Daily Dose: King Tuff, “Psycho Star” (Tune-Yards Remix)
Photo by Olivia Bee Music Features King Tuff
Daily Dose is your daily source for the song you absolutely, positively need to hear every day. Curated by the Paste Music Team.
King Tuff’s 2018 album The Other is one of Paste’s favorite records of the year so far and beginning in just a few days, on Monday, Aug. 12, Kyle Thomas heads out on a world tour in support of his acclaimed new LP. In celebration of those shows, Thomas has shared the Tune-Yards remix of The Other’s second single, “Psycho Star.”
Thomas says he considers Tune-Yards mastermind Merrill Garbus, whom he personally recruited to remix his single, “one of [his] oldest and dearest friends.” Garbus and “beautiful bass babe Nate Brenner … have brought my song into the chaos dimension, a place that turns you inside out and makes your guts dance like breaking glass,” he adds.
“The last time Merrill and I collaborated was almost 15 years ago in our reggae band Baked Earth,” Thomas recalls. “So happy to be reunited in the dub zone with her here again!”
It’s apt that Thomas can’t quite pin Tune-Yards’ remix down between the chaos dimension and the dub zone: After all, surreality is the order of the day in the upbeat rework, which opens with King Tuff’s looped incantation of “chaos and confusion” before flying forward with propulsive drums and Brenner’s deft bass playing. Thomas later sings, “We don’t belong in this world,” a problem Tune-Yards opt to solve by transporting us to another.
King Tuff’s world tour begins in Cornwall, England, taking him across Europe and stopping in Manchester, London, Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam along the way. Soon after, he’ll return to the States for a 21-date run, with 17 shows supporting his Sub Pop labelmate Father John Misty. That U.S. run kicks off on Sept. 12 in Las Vegas, wrapping on Oct. 13 in Lexington, Ky.
Listen to the “Psycho Star” remix below and revisit Paste’s 2015 interview with King Tuff further down. Keep scrolling for the artist’s world tour dates.
King Tuff Tour Dates:
August
12 – Newquay, U.K. @ Boardmasters Festival
13 – Manchester, U.K. @ Night People *
14 – Glasgow, U.K. @ Broadcast *
16 – London, U.K. @ Moth Club *
17 – Brecon Beacons (Wales), U.K. @ Greenman Festival
18 – Hasselt, Belgium @ Pukkelpop
19 – Saint Malo, France @ La Route De Rock
21 – Paris, France @ Point Ephemere *
22 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Zurich Open Air
23 – Berlin, Germany @ KANTINE AM BERGHAIN *
24 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Sugar Factory *
28 – Petaluma, Calif. @ Lagunitas Brewing Company (@Lagunas Amphitheater)
September
12 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ Bunkhouse Saloon
15 – Fort Collins, Colo. @ Hodi’s Half Note
17 – Kansas City, Mo. @ The Riot Room
18 – Madison, Wis. @ Orpheum Theatre $
20 – Milwaukee, Wis. @ Pabst Theater $
21 – Indianapolis, Ind. @ MacAllister Amphitheater @ Garfield Park $
22 – Cleveland, Ohio @ Agora Theatre $
23 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Smiling Moose
25 – Charlottesville, Va. @ Sprint Pavilion $
26 – Charlotte, N.C. @ Fillmore Charlotte $
28 – Miami, Fla. @ Fillmore Miami $
29 – Orlando, Fla. @ Hard Rock Live $
October
01 – Athens, Ga. @ Georgia Theatre $
02 – Athens, Ga. @ Georgia Theatre $
03 – Birmingham, Ala. @ Iron City $
05 – Mobile, Ala. @ The Merry Widow
06 – New Orleans, La. @ Civic Theater $
09 – Knoxville, Tenn. @ The Mill & Mine $
10 – Oxford, Miss. @ Lyric Theater $
12 – Greenville, S.C. @ Fall for Greenville
13 – Lexington, Ky. @ Burl $
($ – w/ Father John Misty)
(* – w/ SASAMI)