Saint Kochi

“A James Bond, Beatleseque sound" The Times

“Best New Music” Crack Magazine

“Now Hear This” The Independent

“Gorgeous” Beats Per Minute

London chamber-pop newcomer Saint Kochi announces the arrival of his ‘Almost Lost’ EP, out today (August 10th).

Occupying a similar space to the likes of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Mercury Rev or Scott Walker, ‘Almost Lost’ has already spawned lead tracks ‘Almost Lost’, ‘Out Of Time’ and ‘Lifeline’, all of which are built on a woozy string-section adored soundscape, expertly supported by a concoction of throbbing bass lines, weeping guitars and nonchalant vocals.

Speaking ahead of his upcoming release, Saint Kochi explained:

“This was really a collection of songs that captured a moment in time for me. It wasn’t my usual process of revisiting ideas, everything was fresh, immediate and coherent. I think writing this record has opened the door for me in terms of what I came to realise to be achievable musically and especially in terms of the arrangements of songs and the journey they can go on, it will have a big part to play in what comes next…”

The EP was produced in collaboration with Dom Ganderton of Superfood, largely in Saint Kochi’s purpose-built basement studio. For scale reasons however, the 14-piece string section that appears on the song was recorded at the iconic RAK Studios (home to Radiohead’s The Bends amongst other classics), fulfilling Saint Kochi’s ambition of “making a record that had these big cinematic James Bond, Beatlesesque type of strings on them”.

Videos and press shots through the campaign have been created with director/photographer Sam Hiscox (a collaborator with Matt Maltese) as part of a creative partnership that has developed a consistent aesthetic.

Marking the follow-up to his self-titled 2021 debut EP, which saw him earn champions at Clash Magazine, The Line of Best Fit and The Independent at press, as well as BBC Radio 1 (Jack Saunders), Saint Kochi’s newest work signals a self-confident step forward in terms of his cinematic pop, psych-fuelled output - with The Times, The Independent and Crack Magazine all providing several plaudits.

Detailing focus track ‘Leeches’, which accompanies his EP release, the Londoner stated:

“There is a lyric that is lifted out of a Basquiat painting called Leeches - it made me think a lot about unspoken realities of peoples’ lives that exist alongside our interactions with people and relationships in a very immediate sense”.