King Krule

Archy Ivan Marshall (born 24 August 1994), also known by his stage name King Krule, among other names, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, rapper and record producer.

During Marshall's years at Forest Hill School and then at the Brit School alongside long-time collaborator Jamie Isaac between 2008 and 2011, he released two singles as "Zoo Kid".

He created a genre of music called "Bluewave" and its form was realised in the mixtape entitled U.F.O.W.A.V.E.

He began recording music in 2010 under the moniker Zoo Kid.

The following year he adopted his present name.

In July 2011, Marshall began playing under a new moniker, King Krule, at a festival in Hyères, France.

Later that year he released his eponymous debut EP.

Contrary to some reports, his stage name is not inspired by the character of King K. Rool from the Donkey Kong Country video game series, but rather by the Elvis Presley film King Creole.

On 9 December 2012, the BBC announced that he had been nominated for the Sound of 2013 poll.

He has released several EPs and his debut full-length album, 6 Feet Beneath the Moon, was released in 2013 to positive critical reception.

King Krule released his debut album 6 Feet Beneath the Moon on 24 August 2013, his 19th birthday.

More than half of the tracks had already been released on his EPs.

This brought him to prominence, especially in the US, with performances on Conan and the Late Show with David Letterman.

This was a King Krule release, the first since the release of his debut album in 2013.

On 8 January 2014, he released a video for "A Lizard State" which gained over 800,000 views on YouTube.

In February 2014, King Krule appeared on the cover of The Fader in its 90th issue.

In December 2015, under the name Archy Marshall, he released an album titled A New Place 2 Drown, which includes 12 songs, a 208-page book of visual art and text and a ten-minute documentary.

He partnered with his brother, Jack Marshall, on this project.

In an interview with NPR, Marshall said that he wanted the album to have a physical component, as well as something for the eyes and the ears.

He released the album under the name Archy Marshall rather than King Krule to differentiate between the two different genres of music, as he claims that he thought of A New Place 2 Drown as a hip hop album rather than the dark alternative/jazz sound of 6 Feet Beneath the Moon.

Marshall took to NTS Radio, hosted by Mount Kimbie, and released two songs under the name Edgar the Beatmaker.

The first song is untitled, and the second is titled "When and Why".

His third album, The Ooz, was released on 13 October 2017 and his fourth album, Man Alive!, was released on 21 February 2020 both to further critical acclaim.

His music blends elements of punk jazz with hip hop, darkwave, trip hop and post-punk.

Archy Marshall was born to Rachel Howard and Adam Marshall in Southwark, London.

He has family in the Czech Republic.

During an interview with The Guardian's Rob Fitzpatrick, Marshall said that from a young age, he experienced discipline issues and refused to go to school.

Throughout his childhood, he spent much of his time between his father's house in Peckham and his mother's house in East Dulwich; his mother was much less strict than his father, who had many rules.

Marshall recalls that his father had to physically carry him to school, otherwise he would skip and hide in his room.

Once he turned 13 years old, he was given a private house tutor.

He was later accepted into the Brit School to study art, where he struggled with discipline initially, but soon found his place.

Marshall has said that he was tested for several mental health conditions at London's Maudsley Hospital.

He claims that the tests took a toll on him; that the doctors, counsellors and psychiatrists were wrong most of the time; that he hated everybody; and that he would hide in his room for hours on end.

He refers to his mental health issues, such as depression and insomnia, in some of his lyrics.

During an interview with NPR, Marshall recalled that he often created art in many different media, as his parents encouraged creativity throughout his childhood.

He noted that visual art in particular is important to him, and he mentioned that he carefully crafts his music videos and album art such that they reflect his particular aesthetic sensibility.

In August 2017, Marshall released a new song entitled "Czech One".

In September 2017, Marshall released a new song entitled "Dum Surfer", released under the name King Krule.

On 13 October, Marshall released his second full album The Ooz under King Krule.

It included the singles released in the previous two months as well as 17 new songs.