Troy Kingi - Single Review: Babylon Grows
The first I’ve heard of this concept 10/10/10 (ten albums in ten genres over ten years) and it’s a very cool challenge for this talented artist to set, the next installment will be called Holy Colony Burning Acres which delves into the dark corners of worldly indigenous issues and politics, weighty subject matter indeed. First cab off the rank is single/video Babylon Grows.
Diving into Bob Marley territory is never an easy thing to pull off, but these guys nail it. Even with its short running time of a mere 2:30 seconds this song still manages to pack a punch. Troy’s soulful vocal delivery underpinned by lush melodies really hits that sweet note, and with its catchy chorus Babylon Grows does indeed grow on you with repeated listening. His band The Upperclass are right on point, tight and playing with enough space to let Troy's vocal delivery shine through.
The video is simple and straight to the point, fire cascades throughout, I assume to coincide with the burning acres title theme from his forthcoming album. Troy is super imposed in silhouette as is an indigenous dancer throughout over beautiful world nature backdrops, it’s a simple mechanism but works very well to paint the picture.
Worth a mention is b-side Truganini. The song kicks off with an aboriginal man speaking as Troy soulfully sings over a sparse acoustic guitar, with laid back barely there drums this one has a stripped back Trinity Roots vibe. Truganini is a soulful spiritual lullaby that celebrates the life of the woman and her struggles and enduring strength, she was believed to be the last full-blooded Aboriginal Tasmanian.
I really enjoyed these tunes and look forward to hearing more once his third album drops.
About Troy Kingi
Described by the New Zealand Herald as “One of our finest Songwriters ”, Kingi rose to fame after the release of his first two multi-award-winning albums Guitar Party at Uncles Bach and Shake That Skinny Ass All the Way to Zygertron, along with memorable major roles in Kiwi films including ‘Hunt For The Wilderpeople’, ‘The Pa Boys’, ‘Mt Zion’ and ‘The Breaker Upperers’.
Since then he has gone on to roles in multiple New Zealand Films, TV Series, and television commercials.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Troy Kingi
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