KING

They're a nu-soul girl group from LA consisting of sisters Amber and Paris Strother (the latter of whom writes and produces all their music) along with Anita Bias. A bunch of us here liked their The Story EP a couple years back. They just dropped a new song and I figure since they're finally putting out an album this year and it seems like they're going to continue making the most gorgeous music ever like they've been doing, they deserve their own thread.

"In the Meantime" (the new one)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmYe9i8IxWA

"Hey" (which Kendrick sampled for "Chapter Six"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itl3BgEUNW0

"Supernatural"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tVrGt_hWzo

"The Story"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dhPuid9e4Q

They've also done some collaborations with The Foreign Exchange and Robert Glasper.

A proper thread! :D

A well-deserved one.

I had to post "In the Meantime" in the "kinda out there, maybe kinda experimental, maybe kinda pretentious modern r&b" thread last night, and it's actually not any of those things.

oh, I didn't realize that one had been bumped

we'd been talking about the teaser in rolling r&b

oh my good gosh this new one is the purest driven bliss

for real

srsly like i feel humbled to be in the listening presence of such beauty

Been meaning to look into these folks -- thanks!

I had to post "In the Meantime" in the "kinda out there, maybe kinda experimental, maybe kinda pretentious modern r&b" thread last night, and it's actually not any of those things.

― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 19 March 2013 23:56 (Yesterday) Bookmark

this is really otm and precisely what makes it so great past the sheer aesthetics, the way it employs its astral psych soul etc motifs (for abject want of better terms) in the service of the essence of a pop song; making a fleeting moment feel infinite whereas so often with music coming from this realm the motivation seems the opposite, capturing by expansion

and it's so well structured too, they know exactly how and when to push drift into drive, repeating the chorus into a mantra at 3 mins and letting go again, or like 'supernatural' slowly building up to wooshing starlight fireworks

Sisters were originally from Minneapolis, iirc?

new one is absolutely gorgeous, the story ep sounded lovely but never stuck with me; "in the meantime" just feels more anchored

"Hey" was just about the perfect thing to play at 5:30 p.m. while lying in bed at the height of that summer with the windows open.

Jaw dropped @ "In The Meantime".

I'm getting flotation tank Janet vibes. And a little bit of Tweet's first album.

I thought this was going to be about the dude who sang Love & Pride

And a little bit of Tweet's first album.

the stuff tweet's doing nowadays is an even stronger comparison imo (did anyone else pick up her latest EP?)

yeah i did. it all sounds like live jam sesh versions of possibly great songs i havent heard yet

I'm getting flotation tank Janet vibes. And a little bit of Tweet's first album.

^^ feeling this too. absolutely gorgeous.

it's so 80's r&b imo. love it

oh my god i loooooove this

I heard a bit of SWV in there maybe...is that just me?

Stevie Wonder, Very?

In The Meantime is lovely, I want to be, like, in a hammock in the sunshine, like, immediately.

I heard a bit of SWV in there maybe...is that just me?

― bride of lecherchaun (Drugs A. Money), Thursday, 21 March 2013 05:05 (16 hours ago) Bookmark

it's not too strong but i kinnnda see where you're coming from w/ this... something like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAgAHOuJR4o

maybe like tha rayne x rotary connection, idk

Love this, very happy to see they're back. I got a bit worried about them at one point when it looked like their Twitter had stopped updating.

Fela cover

http://www.soulbounce.com/soul/2013/10/king_take_it_slow_in_tribute_to_fela_kuti.php

FUCKING INCREDIBLE live fyi. harmonies>>>>>>>>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1Al1j9SjhI

(there are some more videos on that youtube account too)

(album's out this year btw)

(album's out this year btw)

Well, there's my #1 slot taken care of.

News!

http://weareking.tumblr.com/post/89064089201/tune-in-tomorrow-for-the-live-vid-of-our-new-song
https://twitter.com/weareKING/status/478928039212875778

omg! finally!

yayyyy

Well, there's my #1 slot taken care of.

Finally 2014 is picking up steam!

Rawk.

(Lol)

there's an amazing density to the songs of theirs that i've heard that renders them almost tactile..and if there is any one thing I look for in pop music these days, it's synaesthesia

...

anyway eric otm, anything other than aoty will be a disappointment tbh

(haha sorry)

!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0dHHRWjcy0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRPhNLZEoXM

Thought his thread was gonna be about

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEMDzXZfILo

Get out.

New single

https://soundcloud.com/weareking-1/mister-chameleon

stunning, truly

maybe a single a year isn't so cruel

i mean a full album of this all at once could be beyond the limits of human capacity

^^^^^^^^

yeah this song is beautiful

album's done i think!

that was fucking rad, maura. thanks for the info.👍🏻

it made my night

yeah looks like they are We Are King on spotify now

I guess there’s no way of hearing this now?

🙁

guys. . . !!!!!!!

https://www.fordtheatres.org/calendar/we-are-king

only two members now?

only two members now?

ah i see above that's old news.

They have a new song out on September 25 with Sam Sparro:

New single OUTSIDE THE BLUE with @weareking Out September 25th. pic.twitter.com/9nLF5CkqLb

— Sam Sparro (@samsparro) September 16, 2019

hell yes.

