You may have noticed that Royal Blood singer/bassist Mike Kerr tends to take his cues more from guitar players. Whenever the frontman is quizzed on his biggest influences, he’s more likely to namecheck six-stringers than the likes of bass heroes Les Claypool, Thundercat and Flea. That’s down to his highly unorthodox and brilliantly creative approach to the four-string.
Being solely responsible for all the melodic information in the band, he manages to cover the low-end, midrange and higher frequencies all in one go, while drummer Ben Thatcher is left in charge of the rhythmic engine room driving the riffs. And so while it may be somewhat uncommon to have a four-stringer to be listing their favorite players in ’s Guitarists Who Shaped My Sound series, Kerr is actually a perfect candidate to provide a fresh take on things..
. “If I was playing bass in a more traditional setup where there’s a guitarist with me, I would probably assume more of a traditional role sonically,” Kerr says. “In Royal Blood, everything I do has to be much riffier.
“Being in a two-piece demands more melody, I think. I’m playing bass and shifting what I play an octave up and it transcends into guitar territory. It’s a combination of different things, but that’s the main reason.
” This year, the band celebrate the 10th anniversary of the album that launched their career. The self-titled debut will be performed in its entirety at a few select shows – though many of the tracks remain .