Kahn – Kahn EP

Posted on Apr 12, 2013 in DubStep, Electronica

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re not at Coachella (at least, not yet). If you’re not already glued to the live stream, here’s some music to bring into the space you can call your own personal music festival, where you can be the VIP you were born to be, with unlimited food and drink, and where you play both fan and DJ from the comfort of your own home. Couchella 2013 has arrived, and riding shotgun is some new music from Bristol producer Joseph McGann, aka Kahn.

Kahn’s self-titled EP, Kahn, is a 5-track portal into a deep, grungy, futuristic underworld that is comparable to walking city streets late at night, where the industrial noises surrounding you become the soundtrack to your trepidation: the rhythmic shifting of rusty pipes and dilapidated walls of abandoned warehouses, the distorted whistle of the wind, the crunch of pebbles and debris underneath your feet, all seemingly on beat with your pounding heart. The first song “Prophet” sets the tone with this sort of imagery, with slow, dark beats dotted with echoed spacey darts, haunting whispers, and bass lurking underneath a layer of static that makes the beat so atmospherically ominous, while the spoken words of Rider Shafique hypnotize. “Badman City” starts out with some violin-sounding action, but is a bit more aggressive in its approach, with the sounds falling blunter on the ear and lyrics quicker on the tongue.

After night comes sunrise, which “Snake Eyes” epitomizes with it’s deeply calming, chilled out melody and soft, echoing vocals by Jabu. Despite the euphoric notes and futuristic synth darts, it has a silent beauty to it, making it a pensive track that disarms listeners, resigning them to simply close their eyes and nod their head to the beat. “Cover Me” is more atmospheric and minimal in sound, as sultry female vocals echo. The closing track, “No More,” reverts back to the late-night melancholy of the first few songs, with a deep, brooding bass contrasting with the wistful, wavering lyrics warbled by the vocalist, whose aching is hauntingly apparent.

Kahn’s EP is available now on Beatport.

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