King Midas Sound

In November 2009 King Midas Sound Released their debut album ‘Waiting For You’ for the esteemed Hyperdub label after 2 singles, and a release on Soul Jazz. King Midas Sound are Roger Robinson and Kiki Hitomi on vocals with producer Kevin Martin. Since that album King Midas Sound have developed their sound into a live show that takes the album as a starting block and builds downwards and outwards, increasing the intensity as the band try to create a deep emotional resonance and space, a liminal connection with the audience. read more…

In November 2009 King Midas Sound Released their debut album ‘Waiting For You’ for the esteemed Hyperdub label after 2 singles, and a release on Soul Jazz. King Midas Sound are Roger Robinson and Kiki Hitomi on vocals with producer Kevin Martin.

In previous collaborations with Kevin as the producer behind ‘The Bug’ Roger performed verses as a highly respected and published poet, but when he started to sing in his fragile falsetto, everything changed, and King Midas Sound was born. Japanese singer Hitomi was added to the band as a female counterpoint to Roger.

“Waiting for You” their debut album is all about intimacy. Roger’s falsetto is fragile and vulnerable; a sound somewhere between Gregory Issacs and Vincent Gallo, nestled inside an intimate blanket of bass and vertiginous atmosphere. Hitomi adds a further disorientating swirl, like memories gatecrashing the present.

King Midas Sound often deals with a similar strain of musical melancholia, but instead of hyperemotional haunted garage, “Waiting..” is absolutely song based, and generates the spectral bliss of a kind of jilted lovers rock, a sublime, heartbreak reggae, a wasteland populated by songs of psychic meltdown, the sweet toxicity of love, echoed lullabies to the departed and an acidic undertone of resentment – (“I wish you luck with a capital F, boy”).

Since that album King Midas Sound have developed their sound into a live show that takes the album as a starting block and builds downwards and outwards, increasing the intensity as the band try to create a deep emotional resonance and space, a liminal connection with the audience.

Following that album in 2011 was ‘Without You’ a collection of revoiced and reversioned tracks from the original album by a cast of musicians curated by the band. The album takes in a scope of artists from Mala from Digital Mystiks, to Green Gartside from Scritti Politti, Hype Williams to Nite Jewel and Flying Lotus, representing the bands scope of musical affiliates and development as a band. Alongside performing as a band, in 2012 King Midas Soundsystem was born, with the band pairing down their performance when necessary to DJ set with fx’s and vocals from the Hitomi and Roger, taking the music in another direction hinted at by previous DJ mixes they have done. New music awaits in 2013.

News

• XLR8R announces King Midas Sound to play Unsound Festival May 20, 2013
• Fact Magazine features King Midas Sound video for "Funny Love" Apr 15, 2013
• Self-Titled Magazine features King Midas Sound's video for "Funny Love" Apr 15, 2013
• Ad Hoc features King Midas Sound video for "Funny Love" Apr 15, 2013
• Fact Magazine features King Midas Sound's track "Aroo" Apr 9, 2013
• Fact Magazine features King Midas Sound Apr 5, 2013
• King Midas Sound signs to Ninja Tunes Mar 28, 2013
• Self-Titled Magazine announces King Midas Sound signing with Ninja Tune Mar 27, 2013
• King Midas Sound show review on The Quietus Sep 13, 2012
• Pitchfork Review of King Midas Sound album Without You Nov 2, 2011
• Flying Lotus, Gang Gang Dance Contribute to King Midas Sound Album Sep 22, 2011
• King Midas Sound Makes Village Voice Top Albums of 2009 Jan 1, 2010
• King Midas Sound's Waiting For You reviewed by Pitchfork Nov 13, 2009