Kaki’s back with a new glow

Kaki’s back with a new glow

KakiKingA two-year gap between albums isn’t unusual for an artist – it’s certainly nothing compared to the mammoth waits endured by fans of pop hermits like Kate Bush.

But followers of guitarist (and occasional singer) Kaki King would’ve felt understandably confused by the two-year silence before her most recent album, Glow – after all, she’d been pumping out an album and/or EP a year for the better part of a decade.

King has a good excuse, though – love. Between albums, she married her partner Jessica, the pair honeymooning in Australia over the summer.

“I also spent a lot of that time touring [previous album] Junior. I had an amazing band and we put on a really big exhausting show and played dirty rock clubs all around the world. It was an amazing experience but when it was done it was done,” Kaki told the Star Observer.

“I then was a little bit unmoored and spent quite a lot of time touring with a bunch of different guitars in strange configurations. The outcome of those tours was Glow.”

The album marks a change for the gifted guitarist as she again embraces entirely instrumental music, having dabbled in vocal, pop-based sounds with the likes of 2008’s Dreaming of Revenge.

“Instrumental music is just how I feel I best express myself. In most cases, I start with a guitar song, and if it doesn’t reach a point where it can exist on its own then I think about trying vocals with it. Vocals and lyrics come last for me. With Glow, the guitar material was just so strong that it didn’t feel like any vocals were needed anywhere.”

She’s right – tracks like the haunting, Asian-influenced Bowen Island or the darkly beautiful Great Round Burn work on their own as stunning pieces of music, no words needed. As someone who’s familiar with both sides, does she think there’s too much emphasis placed on instrumental vs. vocal music?

“Well, yes and no. Words help to tell stories and illustrate emotions while music backs those words up with a kind of deeper purer more irrational emotion,” she said.

In some ways, Glow was about Kaki getting back to basics. She’s said that the fundamental basis of the record is the sound of one person playing a guitar – all other embellishments can be stripped away and the album would still stand up.

“Creating music from just one instrument is way more of a challenge than having a band or a ton of lyrics to pull from. At least, it has been for me.”

King put her talents to impressive use last year in an eye-catching TV commercial for GAP Jeans, strumming, plucking and thumping her guitar to great effect in the 30-second spot.

Given the esoteric, too-hard-for-radio nature of her music, is it important to grab those opportunities for exposure whenever they come up?

“Exposure? Hell no,” she said.

“That ad paid for my honeymoon!”

INFO: Kaki King tours Australia May 11-June 2. Tour details at www.kakiking.com

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