Get To Know : Kernow Beat
Describe Kernow Beat in a few words
A vehicle to drive the Cornish DIY scene.
How did Kernow Beat come together?
We started in 2021 as ‘Kernow Psych Society’ hosting meetings & events. Our main aim was to create a scene akin to the ‘fal-sound’ scene that thrived here in the 2010s & had dried up by then.
What was the initial vision behind Kernow Beat? How has it evolved over time?
There was no concrete vision initially, we just wanted to put on music we liked to see if people responded to it. Now it's morphed into something else entirely; we’re whatever the artists need us to be, whether it be a promoter, booker, manager, or pseudo-label. We just try & help the plethora of incredible groups & musicians here however they need us to.
How do you find and bring in new artists to the collective?
Pretty organically really, meeting people at shows & around town, some might get in touch with us online & vice versa.
What have been some of your most exciting projects or events so far?
We held Kernow Psych Fest in 2022 at the Cornish Bank in Falmouth which was great, we were really proud of what everyone achieved there, loads of people mucking in. Our most exciting project so far is undoubtedly last year's compilation album though.
Are there any upcoming releases, events, or collaborations that fans should be looking out for?
The Heavenly Bodes (who headline Bad Vibes x Kernow Beat! at the Moth Club) have their debut album coming out in autumn this year - produced by James Hoare (of Veronica Falls, Ultimate Painting, The Proper Ornaments) - definitely keep an eye out for that!
Work has begun on a second compilation album, which will feature a few groups from VOL.1 & some new names too. It's still a little way off but the ball is rolling.
We also put on events roughly every 6 weeks in Falmouth, mostly at a venue called Underland (The Chintz Bar), so they’re always worth checking out if you’re down this way.
What is the music scene like in Cornwall? Do you feel there’s a strong creative community?
We’re biased, but it's got to be one of the most thriving scenes in the UK right now.
Possibly due to its accessibility & the relative freedom of it compared to elsewhere. It’s pretty easy to get on the local circuit & even to run your own events. New groups crop up faster than we can keep up with at the moment.
It’s not just us either, there’s an incredible folk scene, a dedicated punk & harcore circuit (shoutout to Offworld Endeavours) as well as some decent groups coming out of the university.
What has been the most rewarding part of being part of Kernow Beat?
Seeing others do similar things as a result, hopefully it shows people that you can really make something happen in your local area if you have a crack at it. We didn’t have a clue what we were doing when we started off.
Congrats on releasing your first compilation album Kernow Beat Vol.1! What was the inspiration behind putting together this compilation, and how did you choose the artists and tracks featured on it?
Meur ras!
The ‘Pebbles’ compilations played a big part in it, obscure music from around the globe. We’ve been listening to those for years & there’s always something interesting found lurking in them. That & our namesake, kernowbeat.co.uk. It’s an archive website that has in depth records of all the bands that used to frequent the Cornish scene in the 60’s & 70’s - bands, old venues, tons of photos & info etc. It was put together by a chap called Richard Prest about 15 years ago I think.
We wanted to make a compilation to try & capture what’s going on in Cornwall at the moment whilst also hopefully leaving behind albums for people like us to dig up in 60 years time & start the process all over again.
For the record itself, we picked a handful of artists we like & asked them to send us a couple of tracks each if possible. Once we had more than enough to fill up the LP we curated them as best we could to make it coherent. We had to work to a deadline in the end so couldn’t feature everyone we’d hoped to, but VOL.2 should solve that!
We’d also like to give a big thanks to Paul & Debby at Krautpop! Records for the support in making it happen. They’re true gems of the wider Cornish music scene.
You're set to bring Kernow Beat to MOTH Club on March 22nd—can you tell us which artists will be joining you and what we can expect from the night?
We’ve got a mix of things on the cards for you:
‘Thin Walls’ opens proceedings. A solo acid-pop project from Fin Wilson. Using 60’s era sympathetic home-recording methods, he’s put out 3 LPs so far with a 4th on the way.
Then 0800RODEO bring some sweet digi-beat-rock-n-roll to the Moth Club stage. They’re one of the first acts we put on when we first started out. They don’t play live all that often & are definitely not one to miss.
And last but not least, ‘kernowbeat-supergroup’ - The Heavenly Bodes.
A four piece garage-psych outfit formed from members of various bands that met through kernowbeat shows. They’ve put together a fresh set of high energy ankle-twisters for their 2025 dates, some of which you’ll be able to find on their upcoming LP later in the year.
We’ve also organised for our engineer, Henry McCabe, to record everything live on-stage so we can hopefully have some live tapes/bootlegs of the evening’s music to put out at some point.
If you could collaborate with any artist dead or alive who would it be?
Personally, it would have to be Tim Presley; Can’t get enough White Fence.
What advice would you give to other musicians or creatives looking to start their own collective?
You have to will a scene into existence. If there isn’t anything you’re into happening where you live, then just make it happen yourself. You’ll pick up the people & experience you need along the way.
Catch Kernow Beat - Moth Club, 22nd March 2025