The Keys

The Keys

The Keys are a Cardiff-based Welsh group active from 1999 to 2001. They are formerly known as Murry The Hump and feature David Newington among their members.

Line-up and background

The band appears in more than one form under the same name, but the Cardiff group is the one associated with Murry The Hump. Its membership includes David Newington, with the other names in circulation for this act being Matthew Evans on vocals and guitar, Gwion Rowlands on guitar and vocals, Elliott Jones on drums, and James Bell on bass.

Recording and release

The Keys release a self-titled album on Too Pure and Boobytrap Records. The record is shaped by a deliberately informal recording approach, with rehearsals captured at home rather than heavily polished in a studio. The group aims for a direct sound and keeps rough edges and mistakes in the recordings.

Songwriting and sound

The band’s songs are written in a collaborative way, usually beginning with material brought in by one member and then developed by the rest of the group if it works well enough to keep. The writing draws on a notebook approach to lyrics and borrows ideas from films, radio, other songs and books. The result is described as songbook-like, with each track having its own character. The live set is louder and more distorted than the recorded material.

Name and context

The name comes from a suggestion made by a girlfriend of one of the members, and after being rejected at first it is eventually adopted.