As eclectic as Bristol’s music scene is – and always has been for that matter – one common thread tying it all together is its roots – Jamaican music and its sound system culture. You’ll find this phrase peppering interviews with reputable Bristol natives. The BS postal code is now inextricably entwined with new developments in dubstep.
With one of the strongest rosters of influential UK artists – a list that includes trip-hop artists Massive Attack and Portishead as well as post-rock bands Maximum Joy and Glaxo Babies – the Bristol sound can now boast three highly reputable labels. First up is Tectonic Recordings, run by Pinch and now nurturing the raw talents of Photek, Loefah, Pursuit Grooves and, more recently, Jack Sparrow and Ruckspin’s brain-child, Author. Then there’s Peverelist’s Punch Drunk imprint, and the new Livity Sound. And, the label behind the record store, Idle Hands. These labels are presently home to some of the most talented producers to come out of the UK.
Among these producer/artists is Joe McGann, aka Kahn, who’s quickly establishing a name for himself among Bristolian producers. A hugely versatile producer himself, Kahn has cultivated a unique sound that has an ethereal quality which defies description. Skating about undefined edges, never quite moving in a straight line. The genre-defying native has been building new styles and sounds onto dubstep foundations since the beginning. Deftly he’s cultivated a unique production quality that was bound to be latched onto by Punch Drunk boss, Peverelist.
We caught up with the young Bristolian – ahead of his set at our launch party this December – to talk about dubplates, influences and the growth of Bristol’s music scene.
Sé Fire – Red Lights [Kahn remix] (clip) by • Kahn •
Let’s start from the beginning. Can you tell me how you discovered the bass music scene over there?
My parent’s love of music seems to be the clearest prerequisite to me, I’ve grown up with all kinds of music around me and each style has affected me in someway.
My mum used to work as a promoter in the rave scene of the 90s and we’d always be at festivals and be around music from a very young age, so dance music was always pretty accessible to me. My tastes developed as I started going out to clubs as a teenager in Bristol, and I think that’s the answer to the question really; being a kid in central Bristol at that period and being out all the time. It was difficult not to become immersed in the music that was going on all around us.
What was your first encounter with UK bass, and what in particular were you listening to at the time?
I’m not quite sure exactly what ‘UK Bass’ constitutes to be honest, but I’d probably go back to the previous question and say that I’ve grown up with bass heavy music since I was a child and my music is influenced by many styles within that category.
My first encounter with Dubstep would be in 2006/7, I heard a Pinch tune playing in the second room of a club and went and sat down in there and just took it all in. That is one of the key moments for me that sent me on the journey I’m on now.
Were there any club nights pushing that sort of sound back then?
The main nights I was going to around that time were Dubloaded/Subloaded, The Sureskank Convention and Ruffneck Diskotek, all of which are still running in some capacity.
Subloaded was founded by Pinch and Blazey and is essentially the Bristol equivalent of DMZ, and it’s still the best place in the city to hear the music in an authentic atmosphere.
Sureskank and Ruffneck started around the same time and represent the more ‘party’ vibe of the music I suppose, with anything from garage and grime to bashment and soundsystem reggae, and are still my favourite parties in Bristol.
Were you producing material before releasing work under the name of Kahn?
I’ve been producing from home since late 2005, when I started sixth form. I’d been writing music since I was a kid and had been in bands and spending my lunch times at school in the music department, it’s all I cared about at school really.
I’ve kept most of my production to date under the name Kahn, I can’t even remember how I chose the word, but it’s stuck.
What was influencing your sound in the beginning and what’s influencing it now? Any particular records or artists that have stood out for you over time?
It’s a difficult question to answer in just a few lines. Jamaican music has had a big influence on me, I love baroque music, devotional music, Arab classical music, there’s many things and too many to mention really but it’s all stayed with me and influenced my creative output in some way.
Right now I feel influenced by Bristol, both as a city and the many artists working in it.
How did you hook up with Peverelist’s Punch Drunk imprint? And what’s your relationship with the label itself?
I’d been following Punch Drunk since I was a teenager and have many memories attached to the music that’s come out on the label over the years. I was giving CDs of my beats to Tom (Peverelist) when I was going into Rooted Records and eventually he approached me to put a record out
I’m proud to be a part of the label and I have a lot of respect for Tom and his passion for Bristol music culture.
Tell me about Rooted Records. It was obviously a massively influential place on Bristol. What are your memories of it?
I was still at secondary school when I first went there and it was the first record shop I’d properly explored on my own, at first just having to guess what I’d like looking at record sleeves and looking out for names I recognised. Tom and the other guys that worked there were helpful and would give me things to check out.
One of the memories for me was seeing Pinch do an amazing in-store set in the evening before Subloaded VII, to launch the release of his album Underwater Dancehall. It was completely packed.
