
Scrolling through social media, the algorithm shifting as I search for new bands to feature here on SONIQLOOX, a video stops me cold: two gentlemen in matching bright orange suits rocking out!
How could I not be intrigued?
I click through and find out they’re a duo called The Bad Actors.
But who are The Bad Actors?
Meet Khalil and Jay — the two behind the orange — who were kind enough to let us into their world. So let’s look past the suits, past the glare of the stage lights, past the short video clips meant to inspire and see what really makes The Bad Actors tick.
Scissor-kicks and stage tricks are the MO of “kinetic” frontman Khalil. His voltaic stage presence helped win slots at Tramlines festival 2024 and at upcoming YNot festival 2025. Whilst Jay’s laid-back drumming, matching his own personality in feel but not in introversion, forms the springboard for Khalil’s antics. This high-energy dynamic duo play with an ease and synchronization that can only be attributed to a life-long friendship. - from The Bad Actors YouTube Channel


SNQLX: How did The Bad Actors start?
Jay: We touched hands when reaching for the same orange suit on Saville row. (Even though we’re completely different sizes).
SNQLX: Why just the two of you?
Jay: Three's a crowd… next question.


SNQLX: What were you each doing before this?
Khalil: I was playing guitar in the band Self Help who are a psyc rock band from Oxford as well as doing a lot of bar and wedding gigs. At some point I decided I wanted to start my own project as I had a bunch of songs written, so I hit up my old school friend and former band mate Jay. I knew he’d be the perfect drummer for the band because we already had over a decade of grooving together under our belt.
SNQLX: What did you want this band to sound like?
Khalil: In my head I had the vision of something punky / indie rock but I always wanted a funky vibe. Our music taste is quite eclectic whilst we grew up on the Arctic Monkeys and The Hives, you can really feel groups like Sly and the Family Stone and James Brown creeping their way into our music.
SNQLX: Where do your songs usually begin — lyrics, riff, vibe?
Khalil: They usually start with a musical idea like a riff or chord sequence then I’ll try to come up with a hook. Then it’s a case of a big long walk to come up with lyrics and a structure. You may not be able to tell once Jay does his thing but they all start life as acoustic songs.
SNQLX: What does a great show feel like for you?
Jay: Any show where I have a fan... not one in the audience, an actual fan to cool me down in the orange bastard suit.
But in all seriousness we always bring our energy, the best gigs are the ones where the crowd match it.
SNQLX: When do you feel most locked in together as a band?
Khalil: As soon as we hit the stage, I hear those sticks click and we explode into whatever madness we have planned.
SNQLX: Your social clips have been going viral — are those strategic or just fun to make?
Khalil: The clips are an exaggeration of our own personalities hopefully acting as a bit size way to let people know what we’re all about. I’d like to say they’re 100% not strategic.
Jay: …but the man brings a clipboard.
Khalil: Socials can be stressful but they can also be fun, it’s an important part of the job. It’s a great feeling to make something which you think is good but also resonates with people.
SNQLX: Has anything about the attention you’ve gotten surprised you?
Khalil: At this stage the biggest surprise has been getting recognised in different places, sometimes 100s of miles from where we’re based. People feel like they know you and we've never met. It's amazing.
SNQLX: What’s a side of you people haven’t seen yet?
Jay: TBF what you see is what you get. Are socials, music and live persona is at most a (slight) exaggeration of ourselves.


SNQLX: What’s the part of all this that still feels totally DIY?
Jay: All of it, and I think that’s part of the beauty of it. We're still figuring everything out. The whole experience for me involves ironing the suit, cramming everything in the back of the car and meeting that fool to see what madness he has planned. At the minute it’s all so do it yourself and there’s so much to do but I think we’ll keep it like that until we physically can’t.
SNQLX: What’s next for The Bad Actors — and what do you want people to hear in what’s coming?
Khalil: The highlight of the summer for us is that we’ll be playing YNOT festival. We’re hoping to match the energy The Prodigy brings. Then the big thing later this year is the launch of our debut ep, ‘Act You Age’.
It’s The Bad Actors through and through but definitely shows growth for us musically and aesthetically. Outside of that we just want to take our music and message to as many people as we can.
Help us paint the town orange.
And now a question for you posed by The Bad Actors themselves: How would you describe this kind of music?
MY MOTOROLA
The Bad Actors don’t need a massive production budget, a three- or five-piece band, or some label-crafted storyline to feel larger than life. What they’ve got is enough: tight grooves, loud suits, and a friendship built on a shared love of what they do. Whether they’re playing a festival stage or dropping another viral video, the vibe stays the same — raw, real, and unmistakably theirs. If you’re just now discovering them, I hope you’ve learned what I did: The Bad Actors are very very good.
Be sure to follow The Bad Actors across all social media channels.