KING LOUIS is comprised of Joshua Jorritsma (vocals), Ben Harding (drums), Ptolemy Jeffery (guitar) and Jake Broadbent (bass).
Their melodies are crafted and led by Ptolemy. Ptolemy has an extraordinary ability to continually turn riffs and ideas into melodic concepts to which Josh crafts the lyrics to mirror the ‘feeling in the room’. Ben and Jake complete the process – bringing the flurry of ideas into structured and digestible song; adding anthem-feel rock and roll fills through to funk reminiscent baselines.
The boys of KING LOUIS met at the University of Exeter, where they all attend as full-time students across different disciplines. They formed in late September of 2023 after a Campus Bands jam session. Being all professional-class musicians, they gravitated to each other seamlessly despite having trained in different styles. Josh was the underling of the acclaimed vocal coach, Chris Lee, whilst he lived in Manchester and refined his craft as a pop-rock vocalist under Chris’ mentorship.
Since their conception as a band, the group has played many of Exeter’s renowned small venues, such as the Old Firehouse, The Cavern, Move, Little Drop of Poison and the Monkey Suit. They have continually packed the venues they play and have a reputation as one of the most established new bands in Exeter. They recently played outside of Exeter at the Greenrooms in Cardiff. The boys aim to push out of their home scene to bigger venues across the South West and beyond.
So far, as of February 2024, they have released an EP, ‘ HAPPENINGS AT MIDNIGHT’ and a single, ‘Canvas in the Rain’.
Their first release, HAPPENINGS AT MIDNIGHT, is a snapshot of the thoughts that plague late-night over-thinkers. It’s dark, hopeful, hurting and from the heart. Its top track ‘Nature’s Folly, Pt.1’ has racked up over 15,000 streams across all platforms since its release.
The band made their first radio debut on BBC Introducing Devon with the track ‘World of the Dead’. The band released their new single, ‘Canvas in the Rain’, on 23rd June 2023. It was also featured on BBC Introducing Southwest.
KING LOUIS is back in the studio with two new singles, which they plan to release towards the end of March. The group are confident that these new singles will mirror their maturity as a group now, playing with complex subject matter, and they assure us that they will be the best of their work to date. They are also closely working with photographers, such as Lene Rayner, to ebb creativity from visual culture, too. They are on the journey to becoming artists in the purest form of the word.
