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Photo: Richard Mwanthi

With bone-chilling vocals and lyrics that bare full skin, Oakland’s King Isis debut EP scales is her flag on the moon: bold, declarative, and here to stay.

The lovechild of Nilüfer Yanya and Willow, King Isis is claiming her space in the indie rock community, leaving us with no choice but to make room. Most debut projects aren’t as cohesive as scales, which speaks to the lifetimes that live within her musical ability. 

A queer afro-futurist, King Isis' music is just as fluid as her gender; she bends the rules, adding indie-pop and R&B to smooth the harsh edges of confining genres. With a voice as gentle as it is haunting, she explores the hidden depths of feeling we stray from confronting. Even referencing shadow integration in “14187 (the only one),” there’s a sense of spiritual awareness you find threaded through the project. With a name that honors the Egyptian Goddess who sheds light in the underworld as well as her great-great-grandmother Omega King, it’s only right that King Isis embodies that same notion. “Her name holds a lot of power in my house and in my family,” Isis reflects, “A big part of the reason my artist name incorporates hers is to remind me that there is power in my voice, that music has always been a deep-rooted part of me, and to keep going.” 

“im fine, thx 4 asking” gives language to the feeling of wanting to live in another set of skin, yet settling in the triumph of deciding you get to live on anyway. It’s an intimate look into the glorious mess of her personal journey, and a chance to feel less alone in yours.

‘I’m fine thx 4 asking’ comes from moments of self-doubt and self-destruction, traversing through a place of hopelessness to hopefulness," shares King Isis. "This slump is expressed through the verses, like a cloud of dissociation, but then you’re slapped in the face with a punchy chorus that represents a breakthrough moment of clarity and realization. So now you’re kinda like wait — I think I can get through this — I know it’s gonna take a lot of work but I swear I can do this. It is the moment of realizing that you have the agency to let go of your demons and work with your shadows, not against them.”

At first listen, scales rings similar to Demi Lovato’s 2008 album Don’t Forget, mirroring as a vulnerable debut project that met what was expected of them with much more raunch and grit, giving so many societal defiers a chance to come alive. Sitting at only six tracks, you’re left wanting more from King Isis’ story, though it is one evidently still being written.

Listen to scales below: