Every now and then, there comes a band that is so inherently part of the place it’s come out of, that it is impossible to bypass their captivating artistry. And as much as their name already suggests, the London-based duo Everyone You Know are exactly that – people like you and me, someone you might bump into in the smoking area of your local pub on a Friday night. Painting a lyrical picture of the trials and tribulations of twenty-something suburban life, their music discusses ordinary, everyday situations and feelings that we all have shared at some point but does so with an admirable passion and empathy that immediately draws the listener in.
“Everyday life is something that affects us massively, because we are just living normal lives, with our families, with our friends. We’re not living superstar lifestyles and out of reach and out of contact with everyday people. Our friends and family, that’s what it’s about. That’s what we are, we are a voice for our friends and our family. And we tell their stories through our music. They gave us the musical education, they gave us the knowledge that we have about life. They raised us, so they are as much a part of EYK as we are,”, explains Rhys Kirkby-Cox, writer and singer of Everyone You Know, highlighting the importance of personal connections and relationships in the duo’s musical endeavours. Growing up just outside of London, in a household full of jungle and East Coast rap albums, Kirby-Cox and his half-brother Harvey have molded their eclectic, exhilarating sound to their surroundings, effortlessly creating bass-filled, alt-rap, gruff indie and bold dancefloor hits.
Forming in the same music-filled environment, it came as no surprise that the duo found a home in the fantastical world of sounds and beats very early on, first working separately on their unique solo projects, until when one day they realised that together they could raise to even greater heights. “After about three or four years, we started to make a couple of tracks together and then we eventually decided to work together under one name. And then in 2017, we released our first EP and were fortunate enough to get offered a record deal off the back of that. So yeah, it was wicked,”, the rapper remembers the time when they signed the contract with RCA, about six months before Harvey finished college. Ever since then, the electrifying duo has been drip-feeding their dedicated fanbase EYK’s addictive sound full of raw energy and grit, and gearing for the time when they can finally hit national and international stages again.
Our friends and family, that’s what it’s about. That’s what we are, we are a voice for our friends and our family. we tell their stories through our music. – Rhys Kirby-Cox
“I hope people are going to be hungry to rave and to want to dance and sing along. I think all the shows we will go to after this pandemic ends are going to be just incredible and definitely worth the wait,”, smiles Harvey Kirby, the younger half of the two-piece group and talented producer behind EYK’s stellar discography. Like most artists, the musicians have been patiently waiting for the music industry to come back to life, while tirelessly working on new music that is set to wash over the masses in the form of their upcoming stellar EP ‘Just For The Times’, set to be released on the 1st of October – a giant of a musical project that has been in the making for many, many years and has in turn become part of the talented duo and their story.
With stand-out tracks like the tender anti-anthem ‘My Generation’, the spacey bounce hit ‘Just For The Times’ and the riveting ‘She Don’t Dance’, that tells a cautionary tale of what can go wrong if young parents are not supported properly (a story that hits close to home, with Rhys being a young parent himself), EYK have created their own little worlds with their releases that merge British subcultures from rave to grime, which not only instantly makes them stand out from the crowd, but also demands immediate engagement from the listener thanks to cool instrumentals and utterly clever lyricism.
Everyone You Know’s new single ‘Radio’ is out now. Follow the band on Instagram, Twitter and Spotify.
Written by Laura Weingrill // photography by Donny Johnson & Andrew Whitton
GEM Magazine 