Archy Ivan Marshall (born 24 August 1994), also known by his stage name King Krule, is an English singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer and musician.
He began recording music in 2010 under the moniker Zoo Kid. The following year he adopted his present name. He has released several EPs, and his debut full-length album, 6 Feet Beneath the Moon, was released in 2013 to positive critical reception. He released his second album, The Ooz, on 13 October 2017.
His music blends elements of punk jazz with hip hop, darkwave and trip hop.
Video King Krule
Life
Archy Marshall was born to Rachel Howard and Adam Marshall in Southwark, London. During an interview with The Guardian's Rob Fitzpatrick, Marshall said that from a young age, he experienced discipline issues and refused to go to school. Throughout his childhood, he spent much of his time between his father's house in Peckham and his mother's house in East Dulwich; his mother was much less strict than his father, who had many rules. Marshall recalls that his father had to physically carry him to school, otherwise he would skip and hide in his room. Once he turned 13 years old, he was given a private house tutor. He was later accepted into the Brit School to study art, where he struggled with discipline initially, but soon found his place..
Marshall has said that he was tested for several mental health conditions at London's Maudsley Hospital. He claims that the tests took a toll on him; that the doctors, counsellors and psychiatrists were wrong most of the time; that he hated everybody; and that he would hide in his room for hours on end. He refers to his mental health issues, such as depression and insomnia, in some of his lyrics.
During an interview with NPR, Marshall recalled that he often created art in many different mediums, as his parents encouraged creativity throughout his childhood. He noted that visual art in particular is important to him, and he mentioned that he carefully crafts his music videos and album art such that they reflect his particular aesthetic sensibility.
Maps King Krule
Career
During Marshall's years at Forest Hill School and then at the Brit School alongside long-time collaborator Jamie Isaac between 2008 and 2011, he released two singles as "Zoo Kid". He created a genre of music called "Bluewave" and its form was realised in the mixtape entitled U.F.O.W.A.V.E. In July 2011, Marshall began playing under a new moniker, King Krule, at a festival in Hyères, France. Later that year he released his eponymous debut EP. His stage name is inspired by the Elvis Presley film King Creole and not King K. Rool, the character from the Donkey Kong video game series, as previously reported.
On 9 December 2012, the BBC announced that he had been nominated for the Sound of 2013 poll.
King Krule released his debut album 6 Feet Beneath the Moon on 24 August 2013. More than half of the tracks had already been released on his EPs. This brought him to prominence, especially in the US, with performances on Conan and the Late Show with David Letterman.
In October of the same year, he embarked on a European tour, which was the last time he has appeared in the UK on tour to date. Following its success, he moved on to a tour of North America.
On 8 January 2014, he released a video for "A Lizard State" which gained over 800,000 views on YouTube.
After a short break, he toured Europe once again, inexplicably omitting his homeland the United Kingdom, which was his most recent public performance.
In February 2014, King Krule appeared on the cover of The Fader in its 90th issue.
In December 2015, under the name Archy Marshall, he released an album titled A New Place 2 Drown, which includes 12 songs, a 208-page book of visual art and text, and a ten-minute documentary. He partnered with his brother, Jack Marshall, on this project. In an interview with NPR, Marshall said that he wanted the album to have a physical component, as well as something for the eyes and the ears. He released the album under the name Archy Marshall rather than King Krule to differentiate between the two different genres of music, as he claims that he thought of A New Place 2 Drown as a hip hop album rather than the dark alternative/jazz sound of 6 Feet Beneath the Moon.
Marshall took to NTS Radio, hosted by Mount Kimbie, and released two songs under the name Edgar the Beatmaker. The first song is untitled, and the second is titled "When and Why".
In August 2017, Marshall released a new song entitled "Czech One". This was a King Krule release, the first since the release of his debut album in 2013.
In September 2017, Marshall released a new song entited "Dum Surfer", released under the name King Krule.
On 13 October, Marshall released his second full album The Ooz under King Krule. It included the singles released in the previous two months as well as 17 new songs. The album received positive reviews, and was ranked the #83 most discussed album of 2017 and the #75 most shared album of 2017 according to Metacritic. The album ranked 23 out of 100 on Official Chart Ranking and was ranked 8.7 out of 10 based on 56 ratings. On December 13, 2017, Pitchfork named the album the best rock album of 2017 and the third best album overall of 2017. It was nominated for IMPALA's European Album of the Year Award.
Musical style and influences
Many reviewers and journalists have noted King Krule's unusual transcendence and appropriation of disparate genres. His music has been described mainly with jazz derivatives such as punk jazz and jazz fusion, but also as darkwave, post-punk and hip hop. Writers have also noted elements of trip hop, jazz rap and dub in some of his songs. Jason Lymangrover of Allmusic states that his songs are mainly in the form of ballads with major seventh chords, but by contrast there is also a "grittiness" to Archy's voice and persona, portraying him as "the type of kid who would be quick to throw a punch without asking questions."
His music has been likened to Morrissey and Edwyn Collins. He is inspired by disparate influences such as Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, Fela Kuti, J Dilla, Billy Bragg and The Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Marshall said in an interview with The Guardian that he began his musical career with the influence of The Pixies and The Libertines.
Live band
- Archy Marshall - vocals, guitar, keyboards
- James Wilson - bass, vocals
- George Bass - drums
- Jack Towell - guitar
- Connor Atanda (aka Rago Foot) - electronics, saxophone
- John Keek - saxophone
- Ignacio Salvadores - saxophone
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
- 2010: U.F.O.W.A.V.E. (self-released; as Zoo Kid)
- 2010: Out Getting Ribs/Has This Hit 7" - single (House Anxiety Records; as Zoo Kid)
- 2011: King Krule EP (True Panther)
- 2012: Rock Bottom/Octopus 12" single (Rinse)
Other
- 2014: City Rivims Mk 1 (self-released; w/ Sub Luna City)
Guest appearances
Awards and nominations
References
External links
- Official website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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