Focus: Crypto Knight

Who are you and where are you from?
I’m Dave Johnson, originally from Seaham but currently living in Las Vegas. Together with Tim Malugin (who’s from Tennessee) we formed Crypto Knight.

What is it you do?
We write and record music. It’s an online collaborative venture where usually I write and record the music and Tim writes the topline & lyrics, then records the vocals.

How long have you been doing it?
I’ve been writing and recording for a long time. Originally with Phil Corrigan from Durham we originally played the pubs in Durham and Newcastle. We later recorded as The Forgotten Man and released three albums (on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms). Tim has also released his own solo work and we met whilst doing an online music course in 2019. As part of that course we were asked to find collaborators and after hearing him sing and he heard my music we liked each other’s work and thought we could work together.

What inspires you?
To create something different or unique that people want to listen to and will stand the test of time. As part of the course we were doing, we were supposed to look at successful modern songs then break them down and try to replicate them. However, that didn’t seem to speak to our sense of authenticity or originality so we decided to write music that comes more naturally to us.

Tell us about your music.
We like to write songs with a strong melody, but not always straightforward. Apart from our two singles Break The Code and Supernova a lot of the other tracks on the forthcoming album “The Quest” have a variety of changes in the songs, either in pace, style, or instrumentation. We like to keep things moving and interesting but that means It’s been difficult trying to categorise our music. This is good in some respects but bad in others as most people ask for your style when you submit your material. We asked a bunch of people and we got a lot of different answers including Neo-Prog, Synth Pop, and Indie Rock. So, if your readers want to give us any feedback that might help!

Despite, or because of, it being an online collaboration we work very quickly and have a lot of material. The album was written and recorded in late 2021 and early 2022.  As we both have similar influences including folk-rock, classic rock, progressive rock, electronic, pop and soul, we have a lot to draw on and it comes pretty easily.

What have you got coming up in the future?
We release our second single Supernova on 29th April and the album The Quest will be released on 27th May. After that we have a 20 minute concept piece called “Union Square” that we may release as an EP.

Where can people find out more about you?
We’re on all the main social media platforms as well as Bandcamp and YouTube so please give us a follow or like.
Facebook:           https://www.facebook.com/CryptoKnightBand 
Bandcamp:          https://cryptoknight.bandcamp.com/
Spotify:                https://open.spotify.com/artist/0JJ7KULln7lqznerDA7unK?si=NUnOxdoUQfyIZBZFJujOlg
YouTube:             https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd0jI1CSHnYojZgp9GaELcg
Instagram:           https://www.instagram.com/cryptoknightband
Twitter:                https://twitter.com/ourCryptoknight
TikTok:                  https://www.tiktok.com/@cryptoknightband