King reigns in Atlanta this week
The L.A.-based soul vocal trio stops in town to perform live and meet and greet fans.
It’s not easy describing the music of King. The L.A.-based soul vocal crew — consisting of twin sisters Paris and Amber Strother, and “musical compadre” Anita Bias — is responsible for a sound that’s lush and multilayered, yet sparse and minimal. After independently releasing its 2011 debut EP, The Story, the trio’s singular sound won acclaim from fans, critics, and renowned artists such as Questlove and Prince. Since then, they’ve worked with numerous acts from pianist Robert Glasper to singer Bilal, among others, and over the course of the past year, they’ve traveled the globe on a tour that stops in Atlanta this Thurs., Oct. 23. King will also be in town for a meet and greet on Oct. 24 (details below.) But before they hit town, we had a chance to chat with them about their one-of-a-kind style, their musical journey thus far, and more.
How much of your sound was something you intentionally designed, and how much just organically developed?
Paris: So much of our sound did develop organically; what people hear is what happens between us when we get together. Much of it is just how we all naturally make music, but we do intentionally strive to be as unique and creative with our sound as possible, pushing musical boundaries where we can.
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Why start with an EP as opposed to a full-length album?
Amber: We put together the three songs from the EP as our introduction to the world, and it’s been incredible to see how far those songs have taken us. We’d written, recorded and produced the songs ourselves, and we put it out independently for friends and family, just to share the love and see what would happen. The EP was the first time we’d made music together and laid the groundwork for the music to come.
What is your songwriting process like?
Paris: Each song has been unique in the way they’re made, but we all just contribute our ideas and share with one another. Sometimes a song will start with the music, sometimes melody, or lyrics, and sometimes it all comes together at once. But it’s truly a labor of love, and it’s been great to discover how each of us writes individually and as a team.
What’s next for the group?
Anita: We’re gearing up to release our full-length album, doing some touring and traveling to new places, and we’re so excited to share more of our music with the world.
What can you say about your live shows? What can audiences expect?
Anita: We love to party at our shows. We love it when people dance along to the music, that’s what it’s made for! People can expect to hear some new arrangements of the songs they’ve heard and some new songs from the album that we can’t wait to share.
‘’Catch King performing live Thurs., Oct. 23. $20-$25. 8 p.m. The Loft, 1374 West Peachtree St. NW. www.centerstage-atlanta.com.
Meet and greet with King in the 1st Hit Listening Lounge Fri., Oct. 24. Free. 7:30-9 p.m. at Moods Music, 1131 Euclid Ave NE. 404-653-0724.
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