King Dude - The dark light of folk

With his latest release “Full Virgo Moon” (out via Not Just Religious Music and Ván Records) still fresh in mind, we caught up with Thomas Jefferson Cowgill, better known in the music world as King Dude. He's one of the noblest standard-bearers of dark/neofolk, always surrounded by and drawn to the most varied artistic contexts. From 2010's “Tonight’s Special Death” onward, the Seattle, Washington musician, armed with a guitar (sometimes classical, sometimes electric) and the blackest, most brooding of auras, has led us through a dark and intriguing world. In a universe where Sesso, Love and Terror walk hand in hand with Lucifer, King Dude has established himself as one of the most compelling voices on the scene. And not only that. Alternating gentle tones with roaring rage, and stripped-down acoustic moments with unstoppable rock rattling, King Dude has enriched an already significant career through collaborations with Chelsea Wolfe and Julee Cruise, just to name a couple. The biography on his official website (an acronym of his famous song “Lucifer’s The Light Of The World”) reads: “King Dude is a blue-eyed Mephistopheles with an acoustic guitar; he dresses like Johnny Cash and sings as if he were standing before Robert Johnson at that crossroads. (…) Drawing inspiration from folk-country and blues, both American and British (with a background in heavy metal), King Dude's raw, hypnotic hymns channel the past while looking straight ahead to a revelatory future”. Here's the conversation, which began on one of the many lockdown days brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

You've done a lot of interviews in your career: is there anything you still haven't been asked that you'd like to talk about?

I'm sure it's there, but I wouldn't know what it would be. I'll let you be the one to ask.

What are you listening to and what do you suggest we do to pass the time during this quarantine? Any books, films, TV series you've gotten into lately?

I'm listening to some podcasts, mostly true crime stuff. I like Casefile and This American Life. Kind of classic comfort podcasts that I play in the background while I paint. Mostly I've been painting. I decided to make some blood paintings and sell them, instead of sitting around watching movies all day. And it's turned out to be really great, the fan response has been overwhelming.

Can you tell us a bit about the latest "Full Virgo Moon"? In some ways, a return to your roots.

Yes, I agree. Not just in the sound but in the approach. I wrote and recorded the album in about two weeks, in January. So getting it out in March was incredibly fast. Plus it was released on Friday the 13th of March, which was the week of the full moon in Virgo and the start of a worldwide pandemic. Truly magical timing.

2010 – 2020: the first ten years of King Dude's career…

I never planned on doing this for more than ten years. I'm behind schedule.

In Italy some topics are taboo, can you explain your Luciferian faith?

Not so much here, that would take centuries. If you're interested in what I consider my faith, I'd recommend reading up on Gnosticism. Specifically the Cathars and the beliefs they held.

How do your lyrics come about? Do you write them in one go? How much do you work on them? Does the music come first, after, or at the same time?

It's a mix of all these things. Sometimes I start with an idea for the lyrics, other times I start with the music. Sometimes I write a whole song in half an hour, other times it takes years. It just depends on the song.

Black metal (TJ was in Book of Black Earth, born out of the earlier Teen Cthulhu), neofolk — these are music scenes often tied to extremism, with plenty of controversies and cancelled shows (I remember your statements about the cancellation of the tour with Taake): what's your current position on all this?

I don't consider myself extreme in any way, but I don't think a real extremist would consider themselves one. I imagine an "extremist" considers their own worldview or ideology to be pretty sound. Being an extremist isn't a title you give yourself, it's given to you by the rest of society. For instance, Charles Manson considered himself the only sane person in the room. Unfortunately for him, the rest of the world disagreed.

I read that one of your goals is to create the most terrifying music out there: which songs do you think you've achieved that with?

I said that about an album called "Fear". That's no longer my goal. I'm not sure I even managed it anyway, the songs on that album aren't exactly what I'd call terrifying.

What's a topic, an idea you have in mind that you haven't managed to turn into a song yet?

That's a secret for you to discover.

I'm writing to you from my city, Rome, and it made me think back to your partnership with Death in Rome: any new collaborations?

I'm working with Albin Julius of Der Blutharsch on some new songs, they're sounding great so far! I've also been working closely with Erin Powell of Awen on a 7" split: that's sounding great too.

What will the next concept be?

Keeping a close eye on my previous releases, you could quickly guess the name and theme of my next record. Many people already have…

Any updates from Actual Pain (for those who don't know, King Dude also runs a clothing line)?

Nothing new to report. When I'm inspired, I'll do something new. As usual.

I remember when you talked about the message you sent to Kim Larsen on MySpace: what's the real impact social media has had on King Dude as an artist?

For better or worse, they made King Dude what he is. If it hadn't been for social media, nobody would have listened to him. And for that I'm grateful. I still hate social media and the exchanges people have there, especially on Facebook. It's been the ruin of society. In the New Testament, Matthew 5:5 says "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth": he knew he was speaking to the powerless masses and the foolish idiots writing in the comments section of some stupid website.

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