Interview: The Supreme Genius Of King Khan

King Khan Live in 2013 – Photo: Miron Zownir from his book, Berlin Noir

Prolific Psychedelic rock and soulsman, King Khan, continues to astound and amaze with an ever-expanding array of accomplishments.

In addition to making music with Mark “Bbq” Sultan, his Sensational Shrines, The Almighty Defenders, and fellow Tandoori Knight, Bloodshot Bill, King Khan has flexed his acting chops in Aussie queersploitation romp, Fags In The Fast Lane and Miron Zownir’s Back To Nothing ,which was recently featured on one of the final episodes Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. King Khan also scored Back To Nothing as well as the upcoming documentary on late 1960s Memphis-based militant black power group, The Invaders. Prichard Smith’s documentary even inspired the co-creation of the Black Power Tarot Deck with Game Of Thrones graphic artist Michael Eaton. In addition to bringing his supreme genius to the big screen, King Khan has also co-produced the William S. Burroughs spoken-word album Let Me Hang You as well as recorded daughter Saba Lou’s debut LP, Planet Enigma. King Khan is presently wrapping up his North American tour with The Shrines, but fear not, he’s got more tunes on the way with his new band, Louder Than Death.

MM9: How would you say your move to Berlin has influenced your evolution as an artist?

King Khan: I moved to Berlin in 2005 mainly because I really enjoyed the relaxed way of life, no one seemed to work and the freaks ruled the city. I had never been in a place that truly felt so free and untamed, this has sadly changed nowadays because of shitty assed gentrification… when I moved there I immediately became buddies with photographer Miron Zownir who was bartending at an amazing little bar called Kinski’s. This place was so special, there was a portrait of Kinski as a pope made of electric tape in the window and I swear it had this magic effect of keeping the hipsters away. Kinski’s had a crew of amazing freaks and Miron was like the Angel of Death who hovered over us all taking photos, gambling with dice and making films.

King Khan: I began doing music with Rummelsnuff, whom I met thru Miron as well. I wanted to try my hand at weirdo electro music and he was someone I really respected artistically and we had loads of fun making music and the Back To Nothing film. Moving to Berlin when I did I found the freak family which I always somehow manage to find or build when I live somewhere but alas all our old stomping grounds are gone, all the insane fucked up locations you see in the Back To Nothing film have all been shut down or barred from the public.

King Khan: Miron is kinda like a dark nihilistic version of Andy Warhol in Berlin. He took portraits of all the biggest freaks of Berlin and New York City since the early 80s. We became buddies when I moved to Berlin and he introduced me to the real Berlin underground. He was also a huge fan of both King Khan & BBQ Show and the Shrines. He also wrote the role for me, so I was really honored again, this time I played an evil hustler/fight promoter who fixes fights in a dystopian cannibalistic Berlin of the future. I was doubly honored when he asked me to score the entire film. I got to go really John Carpenter with the soundtrack and explored drones, old synths and spectral music.

King Khan: Another film I scored was a documentary called The Invaders about a militant black power group from Memphis who worked with Dr. King and was asked by him to join the poor peoples campaign. Its a yet untold civil rights story and really shows how radical and inspiring Dr. King was. This film will come out next year as well.

Prichard Smith and The Invaders producers have recently teamed up with Mass Appeal Media to get distribution for the film’s release.

The Invaders directed by Prichard Smith. Produced by: Craig Brewer (Hustle And Flow) with Writer/Producer: J.B. Horrell. Cinematographer: Ryan Parker (Feral)

MM9: How did you get involved with The Invaders documentary and can you tell me a little about your experience creating the film’s score?

King Khan: I have known Prichard Smith, the director, for many years, he made the first Shrines video 15 years ago. Prichard is from Memphis and he remembered his mother telling him stories about the Invaders, so he decided to tell their story. John B. Smith was one of the co-founders of the Invaders and when Prichard showed him my music from the Shrines, John B. said that he wanted me to make the soundtrack. He specifically said that my music captured the feeling of that time (late sixties). This was such an honor for me, I have always been very inspired by the civil rights movement especially the R&B that came out of it. One of the most amazing compilations that changed my life was the Chains & Black Exhaust which was filled with super obscure crazed psychedelic soul and biker rock from the late 60s. That music was the main inspiration for me when I started the Shrines. I worked for about 6 years on this soundtrack and John B. Smith adopted Prichard and I and became not only a mentor to us, but someone who just gave us the best life advice about everything from raising kids to keeping a marriage together. My work with this film involved so much old footage of the civil rights movement including stuff I had never seen, like MLK’s funeral, it was all very heavy and it even creeped into my dreams.

