The Devil Is Real

King Dude’s highly anticipated new project premieres today April 30th, 2025.

TJ Cowgill of King Dude partners with Justin Pittney in a project that marks a shift toward deeper collaboration and shared creative vision. Rooted in years of mutual respect this music collaboration explores new sonic landscapes, challenging both their artistic limits and the listener’s expectations.

For over fifteen years TJ Cowgill has built a cult of followers around the globe under the name King Dude. His dark, cinematic songwriting has led to a dozen full-length albums, countless singles, and collaborations and tours with artists like Chelsea Wolfe, Amigo the Devil, Drab Majesty, Earth, and Ghost. In 2022, he released Death, the final King Dude studio album, and turned his attention to something new.

“It’s a single that feels both lived-in and possessed”

“I knew that whatever I did next,” Cowgill says, “I wanted it to be a collaboration – with someone I respect musically and who shares my sense of humor. I wanted to make music with someone I actually want to hang out with.” That someone turned out to be Justin Pittney, a longtime friend and collaborator. The two first connected in 2013 when Pittney recorded and produced King Dude’s Holy Trinity EP. What began as a studio experiment quickly evolved into a bond rooted in mutual respect and a shared taste for pushing boundaries.

“The Devil Is Real is just the beginning”

Now, with The Devil Is Real, their partnership takes center stage. Pittney – producer, multi-instrumentalist, and sonic architect – is behind the desk again, shaping the single with instrumentation, production, and arrangements that bring Cowgill’s haunting songwriting to life. It’s a single that feels both lived-in and possessed—the result of years of late-night texts, shared stages, and inside jokes.

Pittney has fronted the bands Residuels and Love City, touring with bands like Buzzcocks, Pierced Arrows, and The Sonics, and as friend and collaborator Iggy Pop puts it: “I first met Justin Pittney working on the Stooges music for a TV spot. I noticed he had a great feel for our music, and I enjoyed his company and his wit – and I still do.”

The Devil Is Real is just the beginning. What happens when two longtime conspirators give in fully to the chaos? We’re about to find out.

The Devil Is Real / King Dude

Credits:

Project: The Devil Is Real / @the.devil_is.real
Bandcamp: https://thedevilisreal.bandcamp.com/track/the-devil-is-real
Artists: King Dude / @kingdudemusic
Justin Pittney / @justinpittney
Uncle Luke Handsome / @glowingorbison
Produced by: Bibliomancers / @bibliomancers
Editor: Maria Abramenko  / @mariabramenko
Assistant Editor: Annalisa Fabbrucci / @annalisa_fabbrucci

You may also like

Jong Oh / Spatial experience

Art&Culture | Interview
The power of lightness and symmetry. Korean artist Jong Oh in conversation with Maria Abramenko.

A Collision of Souls / Gabriele Tinti & Abel Ferrara

Art&Culture | Interview
When poetry meets cinema, a profound fusion unfolds, each medium reflecting and amplifying the other. Milan’s BKV Gallery, steeped in mythological echoes and provocative art, provided the perfect backdrop for this unique soirée. In candid conversations, the artists peeled back the layers of their craft, sharing insights on storytelling, imagery, language, and the creative anxieties that shape their work.The exhibition will remain open for viewing until Saturday, 18 January, 2025.

Neon Dreamland / YanRan Chen

Art&Culture | Spotlight
Artist intertwines material and meaning, creating sculptures that carry the weight of absence and resilience. Her viscerally textured faces stand as silent witnesses to human fragility, where the surface itself becomes a record of beauty and rupture.
Hong Kong GardenValeriia