Kings of Leon recently surprised fans with a new collection of songs titled EP #2, their first EP in decades, and the first completely self-produced release from the band. After achieving breakthrough success in 2008 and growing a steady fanbase through the years, Kings of Leon have clearly remained busy.
Their last LP was Can We Please Have Fun from 2024, and was the first of their music to be released on their own label, Love Tap Records. In between Can We Please Have Fun and EP #2, Kings of Leon paired up with Americana-country darling Zach Bryan for two singles. The band featured on Bryan’s “Bowery”, while Bryan appeared on their song “We’re Onto Something”.
Speaking to Rolling Stone recently, frontman Caleb Followill brought up Bryan’s fast-paced approach to making music. Often, Zach Bryan brings his fans in on the process while he makes an album. He’s been fond of posting song snippets and demos on social media.
“He had sent me ‘Bowery’, and it was just a verse, so on the flight home I wrote the chorus and the verse and sent it to him,” said Followill while discussing the time Kings of Leon joined Bryan on stage in New Jersey. “He was like—he works very quickly—‘Alright, next weekend, New York, I want you guys there, we’re recording it!’ I was like, ‘What? Next week?! Let me see if I can do that…’”
Kings of Leon Were Quick To Adapt To Zach Bryan’s Fast-Paced Way of Releasing Music
Followill added that the band also took the opportunity to pitch one of their own songs to Zach Bryan. They sent over “We’re Onto Something”. Then, they were faced head-on with Bryan’s rapid-fire music-making strategy. Right after they finished “Bowery,” Followill said Bryan was ready to release it.
“He’s like, ‘We’re putting it out in one week!’ I was like, ‘That’s it? We’re not going to, like, listen to it, see what we think?’” Said Followill. “But we loved that approach. That’s his thing. If he has an idea, he puts it on video and sends it out into the world before he’s tweaked it.”
Followill revealed that Zach Bryan’s process sort of reminded him of early hip-hop records.
“It reminds me of old-school hip-hop, that hands-on approach, warts and all. People eat that up,” he said. “If the only thing they hear from you is the polished finished product, you’re not letting them see the process and the thing that is really going to make them a fan.”
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The post “Reminds Me of Old-School Hip-Hop”: How Zach Bryan’s Fast-Paced Approach to Music Impressed Kings of Leon appeared first on VICE.
