Hear Ye, Hear Ye! The King has arrived, and he is armed with his barricade of songs that echo Jamaican influences crossed with an Indie structure. In my opinion, he's a tad like a male Eliza Doolittle yet his songs have swirls and waves of sunshine filled guitars, steel drums, backing singers that make his music very much a personal and unique sound.
Launching his career in 2007 under the name 'King Charles', Charles Costa formed a band named 'Adventure Playground', touring with the likes of Laura Marling and Noah and The Whale whose influences can also be distantly heard in his music.However since the separation of the band in 2008, Charles has gone on to tour with Mumford and Sons under the name 'King Charles' and has released a number of records, all brilliantly made, that have seen him slowly but surely get under the skin of thousands of people. Records like LoveBlood, Mississippi Isabel, Bam Bam, Love Lust and the fantastic new release Lady Percy.
I first heard Lady Percy on Huw Stephens' show on Radio One and lets just say I eagerly awaited and wrote down the name of the song and instantly got on You Tub to look for it, as you do. The steel drums, the upbeat chorus that has you dancing merrily and imagining you are on some magical desert island, the backing singers who add the Jamaican influence and seem to bring the sunshine with them. All these factors and more contribute to the brilliance of the song and once more the music industry is seeing yet another musician who doesn't conform to the typical mold.
King Charles lives up to his name with his image reminiscent of the real King Charles, yet completely his own at the same time. Messy, crazy, extravagant hair; smart yet scruffy suit; that mustache that occasionally grows into a full on beard... He is different, he incorporates numerous influences to produce a clearly original and wonderful sound that one would not associate with him having. He provides the perfect soundtrack for summer 2012 and I would strongly advise you listen to at least one of his songs, if anything to see if his music creates even the tiniest ray of sunshine in your life.
King Charles does not fit into a certain stereotype. He defies the expectation with his extravagant persona and laid back, summery music. He does what he wants to do and who would want to change that, seeing as the records he's made show that his way of doing things works so marvelously?
Lets face it, we all need a King in our life, so why not take a chance and give King Charles a go?
The King's Offerings...
-Debut album 'LOVEBLOOD' is out on the 7th May 2012.
-Home Page: http://kingcharles-music.com/Default.aspx#!news
- Lady Percy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=slm3BcOqMlk
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