We Speak Music
Erin K releases new single ‘Keep Her’
With a growing audience of over 3 million streams on Spotify, following the fruitful collaboration on 2019s I Need Sound, the American-born London-resident musician has continued her work with co-producer Kristofer Harris (Belle & Sebastian, Ghostpoet) and recorded new album Sink to Swim at his Squarehead Studios in Kent.
Erin’s narrative-driven songs are as forthright and personal as they are engaging and the candid nature of her often fearlessly self-deprecating lyrics make repeated listens of the timeless songs rewarding. None more so than Keep Her. “This song illustrates the circumstances of a girl who is bound to her relationship with a controlling partner”, Erin says. “It is written almost in the form of an encouraging letter to the dominant party, offering advice on how to “keep her by [his] side so she can’t let go”. As the verses unfold, the extent to which this girl is broken and bound are poetically revealed.”
This subject matter is intensely personal to Erin who “found myself in similar relationship dynamics in the past. It’s disturbing how reality can be so drastically altered in this way.”
The song evolved considerably from its original form to the final studio recording. “Musically, it was interesting to witness the evolution of this song, originating as something very sombre and heavy. The arrangement is lighter now, serving as a nice contrast to the subject matter”.
The video for Keep Her was made in an unconventional way using cutting edge gaming technology. Director Dylan Copeland explains, “Using camera trackers designed for gaming, and a hardware compositor designed for broadcast, we projected Erin and her guitar from our studio in London to a bench in a virtual clearing in a virtual forest in an Unreal Engine”.
Combined with traditional motion graphics, layered animations originating from Erin’s own illustrations and live performance, the result is beautiful and engaging and reflects the spirit of her signature combination of irony, candour and wit.
With sessions for BBC 6 Music, Radio 1 airplay and major commercial syncs for Google and LG her left-field songwriting is gradually reaching the wider audience that it deserves.
Erin K is touring with her band through Italy in March with UK & European dates to be announced. Her new album Sink to Swim will be released in June.
Tour dates:
09 March GERMI, Milano
10 March CARACOL, Pisa
11 March DELIRI, Sora
12 March MR ROLLY’S, Vitulazio
15 March MALTO GRADIMENTO, Reggio C.
16 March RETRONOUVEAU, Messina
17 March SONICA, Siracusa
18 March MUG, Comiso
19 March ZOOTV, Brucoli
20 March BOLAZZI, Palermo
22 March PADDY’S, Catanzaro Lido
24 March MERCATO NUOVO, Taranto
25 March PROVO CULT, San Giovanni Rotondo
26 March OFFICINA 72, Agropoli
28 March MARLA, Perugia
29 March FAT, Terni
30 March COCKNEY LONDON PUB, Correzzola
31 March AI PRETI, Verona
01 April ARCI DALLÒ, Castiglione delle Stiviere
Aaron makes music about meaningful topics that rocks and grooves – and sometimes it even skanks on a rock steady beat!
His new song ‘Geeks’ has been released on all major music platforms on November 15th. It is an anthem for the heroes of the digital age: computer nerds, also known as geeks. It is driven by an off-beat ska guitar, a sticky bass line and a groovy brass section. The icing on the cake is a jazzy saxophone solo.
“I have always loved Ska, I even saw the Specials, the Selecter and Madness live in their heydays”, says Aaron. “I chose the topic although I am not a geek myself, but I have a lot of sympathy for them. Geeks are often frowned upon because they can be socially awkward, but they are the ones who are building a better world. So I think they deserve an anthem.”
The music video is mostly made up of typography, minimalistic ASCII graphics and heavily pixelated images – it surely looks geeky! Watch it here:
Aaron writes catchy songs that are made for people who like meaningful, uplifting topics and guitar-driven, hand-made sounds. His musical journey started young but it wasn’t until he discovered Bitcoin and became so invested in it that he used music to express his new found joy.
“It’s mostly rock music, with excursions into funk, soul and other styles I grew up with. In general, it’s guitar-driven and hand-made, often with a punkish energy and beatlesque harmonies. What all my songs have in common are meaningful lyrics about being in the here and now, about transforming disturbing emotions into wisdom, about being in the flow, things like that.” says Aaron in an interview.
“I have always been making music and writing songs, starting with a punk rock band when I was 15. However, I never saw it as a career. I played in several bands in my teenage years and my early twenties, but after my media studies in Berlin and Rio de Janeiro I focused on other things. I first worked in TV production and then founded one of the first Internet agencies in Germany. I discovered Bitcoin in 2011 and became fascinated by it. I wrote five books about it, made lots of promotional videos and educational series for Bitcoin and blockchain companies, and organised events. I even wrote some songs about Bitcoin, which became quite popular in the community, like my Reggaeton about the Bitcoin Beach in El Salvador. People always liked that my songs are catchy and provocative. It was by the end of 2023 that I decided to go full in on music. It’s what I enjoy the most, so now I want to fully follow my passion.”
Since May 2024, his songs have been streamed more than 250,000 times on Spotify and his music videos have been viewed more than 350,000 times on YouTube.
Read more about Aaron King: http://aaron-koenig.net/press/
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