Coming straight out of Philadelphia, King Sol stands out to be a heavily underrated producer, with immense talent depicted in his craft. The producer shares a prolific library on his SoundCloud page, with each track possessing the ability to tap into our darkest emotions. At merely 18 years old, the young producer exhibits extensive depth in his sound that could surpass the talents of many mainstream producers. There is a beautiful wave of music steadily growing on the internet of a more avante-garde trap style, with artists such as Medasin, Losco and josh pan showing more experimentation in their works. King Sol takes this to another level, adding an introspective aspect in the samples chosen, constructing what I'll dub as a form of "Existential Trap." There is a distinct difference in developing an appealing "unique" sound and making music that speaks truly to the heart. King Sol's music is not simply unique, but acts as an extension of self in the purest form.
In King Sol's latest work, "David," he pays respect to his late grandfather through a 5-minute masterpiece. It begins with what seems to be a voice sample of philosopher Alan Watts over alluring string work. The intro is then interrupted by a blunt interruption of heavy insistent noise translucently wrapping over Watt's speech. Gradually, a hefty trap beat is exposed which quickly transitions to a bodied drum and bass insert, enveloping listeners in a hysteria of sound. The outro reveals itself as a perfect farewell to the track, with static muddling over climactic orchestral sounds and a distorted love tune, showcasing a tortured beauty of glitch and imperfection. King Sol ends the track with an impactful bass with a tempo that delays into a musical abyss.
"David"'s astute details showcase the multi-faceted skill of an artist to watch for, King Sol. The track embodies an inexpressible feeling, one present in a lostness of a dream, binding itself to the likes of an "Inception" style trip. The producer appears to be a mad scientist, approaching his art with a darker mentality and stringing together ingredients equal parts innovation and sentiment. Check out the tune below.
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