Blowing up all over the world wide web, and endorsed directly by names such as Frank Ocean , Earl Sweatshirt , and (perhaps more surprisingly) Beyonce , King Krule (a.k.a Archy Marshall) has made a real name for himself at the not-so-ripe old age of 18. Touching on personal aspirations, influences and flamingos in smoky blue rooms, I chatted with the deep-voiced prodigy about the release of his genre defying debut album, ‘ Six Feet beneath the Moon ’.
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Alison Erlanger: Hey there, great to speak to you.
What should I call you here, Archy, King Krool…what would you prefer?
King Krule: You can call me whatever you want.
AE: Thanks for that, let’s start from the start here, you’re 18 years old, about to turn 19?
KK:
Yeah, that’s it.
AE:What are some of your first memories of really connecting to music, and have they had an impact on your career to this day?
KK: I used to dance a lot. My uncle was in a ska band, and I used to go and watch him and dance around. That really influenced me, seeing a relative – my first idol, playing music and dancing to it.
AE: What sort of dancing are you talking about here?
KK:
Oh just… crazy dancing. It was the 90’s, you know.
AE: (laughs) Oh yeah, what an era. What about these days, what do you find to be the best time and place to get in touch with your craft and write?
KK: Oh just whenever it comes to me. Most of my tracks are written at around three to five o’clock in the morning. Or maybe, nine to ten [at night]. There’s too much going on in the mornings in your head, so you have to wait until you can chill out and let your knowledge bend around barriers. I don’t have a desk or anything, I just write when it comes to me. (pause) I should probably get a desk.
AE: It’s been said many times (from the strength of his sound, poetry of his lyrics, and even depth of his voice) that you are mature well beyond your years. Outside of a musical context, do you believe this to be true?
KK:
I don’t know. It’s important to let yourself be intelligent when you’re young.
AE: Despite your age, your music has appealed broadly to a very vast spectrum of demographics worldwide. Did you ever worry that your personal experiences wouldn’t translate to a greater audience? KK: Oh yeah, I never thought it would.
AE: You’re blowing up at the moment with fans, music blogs, print media and of course, Social Media. Beyonce, one of the most recognised artists in the world, recommended one of your tracks, ‘Easy Easy’ to her Facebook fan base, which is in excess of 49 million people…
KK: Oh
yeah, that was great. I didn’t have internet at the time, so a friend told me about it and I was thrilled, it was really cool. I have a lot of respect for her as an artist.
AE: Let’s talk about your upcoming album, ‘Six Feet Beneath The Moon’ – you’ve been working on this album for… well, just about your whole life, is that right? There are some tracks in there that you wrote when you were quite young.
KK:
Yeah, yeah. There are a lot of songs in there about when I was young, and a couple that I composed when I was a lot younger. ‘Easy easy’ I wrote in 2008, so when I was like fourteen or something… I don’t really know… I can’t do the maths (laughs).
AE: What can we expect from this album as a whole?
KK:
Hmm…picture, like, a really smoky room. A really smoky, blue room. And there’s a flamingo in the centre of it. That’s what you can expect from the album.
AE: (laughs) Yeah, awesome – that’s what I was hoping it would be like. You have mentioned before that the moon in this instance is something of a metaphor – what is the significance of the title, ‘Six Feet Under the Moon’?
KK: …The moon is always there as something to look up to, a symbol of aspiration. For a long time I felt like lots of things were out of my reach, and I was buried, you know – six feet under, and out of reach of these things that I wanted to achieve… I definitely think I am more at peace now though, having finished the album.
AE: Having achieved so much already, and still having another 60 odd years ahead of you, what are you ultimately aspiring for?
KK: You mean like, what is my personal moon? A girl. A beautiful girl.
AE: Well you will have no trouble at all finding that, mark my words! Six Feet Beneath the Moon is coming out on your birthday I believe, 24
th
of August. Is that just a happy coincidence?
KK: (laughs) Nah, that was very calculated. The album is about my life, and it seemed right to release it the day I turned 19 as a cut-off point.
AE: How can we get our hands on it?
KK:
I don’t really know. I can send it to you if you like?
AE: Oh (laughs like an idiot), but like, how can fans and the general population access it?
KK: I’ll just send it to everyone.
AE: Sounds great. Any chance of an Australian tour in the near future?
KK: Yeah, definitely, it’s already happening in February. I’m not sure who I’m touring with yet but there are a number of artists it could be.
AE: Awesome, I’m very much looking forward to that. Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with me. Enjoy the European summer, the weather sucks down here.
KK: No problems, thanks for the chat. If you could make sure it’s sunny for me when I come to Australia, that would be great.
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In lieu of King Krule sending you a personal copy of his debut album, you can pre-order one here:
WORDS BY Alison Erlanger
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