Most of my memories are just of spending hours in the shop listening and learning. I was sad to see it go.
I don’t tend to ask what software or hardware an artist uses, but I was curious to find out with you. Do you use any analogue equipment at all?
When I’m doing Kahn stuff I write mostly on my laptop, I don’t really have much analog equipment but I play a few instruments and sing so I try to incorporate that into my music as much as possible.
You stated in an interview with Sonic Router that you were very much into dubplate culture, and that a lot of your material wouldn’t ever see a release. Can you expand on this?
It took me a while to get enough money to cut my first batch of dubplates, as I had so much to cut, but now I’ve started I can’t see myself going back.
I think it’s an element of the music which has been lost largely due to all the new DJ technology around these days and possibly even people’s attitude to music and DJing. I’ve got this fear that generations to come will never actually have a physical record collection and won’t have that relationship with the music they buy.
I’ve been really influenced by the sound-system way of doing things, in that I have material which I’ve carefully selected and got cut to vinyl specifically to perform with. Each time I play a real dubplate, I know that it’s not being played anywhere else in the world and it’s the purest example of my sound, and everyone in attendance is experiencing that.
How do you go about producing a track? Do you have a set idea of how you want it to sound before you sit down to produce it, or is it more than that, something you sculpt over a period of time?
It works in different ways. The best tracks I’ve written have essentially written themselves.
I like to think that anyone who creates carries with them all of the things they’ve ever been influenced by or heard or seen, and that in those moments of real creativity, however sporadic or uncontrollable, the raw essence of those influences and your experience with them allow you to fully express yourself. The skill is in recognising and translating the inspiration that comes to you.
Do you feel uncomfortable with people putting a label on your music, putting it into one box?
I think people will always do it, no matter who the artist is and what they do. It doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable, but it may be confusing to them when one record I put out is very different to another.
Tell me about how you came to remix M.I.K. For me, it’s some of my favourite of your work to date.
I did a remix of his track Duppy & Leave last year, the acapella of which he had given away on his soundcloud. He heard it and liked it and asked me to do an official remix of his track Do It.
I’m happy with how it came out, I think it’s a sound he hadn’t really worked with before. Hopefully we’ll do some more work together in future.
M.I.K – Do It (Kahn official remix) OUT NOW by • Kahn •
Are you hoping to hook up with any more grime MCs?
Grime plays a big part in my sets at the moment, which I’ve found can sometimes catch people off guard as they think I’m a post-something house DJ or something..
I’d love to work with more MCs as I love working with vocals, though in Grime there’s a specific sound I like and am experimenting with.
M.I.K’s hosting your set at our launch party in December, what are your sets with him like?
I’ve played with him twice now and both shows have been great. He understands what ‘hosting’ means which is really useful as a DJ! He’s got wicked bars and enjoys performing so I’m sure it’ll be a fun set.
Talking of collaborations, do you have anymore in the pipeline?
There’s a few things coming out in the not too distant future so keep your eyes out..
Tell me about your side projects Gorgon Sound and Baba Yaga. Are they something you’d like to continue working on?
Gorgon Sound is a project I’m a part of with a DJ from Bristol called Neek, who’s one of the founders of the Sureskank crew. We mostly write our own style of sound-system dub and have been working with some vocalists in Bristol over the past few months. We should be getting our first record out sometime next year. Neek is one of the best selectors in my generation of Bristol DJs and some of my favourite sets have been playing alongside him.
Baba Yaga is me and Vessel (who has finally been getting some proper attention recently). We haven’t written much new material together recently as we’ve both been so busy with our solo projects but we’re hoping to get something together soon. We have a self-titled EP out on A Future Without which you can find on iTunes, Boomkat etc..
You’re a member of the Sureskank collective over in Bristol. Tell me about it. Why was it started and what is its ‘philosophy’?
Sureskank started as a birthday party in 2006 and has gone on to be one of Bristol’s longest running ‘dubstep’ nights, as well as a series of parties in Brighton too. It’s made up of a host of residents including myself, Gemmy, Superisk, El Kid and Neek to name a few, and it’s a bit of an institution in the Bristol scene.
It’s philosophy is to give a platform for the talent in Bristol, though we’ve hosted many a debut set from big names down the years, but mostly it’s a big party. It’s still one of my favourite places to play and the crew’s still going strong.
What else have you got coming up in the next few months?
I’m currently in the studio writing new material, but I do have a number of remixes coming out soon so do keep a look out..
Excited for our Bristol Takeover?
Very much so. You’ll all be singing Wurzels songs and swiggin’ Scrumpy in no time..
Catch Kahn alongside M.I.K at our launch party this December 8th