
Live shows, though, have changed the game. “We started gigging about a year ago,” they explain, “and that has definitely changed what makes the final cut on a track. You learn the differences between what is good for the record and what’s good live: usually shouting works live, never works on record, haha.”
And like any good creative partnership, they’ve had to learn how to trust each other. “Doing the last 5% of a tune fucking sucks,” they joke. “That last bit always takes ages. But you learn to let go and trust your gut – and each other.”
Themes across the EP? Loosely speaking: release, pleasure, getting out of your head. “We never set out with an intention of writing about a certain thing, it’s usually whatever we’re connected with that day. Sometimes we’ll be making a tune, then a lyric kinda gets mumbled out cos it sounds good and connects for some reason. Sometimes the meaning comes after all the lyrics have been written.” Sometimes nonsense, sometimes truth – always moving.
For a band so instinctive, it’s not surprising they thrive on references. But not necessarily the cool ones. “We really bonded over old music documentaries, like 90s and early 2000s ones. It’s always some cockney baldie talking over ‘Lucky Man’ by The Verve, going, ‘This is the most dangerous music coming out of England, and now music will never be the same’. We’re always doing impressions of that. When we were young, those documentaries meant everything, but now it’s pure funny to watch.”
That playful energy runs through everything they do – from studio parties fuelled by leftover rider booze (“free stuff is the best part of being a musician”) to the split culinary duties at home (Duncan loves cooking, Kesh loves eating).
As for what’s coming up? More tunes, more shows, more chaos. “We’ve got a fair amount in the bag and hope to put more stuff out later this year and into 2026.” Until then, there’s debut EP ‘Is It Awryt’ just landed, a Glasgow headline at McChuills (21st June), and a big slot at TRNSMT Festival (13th July).
But none of it’s about chasing scenes or following trends. “Write the best tune. Tour the world. Make music that makes people feel great.” That’s it. That’s KuleeAngee. Job done.
KuleeAngee’s debut EP ‘Is It Awryt’ is out now.
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