2007 was the year that introduced me to the virtuoso that is Kaki King. I'd just moved into a new flat, walking distance from where I worked and walking distance from everything else I might have needed. Life was good. :)
I was doing lots of DJ'ing as well as gigs performing my own music, and on weekdays after work, I'd get home, roll a spliff and either play video games, make tunes or spend the evening on the internet, checking out new music. Of course, being 2007, MySpace was all the rage, and to this day, I still look back on that site (quaint as it may seem now) with a measure of fondness. It wasn't perfect, but for people like me who made music or wished to seek out new sounds, it was something of a godsend.
When I wasn't uploading my own stuff to my page, I'd click through other pages of bands and artists that caught my eye. Typically, an intriguing thumbnail was enough to pique my interest, and I'd visit the page and listen to the tunes on offer. I found lots and lots of really cool stuff that way, made lots of connections with other artists (including a few remixes and by-proxy collaborations), and discovered a wealth of new music.
So yes, you already know where this is going: Kaki King was one of the artists I discovered through the platform back in its day. I still recall that evening now, sitting in the dark of my bedroom, bathed in the glow of my laptop, headphones over my ears and nicely buzzed. I can't remember the page I was on, but amongst the list of friends for that particular artist was a thumbnail of a woman's face covered in tendrils of red thread. It caught my eye, so I clicked. The first song I played on her page was the song you see below and it totally moved me. I was already in a state that made me more receptive to music, but I was genuinely impressed and listened to every track on the page. 'Red' was her most recent album at the time so most of the songs were taken from that, and based on what I'd heard, I knew I just had to get a copy, and that's exactly what I did.
I played that album a lot that year and beyond; she blended her obvious virtuosity with actual songwriting in a way that really hit home with me. Of course, I soon followed this with her previous albums and enjoyed those too, but this is the album that has stayed with me because as a first discovery, and, when combined with the nostalgia from the time I first heard it, makes the music even more special for me.
Since then, I've seen King live twice and have picked up everything she's gone on to release. I even met her briefly after a show in 2015 but forgot to mention how much of an impact this particular record had on me. It's probably just as well, to be honest, I might've sounded all gushy, and that's never a good look.
No comments:
Post a Comment