King Khan

Mon 14th Dec, 2009 in Features

King Khan is a Canadian of Indian descent living in Berlin, and that pan-cultural mix is also mirrored in the eclectic melting pot that comprises his music. The various strands of funk, soul, garage rock and psychedelic music all make up the diverse sound he creates with his eleven-piece band The Shrines.

Back in his hometown of Montreal for a visit, Arish Khan, just awake, needs a minute to splash some water on his face and request a cup of tea from his mum before settling down to chat about his various musical projects, the similarities between Montreal and Berlin and his affection for The Saints.

After a stint with the Canadian band The Spaceshits, Khan moved to Berlin in 1999. There he set about putting together his own band that could bring to life his vision of a freaked-out sound that took from the best elements of – œ60s and – œ70s music. Not wanting to hire studio musicians, he instead recruited players who had a specific approach to their instruments.

“I wanted to assemble my own magic band. I was only 21 at the time so it was a real challenge. I wanted to find not just a band but people I wanted to grow old with, like a family,” says Khan. “The players aren’t really people who wanted to be successful and make a lot of money, they just want to play music and have a great time. I don’t like studio musician’s type of playing. I wanted people who would add their own twist to the whole thing.”

Khan compares the spirit he was looking for with the rougher soul and funk of the American South. “I’ve always liked the spirit of New Orleans and its early – œ60s stuff like Eddie Bo and Professor Longhair so really, the mission of The Shrines is to spread the soul of New Orleans all over the world,” he pronounces. “I love the way people play on that stuff and on the Ethiopiques stuff. The musicians that play are a unit, not playing as individuals. It is important to play without an ego and I think the Shrines keep that pure feeling.”

Contemporary funk and soul music doesn’t particularly excite Khan. Much of it is uninspiring and often too precise and clinical. “Not to diss the Daptones, I like some Sharon Jones songs, but they are too purist for me; sounding too much like what James Brown would sound like.

“We go ape-shit. I love when my saxophone player goes spinning around and smashes himself in the face by mistake,” laughs Khan. “Usually the missing notes or weird beats are more entertaining or spiritual than having an antiseptic room. There is always room for disease and dirt.”

When Khan made the move to Berlin he left behind his hometown and it is friends, family and the city of Montreal that Khan misses the most. “Montreal is a real special place, I think it’s a pretty holy place,” he says. “Especially musically, it is really inspiring and the French/English thing has always added fuel to the creativity of the city.”

Khan’s passion for Montreal quickly becomes evident as he throws in some historical and astronomical events to try and explain what why the city is important to him. “Montreal is an island in the St Lawrence River and Lawrence was this guy in France [Rome actually] when Christianity was considered evil. The king [Roman Emperor – Valerian] asked him to renounce Jesus Christ and he refused to so they burnt him at the stake until he told them, – œI’m crisp on this side, It’s time to turn me over’ and everyone freaked out. It’s a pretty rebellious thing to say to someone when you are half burnt,’” explains Khan.

“Then they named a meteor shower after him called the – œFiery Tears of St Laurent’ and I’ve always said that because Montreal is an island surrounded by the – œFiery Tears…’ that is why everyone is so punk here.”

From this synopsis of Montreal’s past, Khan segues into why he now lives in Germany. “That is part of the reason why I moved to Berlin, which is also a riot kind of city. It was important for me to live in a city that has the potential to riot because growing up in Montreal I would see exploited riots. Even when Guns N Roses did a 45 minute set people rioted. I liked that people enjoyed destruction.”

King Khan & The Shrines’ latest release on Vice Records is a compilation of the best of their earlier albums. It serves as a timely introduction to the band, just as they are beginning to gain a wider international audience. As some of the songs date back to the early 2000s, the band is keen to get to work on new recordings.

“We’ve got a bunch of songs ready for the next record and we are going to start recording that in August. Hopefully by autumn next year – or maybe by the beginning of next winter we’ll have something out.”

Collaboration is something that excites Khan. As well as The Shrines, he also performs with friend Mark Sultan as King Khan & BBQ Show in a more stripped-down garage rock style. Earlier this year, when Black Lips were forced to abandon their tour of India the band showed up in Berlin, ready to work on some music with Khan.

“I got a call on my birthday from Jared [Black Lips] and he was like, – œWe’re showing up tomorrow’ and I was like – œWhat?’. He was all nervous and told me how they were chased out of the province they were in and had to go to the next province to escape the police and then they had to get emergency plane tickets as the promoter and sponsor backed out of the tour because they made out on stage – a little more than that actually, there was some testicular action too,” laughs Khan.

From chaos came creativity and Khan, Sultan and Black Lips became The Almighty Defenders, quickly recording the album, recently released via Vice Records. “They came over and stayed at my house for a week and we just decided to throw some songs together and recorded it in three days,” states Khan. “There is also a BBQ album coming out and there is also supposed to be a punk album coming out that I recorded a while back called The Black Jaspers – so there’s a lot of stuff getting thrown around.”

Experiencing The Shrines live is seeing the band in their element – their – œparty zone’, if you will. The band will be doing the New Years festival rounds in Australia and Khan is planning to entertain the crowd with one of their own. “I’m a big fan of The Saints and we cover Know Your Product and the first time I heard that song I was a little punk and I was so excited about doing something like that. If I went to a desert island I’d probably take the first two Saints albums.”

Some people may see Khan as a nostalgic revivalist creating retro music. The stronger case is that by melding styles and injecting their loose and energetic fun into the music they are continuing a tradition; extending and amending it along the way. Khan’s outrageous stage costumes and live show guarantee the band will win over many new fans when they see in 2010 in righteous style.

King Khan and The Shrines get loose in Australia over this New Years period. For a chance to watch the madness from side of stage at Brisbane’s Sunset Sounds festival, enter FasterLouder’s competition.

Wednesday 30 December – Falls Festival, Marion Bay
Thursday 31 December – Falls Festival, Lorne
Monday 4 January – Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne
Wednesday 6 January [day] – Sunset Sounds, Brisbane
Wednesday 6 January – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Friday 8 to Sunday 10 January – Southbound Festival, Perth