Step into the Kingdom

PUT Tame Impala and BB King in a blender and the result might taste a lot like Canadian singer-songwriter Tennyson King, who’s touring Tasmania next week. Tennyson King is the latest project of Toronto-based musician Alfred Chow, who was born in Hong Kong before moving to Canada at the age of two. Chow was forced by his parents to learn piano, before quitting at 15 and teaching himself to play guitar instead. He became an in-demand collaborator for a variety of bands, spanning an array of genres and styles, including jazz, hip-hop, classical, reggae and rock.

Now he has gone solo and launched the Tennyson King project, recently releasing a self-titled EP that brings together the emotional intensity of the blues with psychedelic elements and a ’70s rock sensibility.

“I wanted a big sound, with lots of instruments and unique sounds all happening together,” Chow says.

“It’s not just a guy playing guitar — there’s intricate melodies and instrumentation that really works with the message of the songs and the emotion they convey.

“There is definitely a bluesy base to it, but the music is hard to define. I have been calling it either psychedelic folk rock or psychedelic blues rock. And I think I am expanding genres with Tennyson King.”

The Tennyson King Tasmanian tour begins with two shows in Launceston next week: at The Kingsway from 7pm on Tuesday, and at the Royal Oak from 9pm on Wednesday.

He then heads South for three shows: at the Republic Bar in North Hobart from 8.30pm on December 21; at Willie Smiths in Grove from 6.30pm on December 22; and finally on the Mona main stage from 1pm on December 23.