King Yosef On Tour This Month With HEALTH…
Effortlessly oscillating between industrial, noise, metal, electronica and beyond, American producer and visionary artist KING YOSEF coats industrial hardcore and metal with razor-sharp edges. Whether producing for the likes of Ski Mask the Slump God, co-producing and developing artists such as Zheani, Ghrins and Punishment Suite, crafting his own solo creations, or working on his bustling side projects. In 2025, King Yosef released a brand new album, Spire Of Fear, adding to his growing collection of releases that includes 2023’s An Underlying Hum, 2021’s A Skeleton Key in the Doors of Depression, 2017’s Fortune Teller, and additional EPs, remixes and more. Spire Of Fear was written and produced by King Yosef himself, along with mixing by Converge’s Kurt Ballou and Alan Douches on mastering making for one of those must listen albums. King Yosef (aka Tayves Yosef Pelletier) speaks to Rob Lyon about what’s in store on this Australian tour.
It’s inside a month until you head to Australia, is the excitement building?
Yeah, I don’t like flying, so that part sucks. But other than that, I’m super excited. I’m excited to get back down there and play some new songs. So much has changed in the setup of what we’re doing since we’ve been there, whole album came out, we’ve done so much touring, so I’m super excited.
It’s been a massive year for you touring. How have you found it, and have you been surprised by audiences around the world?
I’ve been very surprised. I try to have very little expectations, just play the gratitude game of “it’s crazy that I’m here, it’s crazy that I get to play music.” When you’re thousands of miles away and people show up with shirts you don’t know how they got, or they already have the album, or they sing the lyrics… every single time it’s a blessing. It’s always surprising and makes me very excited. The last year and a half has been crazy for us in that way.
Does it feel like the hard work is finally starting to pay off?
Yeah, it does. This is one of the first times I haven’t felt the need to immediately go do something. Normally I put out a record, we tour, and then I’m like, “Okay, I should’ve already started writing the next one, I need to beat myself at my own game.” It’s not that I’m not working hard, I just feel like I get to put my focus on other things now that the hard work has paid off and people are coming to gigs, people are paying attention. Now I can focus on the record label I run, make sure that gets its feet. I don’t have to be as stressed. I can dial in on all the things I want to do because people are starting to understand more where I’m coming from.
It must be good not having that level of stress, being able to focus on other things?
I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this way, to be honest. All my friends would tell you I’m a workaholic and even when I say this, just because I don’t have a new King Yosef album ready, I have like seven side projects with music going at all times. It’s more like I feel I’ve walked up part of the mountain and everyone’s like, “It’s cool, you’re at this part now, you can wait to continue your trek later.”
It must be hard being inside your own head with seven side projects. I was reading about the ambient and electronic works you did with Wound Culture. How does it feel to have that much going on, that many outlets for your music?
That’s funny, nobody’s ever put it that way. But yeah, it’s kind of psychotic. For me, the discovery in creation is what gets me excited. King Yosef has parameters nowadays, not in a negative way, but I have to innovate within the boundaries I’ve set. So when I start new projects or side projects, it’s like chasing the dragon, the high of finishing a new song. You’re like, “Oh, I forgot how good it feels to finish music.” Trying new things expands everything. It’s like working on a car, you read a manual about fuel pumps, and suddenly you understand something you didn’t before. Then you go back to the car and it makes more sense.
Everything reinforms King Yosef and it’s nice to have low pressure zones where I can let off steam and go further down the rabbit hole.
I think it’s incredible that you can have all these different ideas and none of them get wasted, they can become side projects.
That’s the other thing, why would I write music and not release it? If it doesn’t make sense for King Yosef, I just put it somewhere else. Apparently I needed to write it, so I might as well put it out.
This Australian tour with HEALTH is a stacked line-up, really complimentary acts that, on paper, just seem to work so well?
We toured with HEALTH in 2024, same within a couple months of the last time we were down there, and it was awesome. HEALTH crowds are awesome, HEALTH’s music is awesome, and they’re cool people to tour with. Sonically, everything works together. When I got sent the line-up, I was like, “Oh yeah, of course.” As someone who listens to this kind of music, it all lines up perfectly. I love tours where you get all the pieces of the pie, but each slice has its own flavour.
