Ben Khan
Savage
By Ben Khan, from 1992 (Blessed Vice); streaming at soundcloud.com
The producer and electric neo-soulster Ben Khan has released a quick-hit debut EP of dizzying grooves and curious funk.
Not much is known of the young Londoner, though he has talked about his influences, which include the late hip-hop artist J Dilla and the bluesman B.B. King.
On the moody, wobbly track Savage, Khan sings sultrily, high and cynically, against a soundtrack of electro scribbles, sharp guitar stabs, threatening beats and blobby horn-like blurbs.
His lyrics intrigue and his targets are vague – religion and acid rain, perhaps. To him we're all dancing to the "rhythm of the plastic anthem," savages at the core. It's a bit unsettling, but the wrath of this Khan is welcome.
Brad Wheeler