Great news! I was always fond of Sam Sparro's voice. It was just a shame he only had two really good songs on his first album. He sounded great on that Basement Jaxx single.

This is nice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgMUNnN7kuQ

yet more evidence that all pop music should be a sea of amazing chords

have they changed their name to We Are KING now? track is nice

yeah, that happened within the last 18 months or so

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWTZANDSsAs

posting to acknowledge the utter awesomeness of the above, and also to confuse people who are still trying to click on that kanye thread for some reason

also acknowledging <3

Yeah totally great!

KING IS KING!

also to confuse people who are still trying to click on that kanye thread for some reason

hey this topic in only for quality music, please. thx.

TODAY, 4/15: R&B, soul, and dream-pop coalesce in the stylings of Grammy-nominated @weareKING.

Sisters Amber and Paris Strother will be performing live on our Instagram (@moogsynthesizers) with their Moog One, Minimoog Voyager, and Roland CR-78 drum machine. Join us at 6PM EDT! pic.twitter.com/1xPmg6JRFl

— Moog Synthesizers (@moogmusicinc) April 15, 2020

dr. amber lol
going live from the @moogmusicinc IG page at 3pm pst/6pm est ♥️ pic.twitter.com/OKEGrqUvty

— We Are KING (@weareKING) April 15, 2020

They're doing the #TimsTwitterListeningParty at 8pm BST today

!!!!

This feels unexpected

!

https://wearekingmusic.bandcamp.com/album/space-oddity

Nice! (Was hoping for a surprise album, but I recognize their release rate.)

i know we haven't even heard it yet, but. . . meh.

i woke up to a bandcamp notification this morning that they had released a "new album" only to discover it was not an album and not even a new original song. i'm sure it'll be fine for what it is but the lack of new material since anita left is. . . discouraging for the future.

wow grumpos.. you think they owe you anything??

the wow grumpos; that's actually the name of my new folk rock project.

album coming sometime, not sure when, but definitely before king releases another full length.

their cover of “Space Oddity” is now on Spotify

btw shouldn’t the thread title be changed to “We Are KING”, “We Are KING (formerly known as KING)” or “KING (We Are KING)” or sth similar? that new band name is here to stay

huh couldn't find it, a great song for them

here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9OoNYAwf1Y
We Are KING • Space Oddity

Spotify link

Not crazy about it, or cover songs in general, but the production on this gets me excited for upcoming originals.

they showed up to perform with coldplay on their glastonbury stream today??? heavily featured on a new song "human heart"

it's weird because they sound so good and then chris martin singing lead over them is ... not so good

https://watch.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/livestream-1/backup/livestream1.html you can find the performance here at least for now if you go back a few hours. it's just one song in the middle of coldplay's set

.....huh

As noted upthread in Jan., they're gonna be on this Bowie trib, out 5/28 on the BBE label (keep an eye on their bandcamp):
Featuring an array of additional artists such as We Are KING, Meshell Ndegeocello, Khruangbin, Matthew Tavares, L’Rain, Nia Andrews and more, Modern Love seeks to champion Bowie’s lesser known connection to soul, R&B, jazz, funk, and gospel, musical genres traditionally pioneered by artists of color. The prominent jazz influences throughout his final album, Blackstar, were a key inspiration for curating this collection of reimagined Bowie songs with these artists. The resulting album is an eclectic tribute featuring a group of artists who not only fit together creatively, but who, like Bowie, straddle different worlds musically, with soul and jazz at their core.
*already streamable, here and there:
Modern Love Tracklist:
01. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson - "Life On Mars"
02. Healdo Negro - "Sound & Vision"*
03. Kit Sebastian - "Lady Grinning Soul "
04. Jeff Parker and The New Breed (feat. Ruby Parker) - "Soul Love"*
05. Sessa - "Panic In Detroit"
06. The Hics - "The Man Who Sold The World"*
07. Khruangbin - "Right"
08. Nia Andrews - "Silly Boy Blue"
09. Foxtrott - "Chant Of The Ever Circling Skeletal Family"
10. L'Rain - "Move On"
11. Jonah Mutono - "Modern Love"*
12. Bullion - "Where Are We Now"
13. Eddie Chacon & John Carroll Kirby - "TNGHT"
14. Léa Sen - "Golden Years"
15. Meshell Ndegeocello - "Fantastic Voyage"
16. We Are KING - "Space Oddity"*
17. Matthew Tavares - "Heroes"

Keep an eye on *BBE's* bandcamp, I meant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_eCVTwbd-E

featured on new nicholas godin track

i love this!!!

this song rules

^ so great, and his song with Kadhja Bonet is even better (guess it was on last year's album but there's a new, more Sade-fied version that's amazing)

have you guys listened to this deutsche grammophon thing they did?

https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/prelude-en-la-mineur-we-are-king-12510

it's . . . absolutely gorgeous and i guess i'd like an ambient album from them now.

i mean . . . singers unlimited meets debussy doesn't seem like such a bad idea, now that i think of it.

anyway, if you have ninety seconds and enjoy beautiful sounds, there you go.

wish it was longer!

why have i skipped the godin track until now? it's wonderful.