TRAILBLAZING URBAN FOLK MUSIC FROM BARCELONA!
A Musical Culture Clash, Breaking Boundaries of Genre with the Urban Folk Sounds of Foot Stompin' Sing Along Tunes, Fiery Percussion, Tap Dance Beats & a bundle of Positive Vibes!
Founded on the backstreets of Barcelona and influenced by old school folk & hip hop sounds, alternative rock, experimental and dance music, the band's life began with an exploratory period of intensive recording where they released three albums over two and a half years. Some songs went on to be featured on Spanish & UK radio.
In September 2021 the duo purchased an old motorhome and sought to put the pandemic behind them by hitting the road to do what they love the most.
Since then they have played countless shows here, there & everywhere including the Isle of Wight & Glastonbury festivals.
Now based in Plymouth (South West England) they've got several projects currently on the go including the evolving percussive 'Urban Folk' sounds of their unique live show, a musical graphic novel and new material being recorded - as ever the band cease to remain static and continue to look for new innovative ways forward with their music.
Kid Hyena are:
Mr Kid (Matt Kemp) - Percussion, Vocals, Samples & Guitar.
Miss Hyena (Maria Moreno) - Tap Dance Beats, Synth, Melodica, Vocals & Percussion.
Dan Harvey - Bass.
Contact: kidhyenamusic@gmail.com / 07864 719665
THEIR Story
This is a band founded by two souls who were brought together by a shared thirst for writing lyrics with a social & political twist whilst wrapping them with everyday and nature based imagery.
Mr Kid (Bassist, Guitarist, Songwriter, Vocalist, Percussionist) had recently moved to Barcelona and was keen to innovate and explore his music in a different way. Being a keen a percussionist he was immediately taken by the new rhythms he was discovering on the streets around him and so he set about redefining his approach to songwriting.
Miss Hyena (Synthesizer, Tap dancer, Vocalist, Lyricist, Pianist) at the same time was starting out on the live circuit with spoken word & spanish rap using the pages and pages of writing she had accumulated over the years.
After a mutual friend introduced them in 2009 & alongside the soulful vocals of ‘Sofia Granato’, they formed vocally driven three piece band ‘Three Colours Red’ whose infectious energy filled venues and garnered national press attention.
The band ran its natural course and eventually they left for Berlin starting a new act ‘The Street Apples’ that focused on harnessing the power of the audience into the show whilst also collaborating with different artists.
They played in venues across Europe and the bands live experimentation helped break new ground for what now is 'Kid Hyena'.
In 2017 the band cut ties with ’The Street Apples’ seeking to explore new musical directions and record new material. As 'Kid Hyena' they immediately entered the studio for an intense period of exploration and experimentation with their sound.
Over this period the band self-produced three albums. Their debut 'Rebel Heart Club’ was recorded in Tarifa, Southern Spain and provided a great springboard for some impassioned live shows as they returned to Barcelona.
Back in BCN since mid 2017, in April 2018 the band unexpectantly released an album of musical collages entitled ‘B Side Fantasy’ this genre crossing album provided the inspiration to move forwards with the fresh new 'Electro Alt Hop' sound and songwriting that you hear today.
In 2020 they released 'Gravitate', again self produced it found the duo experimenting with electro, alt rock & old school beats. The album received radio coverage on amongst others BBC Essex & BBC Introducing then not long after Covid came along laying the band out for a long period particulary as Matt got hit by long Covid.
In September 2021 and with Matt fully recovered they decided to buy motorhome and tour the UK for one year with the aim of making up for all the lost time during the pandemic. The tour was a great success and took in countless shows and festivals, ending with a first streaming release and what is the start of a series of singles to be published across 2023 & 2024 alongside some select live dates.