Kingsley Chapman of The Chapman Family to perform debut solo show

He will be special guesting for Orlando Seale and The Swell at The Lexington, on a bill that includes Seftel and Nadine Shah and Ruth Barnes on DJ duties. More details can be found here and here.

The Chapman Family split last year after releasing one record - Burn Your Town - that's grown a cult-like fanbase, and touring relentless for many years.

We got in touch to see what Chapman had to say about the whole thing. Last time we caught up with him he was still in his former band, so it seemed apropos to find his new plans.

It's your first solo show without the Chapman family - what's changed?

"Solo-ish...I realise it's completely narcissistic but I honestly couldn't think of anything else to call it. I'd hate to give people the impression that they're just going to see me onstage on my own with an acoustic guitar as that's never going to happen... we're the opposite of that scenario. There's seven of us in the band, which is about as far away from being solo as you can get without turning into the Polyphonic Spree, and I handpicked each and every one like I was picking my own Fantasy Football team. I have a complete vision in my head as to what I want my music to sound like and I chose these particular guys as I think they can fully interpret what I'm trying to do. They get me and they understand when I reference things like Aladdin Sane-era Bowie, Murder Balladsing Nick Cave, or the point in "European Son" by the Velvet Underground where everyone loses control. I don't know any real musical terminology but I know exactly what noises I require and unfortunately this means that the poor souls in the band have to interpret requests like "drum like a viking warship approaching the British shore to battle with dragons with its mast on fire.""

How have you passed the time between the end of the Chapman Family and now?

"In truth, the band had worn me out completely and by the end of it I was a complete wreck. Subsequently I spent six months in and out of various doctors surgeries and hospital wards being scanned and prodded and operated on. As well as this I'd also become so disillusioned with band life that I took myself away from anything to do with music for a very long time. The thought of simply going to watch a band repulsed me, let alone the desire to buy a record. I don't really know how or why but gradually the desire to write and create started to come back. I remember laying in a hospital bed in Middlesbrough frantically pressing my morphine drip button and scribbling down whatever lyrics I could come up with, and it was wonderful. I kept up the process when I was sent home (without the morphine unfortunately) and after many months of ups and downs (mainly ups) I laid out the foundations for the new band and went about recruiting my gang. Blame the morphine if you don't like it."

What sort of music should people expect from you?

"Essentially I've gone back to the music I genuinely love and the sounds I've always liked to create, without fear of being embarrassed. In the early days of The Chapman Family the thing I liked most about it was our naivety, the fire in our bellies and the fact that we did exactly what we wanted without fear of repercussions from management or record companies or peers. As time went on, due to whatever politics that surrounded the band, that aesthetic changed, but it's the initial spark I'm trying to rediscover, if not the style of music. I'm absolutely unapologetic about my love of a violently-played clangingly noisy guitar - I'm utterly infatuated with the sounds of chaos - but I'm equally remorseless and unashamed of my fondness for flamboyant pianos, lush violins and funeral-paced torch song ballads. I'm part-cabaret, part-car crash, basically.

I don't really know what people will make of it all, I haven't thought about it much. Chapman Family fans usually fell into two camps - the ones who liked the indie-disco radio friendly side of things, or the ones who liked the sweary-Mary distorted rock monsters that attempted to destroy everything they had. I'm secretly hoping there's something for everyone in what we're creating. Who knows. I have the same ideology I had when I started the old band - I still want to create something that is exciting to watch and exciting to be in - it's just that the way I'm trying to do it has changed."

How are you feeling about the show?

"I'm excited yet terrified. I vowed that after the last ever Chapman Family gig in Summer 2013 I'd never put myself through this lifestyle again but I've genuinely missed the whole experience. I love writing songs, performing and travelling. I've missed the intensity, the arguments and the drama, as well as the creativity and fun. Of course, as well as making it feel like I'm a bit more alive, it also gives me an excuse to buy some new clothes. From what little I know about the current music scene I can see that they've all started to dress a bit smarter which means I probably have to up my game."

What's next? When can we expect to hear from you and your music again?

"Soon. I'll be gathering everyone together after Christmas to record with the hope of releasing a DIY EP early in 2015 and we'll be playing more shows in various parts of the country in late Spring. I think that in the past I've spent a lot of time waiting around, both from when I was in the old band and when I wasn't, so this time I see no point in dilly-dallying or perpetually deliberating a multitude of opinions in order to progress. I have mountains of new songs that I've written in the last nine months for us to learn and record and I just want to get things done."