FKA twigs will curate Meltdown 2027 at Southbank Centre•
Hot Chip have announced their new album, ‘A Long Way From Kansas’•
The Cribs have announced a Wakefield show for ‘Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever’ anniversary•
Tate McRae has released ‘Housewife’ with a South of France-shot video•
Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan have released their ‘expectations’ remix•
Tom A Smith is heading up Paint By Numbers this December•
Bleachers have shared new song ‘Blood Brothers’•
Marika Hackman has announced new album ‘False Dogs’ and shared ‘33’•
Nieve Ella, Jamie T, Rachel Chinouriri and Remi Wolf cover Dork's new issue - order now!•
Tate McRae has announced new single ‘Housewife’•
Slayyyter has announced companion album ‘Wor$t Man in America’ for December•
Welly are going to headline a very special Dork’s Night Out at The 100 Club•
Down With Boring returns tonight with The North, plus bags of new music•
Keo have announced their 2027 UK, European and North American headline tour•
Primavera Sound Barcelona has announced its 2027 anniversary line-up•
Audrey Hobert has unveiled a new video for 'Sex and the City' as she begins her headline tour•
The Dork 2025 Readers' Poll nominations are in, featuring CMAT, Turnstile, Wolf Alice, Djo, Hayley Williams and loads more•
flowerovlove has released her first-ever first Christmas track, 'wishlist'•
Mighty Hoopla and Olly Alexander have announced Trans Mission, a concert for trans solidarity•
JADE has announced a deluxe edition of her debut album, 'THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY! THE ENCORE'•
FKA twigs will curate Meltdown 2027 at Southbank Centre•
Hot Chip have announced their new album, ‘A Long Way From Kansas’•
The Cribs have announced a Wakefield show for ‘Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever’ anniversary•
Tate McRae has released ‘Housewife’ with a South of France-shot video•
Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan have released their ‘expectations’ remix•
Tom A Smith is heading up Paint By Numbers this December•
Bleachers have shared new song ‘Blood Brothers’•
Marika Hackman has announced new album ‘False Dogs’ and shared ‘33’•
Nieve Ella, Jamie T, Rachel Chinouriri and Remi Wolf cover Dork's new issue - order now!•
Tate McRae has announced new single ‘Housewife’•
Slayyyter has announced companion album ‘Wor$t Man in America’ for December•
Welly are going to headline a very special Dork’s Night Out at The 100 Club•
Down With Boring returns tonight with The North, plus bags of new music•
Keo have announced their 2027 UK, European and North American headline tour•
Primavera Sound Barcelona has announced its 2027 anniversary line-up•
Audrey Hobert has unveiled a new video for 'Sex and the City' as she begins her headline tour•
The Dork 2025 Readers' Poll nominations are in, featuring CMAT, Turnstile, Wolf Alice, Djo, Hayley Williams and loads more•
flowerovlove has released her first-ever first Christmas track, 'wishlist'•
Mighty Hoopla and Olly Alexander have announced Trans Mission, a concert for trans solidarity•
JADE has announced a deluxe edition of her debut album, 'THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY! THE ENCORE'•
Dork
News
Features
Reviews
Magazine
  • Dork
  • Popzines
Shop
Listings
Directory
Festivals
Hype-THE BEST NEW NAMES, FIRST
Upset-DORK'S HOME FOR ALL THINGS LOUD
The 19755SOSAlessi RoseArctic MonkeysArlo ParksBastillebeabadoobeeBillie EilishBleachersblink-182BlossomsBlur
Bring Me The HorizonCarly Rae JepsenCavetownChappell RoanCharli xcxCHVRCHESCMATConan GrayDeclan McKennaDjoFall Out BoyFoals
Fontaines D.C.Ghostgirl in redGlass AnimalsGorillazGracie AbramsHAIMHarry StylesHolly HumberstoneInhalerJames MarriottThe Japanese House
The Last Dinner PartyLewis CapaldiLinkin ParkLouis TomlinsonMaggie RogersMaisie PetersMUNAMy Chemical RomanceNiall HoranOasis Live '27Olivia DeanOlivia Rodrigo
Pale WavesParamorePhoebe BridgersPinkPantheressRemi WolfReneé RappSabrina CarpenterSam FenderShameSlipknotTate McRaeTaylor Swift
Twenty One PilotsWallowsWet LegWolf AliceYard ActYUNGBLUDZara Larsson
etc.
Film & TV
Gaming
Literature
Culture
Festival Guides-YOUR ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL COMPANION
Hype-THE BEST NEW NAMES, FIRST
Mixtape-DORK'S BEST NEW TRACKS
Play-DORK'S NEW MUSIC FRIDAY EDIT
Upset-DORK'S HOME FOR ALL THINGS LOUD
Playlist Covers
Playlist Directory
Recommender
Before Doors-LIVE SESSIONS
After Gates-FESTIVAL SESSIONS
Music Video Directory
Down With Boring-THE DORK PODCAST
Chart Attack-UK NUMBER ONES, DISSECTED
Dork Live
Oasis Live ’27Tickets. Dates. What’s the story?Explore the tour
Dork Radio
Live
Live 24/7
Dork Radio
Dork
Down With Boring

Join thousands of music lovers getting the best new tracks, exclusive interviews, and breaking news delivered straight to your inbox every week.

In print now

October 2026

Latest issue variants

View archive
Dork, October 2026 (Cara Delevingne cover)

Cara Delevingne

Dork, October 2026 (Keo cover)

Keo

Dork, October 2026 (Lizzy McAlpine cover)

Lizzy McAlpine

Dork, October 2026 (Tove Lo cover)

Tove Lo

Advertise|Support|About Dork|Editorial standards & corrections|Privacy Policy|Genres|Years|Sitemap|RSS|Cookie settings
© 2026 The Bunker Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.
Powered by PlaywireAdvertise on this site.
  1. Home
  2. Features
  3. Kawala

Kawala return with their new single, 'Ticket To Ride': "It feels like a step up"

It's a welcome dose of cheerful indie-pop.

