A conversation with Natalie London & Taylor Plecity of the indie rock band Hey, King!

This dynamic duo’s undeniable chemistry can be felt in their music . Natalie London and Taylor Plecity created “Hey, King!” to express themselves and unify their listeners. Whatever you may be experiencing, the band has a song that can bring you comfort in knowing you are not alone.

For people who do not know, tell us what you do.

London: Hey! I am Natalie London, from London, Ontario Canada and my partner Taylor Plecity and I formed “Hey, King!” an indie rock band with ANTI- Records, our debut album was produced by the amazing Ben Harper.

Congratulations on the release of the album! What convinced you to start making music together? 

London: Thank you so much! I had actually started the band a year or two before I met Taylor. We fell in love pretty much instantly and I knew what an extraordinary actor and filmmaker she was, but I hadn’t even known what she could do with music until a good year or so later. She started singing harmonies for fun during rehearsals and my bandmates and I realized what an amazing addition she would be, so I began rewriting songs into double vocals and it just fit perfectly. It’s been crazy being in a band with your significant other, but it has also added such a layer of intimacy and love to the music that has now become an integral part of “Hey, King!”

How have your difficult pasts helped you to create this album?

Plecity: Music has gotten me through some of the most difficult times in my life, including my childhood. I believe music can be an incredible catharsis and escape, but also affirms the emotions you are going through. My hope is that this album does that for other people.

London: I definitely feel the same way and the role music played when I was a kid and when I was sick. I was bedridden for around 4 years [with Lyme disease], and I think it shifted what I wanted to write and express through music. I want people to feel affirmed in their anger, their grief, and their vulnerability…but I also want people to feel hope, that’s my dream for this record.

If you could talk to your younger selves, what advice would you give them?

London: There’s a song on the record called “Lucky” that sums up best what I want to say to my younger self, we sing: “let me go back and tell me – I’ll survive, and say, someday you will find me.” I think that is the most important advice I would want to impart to myself, that if you just keep walking through what you believe is a cave, you will realize it will become a tunnel and there will be light at the other side. 

Plecity: I’d tell my younger self to never forget you’re writing your own story, so make it a grand adventure.

Your song “Road Rage” is extremely relevant to what has been in the news recently. How did that song come to be?

Plecity: I don’t know a single woman who hasn’t been the victim of some kind of sexual harassment or assault, not a single one. I think it was important to address that in this song, just starting with the simplest fact that we never feel safe at night. It’s kind of unreal to realize that it has just become second nature to always be on guard, to always have to think of your own security, whether it is going to a store, your car, traveling… It’s infuriating and exhausting.

London: We definitely wanted to hammer home with the music video especially that this is not just our story by any means and had 21 amazing women give their interpretation of this song by lip-synching the track with the emotions that it brought up for them. This is a universal issue. We have a threat level that comes with being a woman and another layer being queer and we recognize we cannot even fathom what it feels like to be a person of colour dealing with threats on an entirely other level.

Do you have a favourite song on the album?

Plecity: “Sorry” right now has to be my favourite, I just love the spin we put on the classic love song. We have an amazing relationship, but we get into cycles and tiffs and most of those times you are fighting with yourself and just projecting your frustrations and insecurities on the person closest to you. I love how this song tackles that side of love and breaking through those cyclical times with love and humor. 

London: Oh man I was going to say “Sorry” as well, but I think I’d have to go with “Beautiful.” Especially through this last year we have had so much insecurity, everyone doesn’t know what their life will look like, and what the world will even look like 6 months from now. It’s during these times when everything is so unstable that you have to find the beauty in the small things – spending time with your dogs, going for a long drive, going on an adventure… there is still beauty out there if we look for it.

How has music helped you cope with tough times, such as the isolation as a result of COVID-19?

Plecity: Music is always the cornerstone, always home no matter what else is going on, so having that constant is a gift, especially this last year.

London: This past year was freaking nuts, but we had some amazing times, especially with creating music videos for this album. Taylor and I co-directed, co-edited, and co-produced 7 music videos this year, all under COVID-safe conditions, which was crazy but stretched us creatively and I feel like it helped ground us in our music throughout the year.

What’s next in your careers?

London: Right now we are just super excited to promote the record! We are hoping to get back on the road ASAP and get back to connecting with people, which is one of the most meaningful parts of making music. Follow us on social media and let us know if you have suggestions of places to come play in your city! We can’t wait to get back out there!

Listen to Hey, King!’s new album on Spotify, Apple Music or anywhere else you get your music