TURNING heads and tapping toes are what funk blues band Slow Mojo are about.

A simply breathtaking six-piece, high-energy, stage-owning outfit, they span every genre of music the blues has touched, from classic 12-bar, to rock, punk, thrash, rock 'n' roll, funk, soul and hip hop.

Come July and the band take to Kendal Calling's Yam Riot Stage at 1pm on the Saturday of this year's fantastic four-day festival (July 25-28).

The band's lead guitarist Tim Johnstone says the Slow Mojo sound takes the elements they all know and love about the blues and evolves them, adding new extras like stomping beats, rap vocals, funk bass and more.

Kendalian Tim is a former Kirkbie Kendal student along with drummer Sam Shaw. "We were in the same year. I used to watch his metal band play outside the art department. I moved down to London a few years ago and when I learned Sam had done the same, I felt compelled to ask him if he would drum for us. Funny how things turn out."

Slow Mojo's singer Jonathan 'Brighty' Bright is from Bristol; keyboard player Simone Granno is Italian; rhythm guitarist Neil Anderson is from South Africa; and Marcos 'Ciba' Gouveia hails from Brazil; he recently took the reigns from previous bassist, Seumas.

"We’ve been gigging for about a year and a half, which we always think is crazy short, given how much has actually happened in that time. To think our third gig ever was headlining Vault Festival's Mardi Gras 2018 in London, to a crowd of about 400 people, then we’re playing all these London venues of music legend like The Water Rats, Dublin Castle in Camden, St Moritz Club in Soho, Hope & Anchor, The Monarch in Camden, places we idolised when we were teenagers, it’s mad. But I think we’ve chosen our gigs well. And the support we have from our friends and their friends that they’ve brought to our shows is nothing short of phenomenal.

So what's the glue that holds Slow Mojo together?

"If I had to single out one thing I’d say it’s our energy. We all just bring it to the stage. We have fun, we get the crowd going. We’re frontman-led so I guess we like bringing a bit of good old showmanship to our live music. And we all bring our own individual thing to the table when we’re writing and composing, the lyrics, the bluesy riffs, the switches and the little details; we’re all on the same wavelength trying to bring a modern take on the blues. And at its heart, the blues is music that’s all about taking your troubles and then casting them out. It wants you to let rip."

Tim says they'd love to record a studio album: "The brutal truth is it’s too expensive right now. We have a couple of tunes on Spotify, iTunes, Google Play and all that stuff, and a couple more songs in the pipeline.

"Thing is, we don’t get much of a return on a proper album because we don’t have the benefit of a record label’s marketing clout. So we decided on a more DIY approach to our recording and marketing, as the main source of new audiences for our shows is online and social media, so that’s where we concentrate our efforts. Promotion for us is a combination of our own work and that of a few indie circuit promoters. A couple of our guys are marketing professionals so for them it’s quite nice applying their day jobs to boosting the band’s brand. We're also quite focused on getting video footage out in front of people, it showcases our music and onstage demeanour."

With Camden Rocks Festival in June and then Kendal Calling, what's next in the pipeline: "More shows in London and hopefully beyond I would imagine. We’re on a great run so far. We opened the year at Vault Festival 2019’s launch party and we’re so grateful to them to be asked back. And to be honest, if this time last year you’d told me we’d be playing Kendal Calling and Camden Rocks Festival in 2019, I’d think you were having a laugh."

The band's set is mainly originals but the guys throw in a few fun covers for good measure, given, of course, the Slow Mojo twist: "Our favourites are Roadhouse Blues by The Doors and Sam has put this driving kick drum behind it, Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash, which we’ve just given this big rocking overhaul, and Champagne and Reefer by Muddy Waters, which is simple 12-bar blues bliss."

For those who like funky, check out their Smokin’ With Incense and Man Of War. As for the blues rock vibe its Old Side Stepping Blues, there’s a kind of Beatles-esque sounds on Please, Please, Please and Your Freedom, and This One Guy has a hint of Rage Against The Machine.

"We also have a balls-to-the-wall blues-punk original, Riffin' A, which sends the crowd - and us - into a musical frenzy! It’s a good closer."