Ben Khan has released “The Green,” the latest track from his highly-anticipated self-titled debut album, set for releases on August 10th, 2018 via Dirty Hit.
“The Green” joins a number of previously released tracks from the forthcoming new record, including “do it right” – branded “futuristic sci-fi funk” by Complex – and ‘a.t.w (against the wall)‘ described as having “barbed, fluoro-soaked electronics” by Clash. Following Khan’s two previous EP’s 1992 and 1000, which helped Khan explode onto the scene upon release, the self-titled record, which was produced alongside legendary PJ Harvey, Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails collaborator Flood, mixed by Spike Stent (Björk, Frank Ocean) and mastered by Dave Cooley (J Dilla, M83), channels the likes of Burial, Arthur Russell, and S U R V I V E…stacked with overwhelming intricacies that demand an attentive ear and repeat visits. Playing every instrument on the record himself, Khan uses synthetic, computer-driven sounds to fulfil this desire, but them with organic noises and gathering inspirations from his surroundings, collecting samples on a field mic throughout his travels.
For example, during a window between the previous EP and the new album, Khan travelled to Kashmir where his father lived and “just walked around and took sounds on my daily rituals.” The trip heavily shifted the direction of Khan’s self-titled record, with his father’s floral art from his textiles business inspiring some of the album’s artwork and many of the sounds he gathered during his journey being sample on the record. The result, he hopes, is a work of “magical realism.” “I like the idea of having something be unintimidating and beautiful, but driven by anger, or driven by sadness” muses Khan.
With films like Ghost In The Shell, Blade Runner, Angel-A, and Akira playing in the background on a projector he bought after returning home from Kashmir, Khan began piecing together the pieces that would become his next record. Like the sounds he collected throughout his trips, the themes and aesthetic found their way into the album’s DNA. Ben rounds off, “I think the point of an artist is to show people a different side of things, to take different perceptions of life and present them back to you. Hopefully, this album will take you out of your reality for a bit and take it to the start of a fantasy place.”