KING ZEPHA
The Return of King Zepha
Full length album
Mailorder release date 3rd June
General retail date 15th August 2026
ALL THE WAVs
ALL THE MP3s
SONG BY SONG LOW DOWN
PHOTOS
Just in time for the summer, Leeds-based composer and producer KING ZEPHA drops his third studio album, and heads out with his band on a mammoth 25-date tour.
Starting with the sleeve, reminiscent of the comic-book style that was popular with Jamaican artists in the 70s and 80s, you can tell this album is going to be steeped in dub, ska and reggae goodness. King Zepha laid down the vocals, saxophones, keyboards, guitar, bass guitar and percussion at his home studio, with his touring bandmates adding “the stuff I can’t do particularly well”, such as backing vocals, brass, double bass and drums. The resulting album was mixed and mastered to analogue tape by Ross Holden at Bradford’s Hohm Studios. It has the heavy bass that you'd expect to hear rocking a soundsystem at a blues dance or festival, paired with the wit and energy of early 2-Tone. This is clearly the sound that King Zepha worships, citing his two proudest achievements as backing-up the legendary Jamaican singer Owen Grey and supporting the Skatalites on their UK tour.
But this is no history lesson. King Zepha's silky voice and eclectic songwriting style offer something completely unique. The lyrics are personal, sometimes whimsical, but the over-riding feeling is joy and celebration. There's an Arabic-influenced rub-a-dub instrumental, a couple of ska stompers and even a reinterpretation of Sammy Davis Junior's 'I’m a Brass Band'.
King Zepha, or Sam Thornton as he's known in everyday life, took his stage name from his trusted musical weapon of choice, the King Zephyr saxophone. He’s come a long way from listening to his dad’s jazz tapes in Leeds. “My first love was the trumpet, but I couldn’t get to grips with it and it gave me a headache, so I switched to clarinet at the age of 8.”
No headache guaranteed with 'The Return of King Zepha'
Musicians on this album:
Sam Thornton - vocals, tenor saxophone, keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, percussion
Will Blankley - drums
Adam Richards - double bass and backing vocals
Chris Lloyd - backing vocals
Georgia Jakubiak - backing vocals
Saphire Browne - backing vocals
B Dubbs - backing vocals
Will Osborne - trombone
Chris Williamson - trumpet
Daniel Webster - trumpet
Rich Ormrod - contrabass clarinet
PRE-ORDER LINK HERE
〰️
PRE-ORDER LINK HERE 〰️
RECENT PRESS:
YORKSHIRE EVENING POST * MOSTRADICALIST.COM * FRESHONTHENET.COM *
Catch King Zepha Band live:
11/06 - CARLISLE, UK
12/06 - EDEN FESTIVAL, UK
17/07 - HUDDERSFIELD, UK
18/07 - SHEFFIELD, UK
19/07 - BEAT-HERDER FESTIVAL, UK
23/07 - BRIGHTON, UK
25/07 - AMSTERDAM, NL
26/07 - GENT, BE
30/07 - YORK, UK
31/07 - MANCHESTER, UK
01/08 - NEWCASTLE, UK
02/08 - LEEDS, UK
05/08 - NOTTINGHAM, UK
06/08 - BRISTOL, UK
07/08 - EXETER, UK
08/08 - NEWPORT, UK
09/08 - BIRMINGHAM, UK
12/08 - BRADFORD, UK
13/08 - DEAL, UK
14/08 - LONDON, UK
15/08 - HASTINGS, UK
16/08 - COVENTRY, UK
21/08 - PRESTON, UK
22/08 - BLAENAU FFESTINIOG, UK
23/08 - JUST-SO FESTIVAL, UK
17/10 - GDAŃSK, PL
13/11 - WHITBY, UK
Tickets & more info: