Kiiōtō
Rohan Heath & Lou Rhodes (formerly of Lamb)
On the back of their 2024 debut album, As Dust We Rise, Kiiōtō’s second album, Black Salt, is the latest release from multi-platinum songwriter and keyboardist Rohan Heath & Mercury nominated singer-songwriter Lou Rhodes (formerly of Lamb). Out in spring 2026, the album will be premiered at a special show at Kings Place on 1st May.
Whilst As Dust We Rise took its starting point from a road trip the duo took in Louisiana, Black Salt draws from a wider palette; looking inwards at their relationship with one another and then boldly outwards to the many facets of their interface with the outside world.
Debut single, Butterfly, is a dark and brooding critique of a narcissist. Its prowling bass line, angular Rhodes chords and bell motif setting the mood. Zero Gravity, in contrast, reflects upon the transformational experience of orbiting earth, recounted in Samantha Harvey’s Booker Prize winning novel Orbital; Little Axe tells of the challenges of raising young men amidst the threat of violence in urban life; White Noise decries the hold of social media on the modern mind, and Lost Map echoes the somewhat surprising results of DNA tests the couple took. In all, Heath’s arrangements are spare and bold, leaning into jazz and old soul textures but, all the while, leaving Rhodes’s haunting vocal true room to breathe.
Written in the couple’s home studio in London, Black Salt features guest appearances from a melting pot of musicians, notably the Jazz trumpeter Byron Wallen, Amy Winehouse’s guitarist Hawi Gondwe, Corrine Bailey Rae’s drummer Mykey Wilson and even some impromptu guitar by the one and only David Arnold.
The resulting album is impossible to define by genre, skipping between jazz, torch song, broken beat and guitar-driven old soul, all on a backbone of Fender Rhodes, piano, Hammond organ, glockenspiel and tambura.
Listening to Black Salt, it’s evident this wasn’t the easiest of journeys, with many songs lost along the way or put on ice. But, as Heath says: ‘It was precisely out of conflict and tension that Black Salt was born. Sometimes it felt like two stars colliding; a new star borne of chaos and heat, brighter than the sum of those destroyed.’
“Rohan would often give me titles I couldn’t imagine writing a song about”, Lou adds “but it was in that process of pushing me outside my comfort zone, that these songs took their strength”
BLACK SALT is out April 2026.
This event will last for approximately 75 minutes with no interval.
Please note that this is a standing event. Please email info@kingsplace.co.uk to discuss your access requirements.
Concessions & Under 30s tickets
Kings Place Concessions Tickets
We want to ensure that people who may be struggling financially to purchase a ticket can still enjoy visiting Kings Place. A limited number of tickets are allocated for certain events (if the ticket type does not show in the booking pathway, it means they are not available for this event or have all been sold). Concessions tickets are accessible for people on the following criteria (for more information visit our FAQs)
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Disability Benefit
- Income Support or Job Seekers allowance
- Students
£10 ‘Under 30s’ tickets
A limited number of £10 tickets for attendees aged under 30 are available for certain shows. To purchase an ‘Under 30s’ ticket, please choose the ‘Under 30s’ price type when selecting your ticket(s). If the option does not appear, this means all ‘Under 30s’ tickets have sold out or are not available for this performance. Please note that proof of age may be requested at the venue. The £10 offer does not apply to premium price categories.
Plan your visit
Getting here
Kings Place is situated just a few minutes’ walk from King’s Cross and St Pancras stations, one of the most connected locations in London and now the biggest transport hub in Europe.
Our address is:
90 York Way, London, N1 9AG.
The Venue
Our performance spaces are situated on the lower ground floor. Hall One, Hall Two and St Pancras are located in level -2, reached by stairs, escalator and lift from the ground floor entrance level.
Event Times
Door times indicate auditorium entrance times only. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the Kings Place seating areas, gallery-level art, canal-side terrace, café, restaurant and bar throughout the day and evening.
- Our events begin promptly at the advertised start time. Typically, there is no support unless otherwise stated.
- We recommend arriving in good time before the performance. The Hall doors will open 30 minutes before the performance to allow time to take your seats, or to choose a space for standing shows.
- Latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance where possible
Access
We aim to make your visit to Kings Place as comfortable as possible. For more information about the accessibility of Kings Place, including details about our Access Scheme, please visit this page.
If you would like to discuss your access requirements with a member of our team, please get in touch with the Box Office team at info@kingsplace.co.uk.
Food & Drink
Rotunda Bar & Restaurant
Rotunda, situated on the ground floor of Kings Place, offers a unique dining and drinking experience alongside Regent’s Canal. The concert bar in the venue foyer will also be open for select events.
Green & Fortune Café
Recently re-furbished and now open with a new look, the Green & Fortune Café is open for selected concerts. Serving hot and cold food and drinks, including sandwiches, salads, soup, stew and a pie of the day, alongside a choice of cakes made by the on-site bakery team. See here for selected concert dates and standard opening hours.
About Kiiōtō
Kiiōtō is the love-child of Lou Rhodes, Mercury-nominated singer/songwriter and founder member of Lamb, and multi-platinum songwriter and keyboardist, Rohan Heath. The pair shared roots in Manchester’s early nineties music scene, but had met only twice. “She was a bit aloof to be honest,” Rohan says of their second interaction backstage with mutual friends.
Fast forward to 2021, and the tail-end of lockdown. The same mutual friends asked Rohan to collaborate on a track they were working on and he contacted Lou about writing some lyrics to it. “There was something about the way he communicated, even in emails, that interested me,” Lou says, “I was just beginning an MA in Poetry and had pretty much stepped away from music and Rohan was writing a novel, but we decided to meet for a coffee anyway.”
A relationship grew from here, and the pair became inseparable. The track in question fell by the wayside, each seemingly too engrossed in their literary projects to make time for music. But the piano in Lou’s kitchen had other ideas, drawing them back into a world they thought they’d left behind. “I just started to play,” Rohan says, “Lou would be cooking while I improvised, and then she’d start to sing melodies over what I was playing. We kept saying we shouldn’t work together but the project just wouldn’t let us go.
Reviews
‘The pair’s fierce storytelling powers these songs… Rhodes’ richly grained voice elegantly sets every scene…’ MOJO
‘There’s more than enough promise for a prosperous new partnership here… underpinned by the harmonious relationship between Heath’s piano and Rhodes’ elegiac voice.’ Uncut
‘Engaging and hypnotic… her husky vibrato highlighting fascinating lyrics.’ Rock’n’Reel