King IV Interview - Buzzed and Excited

Meet Melbourne muso King IV, known for crafting dark electronica, writing music with a progressive fusion of modern sounds, merging influences from underground EDM and Alt-RnB scenes. She harnesses an attacking and submerging sound of deep bottom-ends and heavy-hitting beats. We had a chat to this stunning artist about her recent single 'We Can Get It' and her experiences with the production process.

Futuremag Music: Hey King IV, it’s great to meet you! How’s things been?

King IV: I’ve been really busy with the release of ‘We Can Get It’. It felt like a nice step up from my last single, which is really cool! There has been a heap more radio and press attention surrounding the single and there has been some lovely reviews on triple j unearthed too. This song had the most energy put into it, and it’s nice to have the hard work come back positively.

Futuremag Music: ‘We Can Get It’ features the vocals Rromarin, and was produced by Haxx from Joyluck Studio. How did you guys meet?

King IV: Funny story! I met Dave Ruby Howe at Bigsound about three years ago, and I said I was looking a producer/engineer to help polish up a few demos. He ended up giving me Haxx’s email. I hit Haxx up and went around to the studio one day. We hung out and got along really well, and it progressed from there. Haxx produced my previous two singles and Rromarin was a co-write on each of those, so there was this solid foundation for ‘We Can Get It’. I first wrote this song over a year ago, and it was a very slow process, but it feels good to have it out there and people listening to the track.

Futuremag Music: The slow process of creating this track, ‘We Can Get It’, is that the same with the creation process of all your tracks?

King IV: Each single has been a different process. The first two singles were very organic. I had either had demos or top-lined something Haxx made, and he threw together monster production. It all came naturally and fast. ‘We Can Get It’ was the most difficult, and took the longest time to create. It was actually a bit of a problem child, but saying that it was the most enjoyable to work on so far. The other singles went well, and were completed fast.

‘We Can Get It’ was quite difficult at times, and became quite complex during the production process. There was a point when I was genuinely going to give up on it, because the track was just becoming too frustrating. When we started writing, we had a good feeling about it; we knew it was going to be a strong song, so kept on pushing through. I think there’s about 5 different remakes of this one song. Like not subtle changes, I mean completely different versions. It started off as a slow jam, then we pushed it into banger territory. ‘We Can Get it’ has been a real journey, and I’m glad it’s out there now for everyone to enjoy.

Futuremag Music: Any plans for upcoming shows?

King IV: Live shows are high on my ‘to do’ list. At the moment it’s about building an engaging set. One thing I do know about my live show is that it is going to be high energy, and I’m hoping to rework my first singles to work more in a live appropriate setting and for an audience rather than for your headphones, when you’re listening at home. In a perfect world I’d love a lot of percussive elements, and a lot of energy in that sense. It’s hard for me to promise when I’ll be live, but yeah it’s something I’m interested in doing sometime soon. I’m super excited to perform, I’m hoping on having a couple more songs under my belt to be able to put into a live show. In reality, I only have three songs released, and that’s a damn short set hahaha. It’s a work in progress.

Futuremag Music: If you could make a cocktail called ‘King IV’. what would be in it to best describe you and your music?

King IV: Damnnn… If I were a cocktail I’d be an espresso martini only for the fact that I’m addicted to coffee, and there’s nothing better than having something to jack you up on a night out. There was a point where I tried to give up coffee then I had an espresso martini and it was over from there. I’d say my cocktail would be a triple-shot of coffee, have something hot in it like chilli or an interesting twist like fireball. I’d want a cocktail and music to get you buzzed and excited.

Futuremag Music: What’s the future hold for the King IV project?

King IV: I’ve been working with a lot of producers and writers at the moment. I have a few features coming out soon. Unfortunately I can’t tell you who they are, also I don’t want to burst the bubble. I’m excited to work with a variety of people. The next single that is coming out is another one that Haxx has produced. The three of us have worked really well together and I’m super grateful for that. When you have been working with someone for so long it becomes easier to speak each others language musically, you just understand one another and can focus-in, no matter what is going on in the real world, and it becomes a special collaboration. I’m excited for the future and to see where it goes.

Guest User4 September 2017

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King IV Interview - Buzzed and Excited