AT 19, MARCUS KING COULD CUT HEADS WITH THE BEST OF THEM, when he kicked-started his career in 2015 with Soul Insight, the number-eight hit debut album from his group, the Marcus King Band. So it might come as a surprise to learn that, nearly eight years later, he still spends time focusing on the basics.
“One of the main things that I work on these days is to constantly try to breathe a little more in my playing,” the electric-blues firebrand tells Guitar Player. “I try to think like a sax player — they need to take a breath. And that’s what helps the phrases and licks that you play on guitar stand out: when you take a pause between lines.”
“I needed to find a way to create my own identity as a player. I didn’t want to just sound like a diluted version of all the great guitarists that I was listening to”
It’s that sort of mindful approach that has guided the 26-year-old’s career over these recent years. After three albums with his Marcus King Band, King took a step in a different direction with his 2020 solo debut, . Working along with producer and co-writer Dan Auerbach, of the Black Keys, King focused more on the songs and his singing. The result was an album of electric blues tinged with southern soul that proved
