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The day that The Guardian published this interview with King Krule, Archy Marshall had just turned 19. At a young age, Marshall has already established himself as a gifted singer/songwriter and he’s been steadily building a fan base as well as an impressive collection of rave reviews. In support of his excellent debut album 6 Feet Beneath The Moon, Archy sat down with The Guardian and spoke about both his music and his personal life. Check out some of the highlights from the interview below:
On his pseudonym, King Krule
“Imagine a king crawling through the city on his hands and knees. It’s aristocracy at the very bottom.”
On mp3s vs. vinyls
“I do love the music aspect of the internet. The internet made me. But I also love the fact that the internet really fucked the music industry. I come from a punk vibe, so if you can illegally download my album, fuck it, do it! I illegally downloaded all of my music. I couldn’t give a shit about MP3s. But if you buy my vinyl, I’ll be happy, because this is a fucking masterpiece of craft and art!”
On where he gets his lyrical inspirations from
“I listen to a lot of jazz standards, like When Your Lover Has Gone [Einar Aaron Swan’s 1931 composition, later covered by Sinatra]. That’s got really simple but very, very effective lyrics that talk about being depressed and seeing no beauty in life because your lover’s gone.”
On being tested for mental illness at London’s Maudsley Hospital
“That really took its toll on me. It was then I decided to not give a shit about the establishment, because a lot of the time, the doctors and the psychiatrists and the counsellors and my social workers were plain wrong. Basically, I hated everyone.”
On his personal development this past year
“I think I’ve become really positive this year. I’ve got rid of a lot of cynicism and anger. I feel positive about my development and I just want to carry on making music and building myself as a person. Now I want to be a 30-year-old, y’know? I’ll be fully suited-out with all this vinyl I’ve created […] I want to get more and more sophisticated. I’m ready to go from being a kid to being a king.”
