Due for release on 20th June 2016, and with a national tour in support, Maps is the debut album by Halifax-born musician Ben Adey – better known as King Harvest & The Weight. 

Infused with an undercurrent of ’70s cool; tumultuous riffs and a feverish energy, Adey describes Maps as “a high energy, good times record. It covers so many bases, it plays like the greatest lost mixtape – a dashboard discovery for a hot summer’s day!”

With sensibilities hailing from a pre-punk era where songwriting reigned supreme, KH&TW take seemingly disparate elements of ’60s pop and ’70s rock, and neatly package them into concise, brawny morsels of garage-rock fire. Ben continues: “We unashamedly wanted to echo those beautiful, bygone days, when young people would lie back and breathe-in albums like Jailbreak, Physical Graffiti, and A Day at the Races.”

But this is no cloying exercise in classic rock nostalgia. KH&TW’s infectious melodies, sun-dappled hooks and uplifting choruses channel a freewheeling spirit that has never gone out of style.   

Recalling his own musical upbringing, Ben surmises: “I guess I was pretty lucky! The staple diet was a mixture of Queen, Humble Pie, Otis Redding, the Stevies – Wonder and Winwood – and stacks of Stax and Motown. It’s a diverse selection, and those influences have never strayed far.

“Before the album I spent a lot of time reassessing what music meant to me and why I wanted to write and record music – you know; ‘what’s this all about?’ I wanted to get back to the thing that had excited me in the first place: the strongest of songs, delivered with adrenaline and style. Maps is the embodiment of that mission statement.”

Maps was recorded during the second half of 2015 by Steve Royston-Smith, “in the darkest depths of West Yorkshire”, Ben grins. “Everything was done very traditionally – tracked live wherever possible, with a minimum of overdubs.”

Among the album’s many collaborators are M G Boulter (Simone Felice, Duke & The King), Andy Bruce (Erland and The Carnival, Kathryn Williams, Ren Harvieu), Rosie Doonan (Peter Gabriel), Conor Lawrence (Flesh), and CJ Smith of Roger Taylor and Brian May’s pre-Queen band, Smile.