King Midas Sound

A collaboration between producer Kevin Martin (God, Techno Animal, the Bug) and distinctive vocalists Roger Robinson and Kiki Hitomi, King Midas Sound surfaced in 2007 with a track on the Soul Jazz compilation Box of Dub. “Surround Me,” an alluring and bleary dirge between dub and (heartbroken) lovers rock, set the tone for what followed. KMS linked with Kode9’s Hyperdub label, where they made their proper debut in October 2008 with “Cool Out,” a relatively rugged A-side backed by remixes (of tracks that had yet to be released) from Dabrye and Flying Lotus. Another 12”, Dub Heavy: Hearts & Ghosts, came in June 2009, containing dub versions of tracks that — once again — had not been released in original form. The despondent “Meltdown” led off October 2009’s 5 Years of Hyperdub compilation and previewed Waiting for You, King Midas Sound's debut album, released the following month. The set featured some of Martin’s most adventurous and accessible production work, greatly enhanced by Robinson and Hitomi. Quieter on the release front, 2010 saw only a single for “Lost” backed by a "revoicing" of “Cool Out” from Pupajim, but the group put in time on the performance front with several live appearances, including a set at Sonar, where the material took on a more aggressive form. Respected contemporaries and inspirations such as Mala, Kuedo, D-Bridge, Cooly G, Hype Williams, and Green Gartside (Scritti Politti) were commissioned to contribute “reworkings” and “revoicings” for Without You, released the following November.