It must make it that much easier touring with people you absolutely love to bits?
Oh yeah, one hundred percent. The HEALTH crew were nothing but nice to us. When we toured with them in the States, it was such a big production compared to what we were used to, DIY touring back in the day and all that. They were so kind, especially as headliners, always looking out for us. They’re good people, easy to be around. When you go to work every day and everyone you work with is fun, good to talk to, good energy, it’s great.
And you’re here in Australia as well, it doesn’t get much better than that?
That’s true. That’s true.
From last time compared to this time, what do you see as the differences in the live setup?
New songs, way more touring under our belt. From the time of King Yosef’s conception to the first Australia run, we’ve played that many shows again since then, plus like twenty more. We’re way more dialled in. The new songs translate live in a way I’m really proud of. The setup is different, we’ve tightened all the screws, everything flows, everything does more. There’s more experience, more confidence, and a lot less “fighting the pill,” like we talked about.
It’s hard to believe one year of Spire of Fear has already ticked over one year. You’ve got to be feeling pretty chuffed about that?
It’s pretty crazy. I can’t believe the year went by like it was nothing. But I think I did well enough for myself on Spire of Fear that the year didn’t stress me out. I’m like, “Oh, it can live, it can breathe.” I don’t need to immediately follow it up. I put so much into it, and people are still being so kind about it, that I get to revel in it and let it live. I can’t believe it’s been a year, it feels like a lifetime because of how much we’ve done.
It must bring a whole other level of satisfaction writing it, producing it, doing it all yourself?
My friends would tell you I’m insane, but your wins are your greatest wins, and your losses are your own losses. That record was one of those times where I trusted myself and it panned out. It was confidence‑building, not ego, just a pat on my own back. I can trust myself, feel confident in my abilities, be less doubtful. That record surpassed all expectations.
Are you able to enjoy listening to it like a fan, headphones on, in the car or spinning the vinyl?
I re‑listened to all of Spire of Fear maybe a month ago. Before a tour, I’ll re‑listen and think, “What do I want to play this time?” The last time I listened, all I felt was intimidation. I was like, “How did I do this? How am I going to do this again?” I blew myself away. I told a friend, “I don’t know what I was cooking. There’s a lot of insane things in there I don’t know how I even thought of.” He was like, “Yeah, man… there’s a lot going on.”
You’ve set the bar very high. Does that get you thinking about how you’ll approach the next album?
I tried not to think about it, but now that I’ve spent the time, the vision has outlined itself. After going down there, I’ll have months off, that gives me the space to do the next version of what I think is going to happen. I think I know what I need to do now.
Do you feel a little pressure, given you’ve set it pretty high for yourself?
Yeah, but anytime I feel pressure, I beat my head against the wall the other direction. If the expectation is “be more this or that,” I’ll go the opposite way. I’ll do exactly what I think I should do.
And the silver lining is, if it doesn’t become King Yosef, it becomes a side project.
Spire of Fear was the example of that. I used to get stressed about how I wrote music, but Spire of Fear was me saying: whatever I write is King Yosef, because I’m King Yosef. If in five years King Yosef is a drum‑machine acoustic project where I sing sad ambient songs, that makes sense, that’s just the progression of my life. If the next project is really aggressive, that makes sense too. Whatever I write is whatever King Yosef is.
You mentioned you’ve got months off, do you actually get to switch off and do something non‑music‑related?
Absolutely not. When I’m not doing this, I’m running Bleak House, my record label. I love it, it’s growing, but I basically turn on my graphic designer/office admin hat. Lots of logistical backend work. I get to listen to music and participate without writing it, but I’m never free of music. My free time is running, gym, Muay Thai, but even then I’m listening to music, demos, everything.
While the ideas keep coming, you’ve got to make hay while the sun shines?
A hundred percent. You never know when those ideas are going to stop.
Interview By Rob Lyon
Catch King Yosef on tour withy HEALTH and Perturbator, tickets from Destroy All Lines…
