Kungs
Origin: France
Kungs (pronounced Koongs), aka Valentin Brunel, is a fresh-faced producer from the south of France. He started his musical career with a djembe gifted by his parents to him at the age of five. From these early days Valentin could spend entire afternoons listening to Rock’n’Roll classics with his father. From The Who to The Kooks with many in-between, this essential listening forged the first steps to Kungs inspiration as an artist. As a name that has already exploded across the dance pop spectrum and for a fresh, unique European talent that is only still 21, he possesses a musical gift that is only set to springboard to extortionate new heights.
His unavoidable, global hit of a track ‘This Girl’ – a remake of a smooth, underground funk track from Australian trio Cookin’ On 3 Burners – took the soulful, high vocals of the original and injected a deep house, sunshine-filled vibe that rippled from Europe, to the US and beyond. Taking #1 accolades across an eye-popping 45 countries including his native France, and dozens of Top 10 placements across Austria, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland; Kungs’s success came in the blink of an eye, but make no mistake, he’s no one trick pony.
Pre- ‘This Girl’, Kungs clocked up recognition via his SoundCloud with streams in the tens of millions, mainstage behemoths in the dance music world including Axwell / Ingrosso and Lost Frequencies, tapping up his crisp sound for remix duties on some of their hottest hits. With the release of his debut artist album ‘Layers’ in 2016, shifting over ½ million copies and counting with a platinum status to boot, Kungs is already working on his next collection of stellar tracks with a new full-length in the planning. Whilst the first of his new singles will be ‘Be Right Here’, a collaboration with production/song writing duo Stargate, in time for early Summer 2018, following a zig-zag of studio sessions held in LA and Paris.
Also winning awards that anyone decades into their career would be proud of, Kungs managed to claim with his uniqueness and talent a scoop for ‘Best Electro Album Of The Year’ at the Les Victoires de la musique – a French prize comparable to the Grammys – as well as NRJ Awards for ‘DJ of The Year’ and ‘Best French DJ’, beating David Guetta and DJ Snake to the accolade.
With a hugely impressive live show that has taken him to perform sets at the World’s greatest events and venues; Coachella, Tomorrowland, ULTRA Miami, EDC, Parookaville, Ministry Of Sound and Bootshaus representing just a needle in a haystack, Kung’s broad of spectrum of sound and universal appeal only keeps on multiplying exponentially. Working closely with prestigious British Fashion house Paul Smith at Paris Fashion Week appearing to guest on shows and beyond into styling ventures with the iconic brand, only further confirms his diversity as an artist that spans music-lovers, tend-forecasters, fashion-devotees and more across the broad culture paradigm, Kungs stands strong at the centre of this with a unique cocktail of sizzling hits and rare talent.
