ka lok drops debut single

Canada-based artist ka lok has spent years making music, touring and recording with other artist friends such as Bears in Hazenmore, Megan Nash and Wolf Willow. During lockdown, while living in Regina, Saskatchewan, he spent time reliving his childhood by eating spicy shin black ramen and replaying the Halo 2 campaign over and over and when he found himself unable to make music with his friends, he started to create his own original compositions as a much needed creative outlet.

Taking influence from the likes of James Blake, Moses Sumney, Jon Hopkins, Bon Iver, and Yaeji, he also looks to cinematic scores for inspiration when creating his own work. Now ready to unveil his project, he brings us his debut track with the new single titled “Opium Boy”.

Written about the artist’s anxiety at the peak of the pandemic in 2020, as well as the resurgence of racism that he’d not experienced since his school years, with “Opium Boy”, ka lok shares an emotive exploration of his feeling and vulnerabilities, using the track as a therapeutic vehicle to rationalise challenging times. With a nod back to the pain he’d experienced growing up, the song’s title was the nickname he was given by older students in his school based on connotations to the opium problems that China suffered between the 17th to the 20th century.

Blending powerful drums, soaring lead vocal lines and a driving arrangement of brass, violins and synthesisers, with “Opium Boy”, ka lok drops an angsty and charged sound that serves to demonstrate his talents as a songwriter and performer. Full of punching rhythm, ka lok’s debut single offers a compelling sound of cinematic alternative pop on this worthy debut effort that builds excitement around his new solo artist adventure.

Listen to Opium Boy below

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