SSK - Suitcase [EP]

SSK, the solo vehicle for singer/songwriter/mutli-instrumentalist Stephen Kirkham, is announcing the release of debut EP Suitcase on independent label Muse Get Records, out now. Written, performed (all instruments except drums), and assistant-engineered by Kirkham, the five-track release offers a glimpse into his wide-ranging influences, nimble artistry, and unique lyrical observations. Recorded/produced and mixed primarily at Green Door Studios in Santa Ana, CA by Joel Tyler Wall, the songs on Suitcase range from angular, frenetic synth-prog-punk (“She Preens”) to cheeky plays on more conventional guitar rock (“Quincy Is A Punk”) to slow-burning, expansive surrealism (“Veins”), all with a decidedly raw garage-fi production style from Wall. “Suitcase is a small representation of my journey as an artist getting to this point, and while the songs vary stylistically from one to the next, I feel that my honest voice is consistent throughout,” says Kirkham. “I’ve been studying and making music my whole life, yet with this EP I feel like I’m just getting started, and that’s an exciting place to be.” Kirkham will be performing in and around the Austin, TX area in the coming year, while concurrently working on a follow-up release to Suitcase.

SSK is the solo project of singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Stephen Kirkham. A native Texan, Kirkham studied classical piano as a child, started playing Dallas, TX bars at age 13 as frontman for a four-piece rock band, and studied jazz guitar and composition at the University of North Texas before being recruited to help lead the choir for Dallas-based symphonic pop orchestra The Polyphonic Spree. He has acted as lead guitarist, keyboardist/synth player, and backing vocalist for various Austin, TX area bands, and briefly fronted Los Angeles-based indie rock trio The Madrigals. Kirkham has appeared on stages from the 40-Watt in Athens, GA, to the Royal Festival Hall in London, the Teragram Ballroom in LA, the Bowery Ballroom in NYC, main stages at festivals like Glastonbury, Leeds, Reading, and Austin Psych Fest/Levitation, sharing stages with artists like The Strokes, The White Stripes, Oasis, Jane’s Addiction, Built To Spill, Queens of the Stone Age, etc., and on major TV programs such as Later…With Jools Holland (BBC). With the release of debut EP Suitcase, Kirkham marks a new phase of focusing on writing, recording, and performing his original music, marshaling his talents and experience to leave documents of his artistic journey.