W: Adora Mekuleyi @alwaysadora I: Hermione Sylvester @keoband_

Keo aren't trying to be the next big thing. They just are. And not in a loud, arrogant, self-prophesying way, more like the kind of inevitability that comes from talent colliding with timing, and enough long van rides with broken amps to earn their place on stage.

The band’s debut EP, Siren, dropped last month, the dust has yet to settle; and frontman Finn knows it’s not what people are expecting, in fact, that’s kind of the point. “It’s all one big left turn,” he says. “People might be a little surprised by how it really sounds, and that excites me.”

Across five tracks, Siren doesn’t just dip its toes in live sound, it fully cannonballs. From acoustic textures to unexpected organs, Keo’s first official body of work feels like a band trying to say everything all at once. “We wanted it to sound like you’re in the room with us,” Finn explains, referencing the EP’s raw production, recorded in six days in a garage with one working amp and a ton of ambition. “There wasn’t much funding. No big studio setup. Just us doing the best we could.”

Still, it doesn’t sound like a scrappy DIY EP. It sounds lived-in. Like a pub session that turned spiritual halfway through. Maybe that’s the Irish folk influence from Finn’s childhood creeping in, all trad sessions and acoustic guitars; but the end result is uniquely Keo: emotional, unfiltered, with a punky undercurrent of defiance.

When asked what his favourite track is, Finn hesitates- not out of ego, but the opposite. “I respect what I’ve written,” he says. “We filtered down 30 songs to five. Every single one came from the right place.” The singles, ironically, are his least favourite, “I think I was more precious about how they should sound. I prefer them live.” His current front-runner? ‘Hands’. “We wrote it and recorded it the same day. That’s what you’re hearing on the EP, the first time it ever really existed.”

That live element, that sense of something evolving in real time, is at the heart of Keo. “We’ve probably played 40 venues to three people,” Finn says with a shrug. “We’ve had some very humbling experiences.” But that’s how they built it, no TikTok gimmicks, no viral shortcuts. Just gigs. And grit. “There’s something rewarding when a band’s clearly been through the wall to get where they are.”

You can hear that experience in Siren, but you can feel it when Keo play live. “Last night Jimmy played the solo wrong, but it was in key,” Finn laughs. “We listened back after and we were like, ‘that’s the new version now.’” The crowd becomes part of the process. “Sometimes we’ll play something and instantly know, yeah, maybe this one’s not it. But that’s the honesty of live shows. You can’t lie to a room.”

And it’s those rooms that are getting bigger. Fast. Their upcoming headline tour saw multiple venue upgrades after instant sellouts. “It’s surreal,” Finn admits. “We used to be begging our mates to come down to the Windmill, now we’re selling out 350-cap shows in London and upgrading venues across the country.” There’s no smugness here, just a bit of disbelief, a lot of gratitude, and the same attitude they started with: let the music speak.

Still, Finn’s not naive about comparisons. One band name comes up again and again: Wunderhorse. So what does he think? “They’re a fucking amazing band,” he says, candid as ever. “I take influence from them, I discovered them when I moved to London. It was reassuring seeing someone doing what we wanted to do.” But he’s not interested in scene wars. “If there’s another Seattle-style movement happening, that’s exciting. It’s a sign of the times. Not everything needs to be some TikTok comment-section competition.”

What’s next? Probably too many things, if you ask Finn. “We’re already thinking about the album,” he says. “We’re talking to producers, writing new stuff, trying it out in the set. We see the vision now. It’s time.”

Keo aren’t chasing perfection. They’re chasing honesty. Siren is their first proper offering, and it hits like a promise. Not one they made out loud, but one they’ve been living quietly for years. It’s messy. It’s confident. It’s a little sentimental. It’s loud in all the right places and delicate in all the wrong ones.

Catch Keo before they vanish into bigger venues, bolder sounds, and even more misplayed solos that become canon.

A Look Back at Keo’s Videography

Keo’s evolution as a videographer is a masterclass in the transition from raw, high-energy street aesthetics to a more refined, cinematic narrative style. In his early years, his work was characterized by a "guerilla-style" approach—think rapid-fire cuts, heavy use of handheld motion, and a distinct focus on capturing the frantic pulse of urban life. As his career progressed, Keo moved away from purely visual spectacle and began leaning into meticulous color grading and deliberate pacing. This shift transformed his projects from simple music videos or clips into immersive short films where the lighting—often utilizing neon contrasts or moody, naturalistic shadows—became a character of its own. Today, looking back at his body of work reveals a filmmaker who has successfully balanced technical precision with an unyielding commitment to the authentic, gritty storytelling that first defined his lens.