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I had a dream that I was hanging with my guru Alejandro Jodorowsky, and he asked me “show me a card that is weird?” and I pulled out a card in my pocket and we both stared at it and both said “Yes, That is Weird!” when I woke up, I knew I had to make a new deck of tarot…. and so went the birth of the Black Power Tarot. Since then I have been doing exhibitions all over the world with the Black Power Tarot which was designed by me and drawn by Michael Eaton, graphic artist for the Game of Thrones and supervised by Jodo, who looked over each card a guided us on how to make this deck he was the midwife!

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I have a traveling exhibit with each card the size of a large door, and I would get the galleries to fly in John B. and he would talk about his work with Dr. King in the Poor People’s Campaign and his experiences as an Invader. We got invited by the US embassy in Germany to go to several cities and show the film. John B. also received an award from an amazing non profit organization in Germany called Viva Con Agua who have supplied over 2 million folks all over Africa with clean water.

John B. said it was the first time in his entire life that he received an award for all his work in the movement and has been really inspired by the work we have done together thus far. John B. has a very positive message to bring to the world and as a 72 year old activist who has seen everything from life in prison to working hand in hand with Dr. King he has a lot of wisdom to pass onto future generations.

MM9: Can you tell me a little about working on Let Me Hang You and how was it working with M. Lamar?

King Khan: I have to thank Lou Reed for introducing me to his producer Hal Willner who later invited me to finish this album, it was 20 years in the making. About a year after Lou passed away, Hal sent me all these tracks of WSB reading the nitty grittiest parts of naked lunch and told me to do whatever I wanted on it. I was doing the soundtrack for Back To Nothing, the film at the time which was also heavily inspired by Burroughs, the detective in the film is a “Clem Snide” clone. I had all these crazy drones I was working on and they were swirling and swelling in my mind and fit perfectly to the Let Me Hang You universe. I had recorded a track the year before with my fave Australian band the Frowning Clouds and Ianded Negrogothic angel of death, M Lamar, to the track and I remember when Lamar sang in my studios it really felt like some spirits had been summoned in fact all the wax from one lit candle in the room melted away and the wick remained untouched? It was spooky as hell…. I love working with Lamar, he is inspiring and has a truly crazed vision of the world. I think WSB would have loved it, and it was the track that made Hal cry!

MM9: Any new music lined up?

King Khan: I have a new punk band called LOUDER THAN DEATH, and we have an album coming out next Feb on In The Red Records.

MM9: Can you tell me a little more about your new band, Louder Than Death?

King Khan: LTD is the brainchild of Sean from The Spits and me. I have been recording with both Sean and Erin from The Spits for the past ten years. We even did a song my daughter Saba Lou and I wrote when she was 6 years old called Broken Heart. I recruited Looch and Aggy from the Magnetix from Bordeaux on guitar and drums, and Fredovitch from The Shrines on bass. Together we make a colossal Clevelandesque punk rock sound…. chair smashing punk rock. I hope that Sean Spits will join us next year when we start playing more, this will be our ultimate retirement plan.

MM9: How has collaborating with your daughters, Saba Lou and Bella influenced your more recent musical output?

King Khan: It is truly a wondrous thing to see what my kids are making on their own, I successfully passed on a deep love for great music from rock n roll, soul music, punk to jazz and classical… they have impeccable taste and it leaves me flat out amazed to see what visions they share with me. Saba Lou is 18 and her band is remarkable, her new songs remind of Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks, her songwriting and story telling is top notch and I think the world will be her oyster soon enough. My youngest daughter Bella is a total headbanger, I will go see Slayer with her in December. Both of them have sang here and there with the Shrines and I can’t wait to see what they turn into, and there is no pressure whatsoever from me or my wife. Our new fave hobby is to all smoke a bunch of weed and watch Dave Chappelle and Richard Pryor videos and laugh till the sun comes up. I really believe a family that gets high together stays together.

MM9: Any plans to release a full soundtrack for Back To Nothing? Those synths have stayed in my head all week, by the way.

King Khan: I would definitely like to put the soundtrack out. When I was making the soundtrack I liked to work blind, as I like to call it, I would let Miron tell me about what was happening in the scene and then make the music without seeing the actual scene. Then later when I would put the images to the music there was this alchemical coincidence that was just incredible, these cool AHA moments which made it all really beatific and beautiful…. I also got to adventure into the world of spectral music. I had just been introduced to the Hyperion Ensemble featuring Stephen O’Malley and a bunch of Israeli musicians I had known for a while. Their conducters, Ana Maria Avram (R.I.P.) and Lancu Dumitrescu really changed my vision of music and I even got to add two of their symphonies of chaos into the soundtrack. There is also about 20 minutes of drones from Quintron’s Weather Warlock and some beautiful stuff by Red Mass from Montreal. It was such a pleasure to add music to the black and white nightmare world that Miron brought to life and what feels like a wake to the funeral of the true underground of Berlin.