Kings ponders his rise to the top in his studio. Photo / Dean Purcell
Kings ponders his rise to the top in his studio. Photo / Dean Purcell
Musician Kingdon Chapple-Wilson, known as "Kings", broke Lorde's record for the most weeks at No.1 in the New Zealand Artists Top 20 when his debut single Don't Worry 'Bout It spent 33 consecutive weeks at the top. The Northcote dad spoke about dreaming big at this month's Official New Zealand Music Month Summit.
1. What were you like as a child?
I was an ADD kid, really fidgety and naughty. I was in anger management counselling for three years. My dad wasn't in the picture so Mum raised the three of us by herself. It was tough - she was working two jobs at one point. I had a lot of anger about Dad and I found it hard to express my emotions. It's hard to imagine now. I don't get angry at all. People think I'm stoned all the time but I'm just relaxed.
2. When did you reconnect with your father?
When I was 15, I did a course where I learned how to say what I really wanted so I contacted Dad and told him I loved him and hated him. It turned out that what I thought was him not caring about me was actually more about his squabble with Mum but as a kid you don't know that. Luckily, I was able to shed a lot of that crap and from there our friendship flourished. We're really close now. We're both stubborn, good debaters, we both love boxing. He helped me train for a fight two years ago. My love of electronic music comes from Dad, too.
3. You gave a speech on "dreaming big"' at this month's Official New Zealand Music Month Summit. Has dreaming big always come naturally to you?
I've had good mentors. My granddad Arnold Manaaki Wilson was a pioneer in contemporary Maori art. He always spoke in metaphors and this kind of Yoda-like way. He and Nan spent years building the North Shore's first pan-tribal urban marae, Awataha. The whole idea behind it is manaakitanga - sharing our culture with visitors. My other granddad Don Chapple, Mum's adopted dad, was a conservationist who replanted the Atawhai Whenua Reserve on Waiheke Island. He lived without electricity and had a cool perspective on life, which he shared with me. I get my work ethic and drive from Dad. He's here at the marae working every day.
4. How did you learn music?
I taught myself. At Northcote College I'd always have detentions for wagging. The deputy principal let me do them in the music room. I'd play around on the guitars, drums and keyboards, watch friends, ask them how to do things. As soon as I turned 15 I quit school and went to Mainz school of music and audio engineering. I stupidly did a course in performance but I taught myself how to use the production suites in my lunchtimes. Production is probably my strength.
5. Why did you set up your own record company with your dad at age 19?
Dad's friend "General Lee" was putting together a Ministry of Sound compilation. He came into my studio here at the marae and liked my music but said before I went any further I should start a business so I controlled the copyright on my own intellectual property. He hooked me up with George FM, where I did a lot of collaborations with musicians like Dan Aux, Bulletproof. I didn't see any money for those but it was a way to get my name out there.
6. You became a father at age 20. Was it hard to establish your music career while juggling parenting?
Yes. But I wouldn't change it for anything. We live with my dad and stepmum and I couldn't have done it without them. After I'd put Vali to bed each night I'd go to the studio 'til 4am, come home, sleep for a few hours, get up and do it all over again. About three years in, that routine was killing me. I applied for a job at Countdown but Dad said "No, you can't stop now". I'm so grateful for that moment. Without that talk my life would've been a lot different.
Kings has come to terms with his relationship with his father. Photo / Dean Purcell
7. When did you make the breakthrough that proved music could be your career?
About two years ago I got a contract to produce music for TV commercials in Malaysia. The fact someone was willing to pay for my work made me realise I was getting somewhere. I've done lots of different freelance work for them including the score for a feature film - a psychological thriller about a guy who's losing his mind. It was weird and cool.
8. Your first single as a solo artist, Don't Worry 'Bout It, went platinum and broke the NZ artists chart record. When did you release the video and how did that assist sales?
I came up with the idea to shoot my own video when I went to Fiji to play at the Blue Sky music festival. The video was just going to be for family and friends. I edited it on my phone on the plane trip home and put it up on YouTube a couple of weeks later. Dan Aux started playing it on George FM and when he linked the video to their website it just started to fly like crazy. Every major record label starting hitting me up - Capitol in America, all the labels in New Zealand, Sony, Universal, Warners. It was crazy. "We'll give you this. We'll give you that."
9. Did you have a manager at that time?
No, and I was about to sign a crazy deal, too. Luckily, J Bulletproof from GeorgeFM said, "Bro, before you frickin sign anything, get a manager!" He introduced me to Matt Headland who ripped up that original contract and got me a bunch of better ones. He just won Breakthrough Manager of the Year at the NZ Music Manager Awards. Without him I'd probably have none of my publishing rights or masters.
10. Why bother with a record company deal these days?
Yeah, I'd like to think I could've gone it alone. I was already getting paid for the single because I'd set it up as an independent release on TuneCore. The benefit of the record companies was the incredible reach of their distribution network in such a quick amount of time. I'm glad we did it. What I've learned in this past year is priceless.
11. What's next for you musically?
It's funny, for my second release I got asked to do another Don't Worry 'Bout It but I was like "Na, I don't want to". What We S'posed to Do was a Prince-style funk pop that didn't even hit radio but I just didn't care. It's probably how I'm going to be my entire career. In my new album I'm working on, I talk a lot about my past. There's a song about my dad. Shopping Spree is about having more money than I used to have.
12. What's your biggest splash-out from your earnings?
I've blown money on stupid things like a giant $300 Darth Vader for my studio. I spoil the crap out of the kids. My partner has a son and I have a daughter. We spent four or five grand in one day on a shopping spree, followed by a restaurant meal, movies and ice creams. Having money after having nothing does change your mindset. I've got myself a good accountant because I need to prepare for the future and I don't want to f*** it up.
