‘King of Joy’ is a delightful low-fi dreamy track – clocking at a brief one minute thirty seconds that leaves you yearning for more. It has the gently, fey delivery that brings to mind that distinctive Dunedin sound – gentle, melancholic pop. Aotearoa/New Zealand artist Pickle Darling (the nome de plume of Lukas Mayo) has released something that glitters in the southern hemisphere light, understated yet anthemic.
Mayo says of the track;
‘King Of Joy’ was the first of the new batch of songs I was working on after I finished my last album, Cosmonaut. After an album that felt quite ambitious and laboured over, it felt refreshing to start making things that felt more immediate. I started trying to finish songs as quickly as possible, sticking to the core idea that initially grabbed me and being careful not to overwork it or stamp out the initial spark. I had a similar approach with the video for ‘King Of Joy’, I made it when I got COVID so I was just seeing what I could make just in my room in one day when I was losing my mind.
The accompanying video is charming, self-deprecating and suitably reflective of the track: low-fi yet absorbing and completely immersive:
It’s no wonder that Pickle Darling caught the attention of US label Father/Daughter Records and is set to perform in Austin Texas at the 2023 SXSW Festival in March.
Founder and owner of Father/Daughter, Jessi Frick comments:
We are so excited to be working with Pickle Darling! I first fell in love with the immediate nature of their music. Every song feels like a blink of an eye or a deep inhale–the joys of humanity that are easily taken for granted if you don’t stop to appreciate them. Lukas is a prolific songwriter and an awesome person and we can’t wait to help share more Pickle Darling with the world.
‘King of Joy can be downloaded and streamed here and through the link below.
Feature Photograph: Nick Robinson