Kawala return with their new single, 'Ticket To Ride': "It feels like a step up"
Written by
Dork
Artists
Kawala
Published
12 Jun 2020 • 11:30 am
North London five-piece Kawala have today (Friday, 12th July) dropped their new single, 'Ticket To Ride' - a sunny indie-pop adventure about the need for escapism. "We wanted it to feel daydreamy but also use the imagery of getting on that first train out to show our pursuit for better times," they explain. Guitarist/singer Daniel McCarthy tells us more, ahead of a quieter-than-planned summer, and their upcoming headline tour, which will hopefully see them playing all over the show this November. Hey Daniel, how's it going? What are you up to today? Despite 2020 being a difficult year that no one could have predicted, I think we're all just about holding in there. Actually, just returned from a London BLM protest.

Related Articles

LIKE THAT? READ THESE✦LIKE THAT? READ THESE✦LIKE THAT? READ THESE✦LIKE THAT? READ THESE✦
LIKE THAT? READ THESE✦LIKE THAT? READ THESE✦LIKE THAT? READ THESE✦LIKE THAT? READ THESE✦
KAWALA let the sunshine in with their new single, 'Time Slipping Away'
Features

KAWALA let the sunshine in with their new single, 'Time Slipping Away'

From breezy guitar licks to life-affirming hooks, KAWALA's effortless summer aesthetic is back and bigger than ever.

You've got a new single, then. What was the inspiration behind 'Ticket To Ride'? We do indeed! 'Ticket to Ride' is a real upbeat dreamy tune that we wrote simply about escapism and the longing to be somewhere else.
Was it completed before lockdown kicked in? Funnily enough, we wrote it the tail end of last year and since going into lockdown, it almost feels like it's developed a deeper relevance than ever before.
Have the restrictions mucked up many of your plans? Understatement of the century! Sadly this year was our first huge one for festivals and tours, so we lost around 40+ shows. But we're all in the same boat and our complaints are minuscule compared to most people. As soon as we're allowed to gig again, we'd honestly play anywhere. A shop? Someone's bathroom? Name a place and we shall appear.
Where does 'Ticket To Ride' sit in relation to your previous material, is it a step up do you think? I'd say it feels like a step up! Definitely more poppy than our other previous stuff. We've always felt it's important to have a range to our music, so we balance our stripped two-piece folky stuff with the bigger unashamed dancier pop stuff. And this is definitely the latter. Also, our last EP was quite dark compared to anything we'd done before, and this is definitely a return to our more hopeful, jolly sound.
What else are you working on at the moment? We've been writing loads in lockdown and polishing off some recordings we managed to get most of the way through just before. We're super excited about 'em!
Do you guys find yourselves impacted by current events while writing? The news is very bleak at the moment. Yeah for sure I think it's impossible not to be. Even if we don't explicitly discuss current events, we find ourselves naturally writing about themes surrounding the absolute state of the world right now.
What are you most looking forward to doing once lockdown has lifted? Hands down doing a show! Could be any scale, just getting back out there and doing the thing that we love to do best again. Oh, and the pub.
Anything else we should know? That Black Lives Matter.
Kawala's single 'Ticket to Ride' is out now. They tour the UK from 11th November.

Never miss a thing

Get the best new music in your Google feed

Two taps, takes ten seconds. Get Dork in your Discover feed, and tell Google to rank our reviews and interviews higher when you search.

☆ Follow Dork in Discover↑ Pin Dork in Search

WatchDork’s Before Doors sessions

Intimate, stripped-back live sessions filmed moments before the doors open. Raw sound, real rooms, no second takes. Subscribe on YouTube so you never miss a new one.

Subscribe on YouTubeWatch the latest →

Latest Updates

Django Django side-project {C}{O}{M}{B} have shared new single ‘Mosquito’ featuring Tony Morris
News

Django Django side-project {C}{O}{M}{B} have shared new single ‘Mosquito’ featuring Tony Morris

21 Oct 2026
Lily Allen has cancelled her Auckland show due to a viral infection
News

Lily Allen has cancelled her Auckland show due to a viral infection

21 Oct 2026
Glasgow electronic post-punk duo DOSS have shared their new single ‘HOWDYPARTNER’
News

Glasgow electronic post-punk duo DOSS have shared their new single ‘HOWDYPARTNER’

21 Oct 2026
Scottish singer-songwriter Blair Davie has announced a deluxe EP and shared ‘Mess Like Mine’
News

Scottish singer-songwriter Blair Davie has announced a deluxe EP and shared ‘Mess Like Mine’

21 Oct 2026
NOAHFINNCE has announced a new album about life's wonky moments
News

NOAHFINNCE has announced a new album about life's wonky moments

21 Oct 2026
KAWALA:  Welcome to paradise
Features

KAWALA: Welcome to paradise

Indie boys KAWALA are all about sunny vibes with their debut mixtape, ‘Paradise Heights’. Time to break out the Factor 30.

Kawala have announced their break-up and final tour
News

Kawala have announced their break-up and final tour

British band Kawala will release a final nine-track collection before disbanding after their farewell tour across Europe in 2025.

KAWALA are gearing up for a new mini-album, 'Kawala Collection'
News

KAWALA are gearing up for a new mini-album, 'Kawala Collection'

The band's mini album will feature nine tracks and is accompanied by an extensive UK and European tour.