Self-Portrait: King Tuff

Artwork by Mickey Miles

In our new series, Self-Portrait, we invite our favorite musicians to create an audio depiction of themselves through songs from the past and present.

Kyle Thomas, better known as King Tuff, has self-propelled his career to the heights of the garage rock boom and endured as a household name through his magical touch as an engineer, producer, and shapeshifting songwriter. His latest record, Smalltown Stardust out this month on Sub Pop, centers focus on the allure of nature, youthfulness, and love and their role in his artwork and spirituality. Thomas bestows a wide-ranging suite of symbolic songs for his creative inclinations. Sparkly radio hits like “Manic Monday” meld into short-fused punk staples and glamourous T. Rex and Bowie ballads settle into astral phantasies with Alice Coltrane and Terry Riley.