Infinite Ones: An Interview With King Khan & Show # 858

In October, King Khan released his first jazz album entitled Infinite Ones. The album draws influences from composers such as Alice Coltrane, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Philip Kelan Cohran, Bernard Herrmann, Ennio Morricone, Miles Davis, Sun Ra, John Carpenter and Quincy Jones. It also takes on influences from film noir and old Bollywood films. King Khan has described the creation of this album as “Sometimes a work of art comes unintentionally from a place from deep within the soul. It meanders and flops onto a table and sits and waits for its birth.”

“Wait Till The Stars Burn” begins Infinite Ones with a galloping drumbeat before an ensemble of wild sounds featuring baritone, alto-saxophone, soprano, tenor sax, and a multitude of marimba and percussion flood your senses. The sounds put forth here feature contributions from Marshall Allen and Knoel Scott of the Sun Ra Arkestra, and John Convertino of Calexico to name a few. The song, which has been called “A planetary ode to the sun,” simmers with growing intensity before the track “Tribute To The Pharaoh’s Den (Requiem For Danny Ray Thompson)” comes in with its exotic rhythms. This track features some vocals (from Saba Lou Khan) and drifts out into an avant-garde jazz dimensionality. “Tribute To The Pharaoh’s Den” also features musical contributions from Marshall Allen and Knoel Scott of Sun Ra Arkestra. It is also the first of several tributes to musicians that have passed and people that have had an influence not only on King Khan, but also on the music world. This track is a tribute to Danny Ray Thompson of Sun Ra Arkestra and the first of several tributes found on this album. The others being “Theme Of Yaya,” a more upbeat track with a funkier bass and soul aesthetic is a song that Khan wrote for Yahya El Majid, who played with the Sun Ra Arkestra for many years. “Hal” would be another one of the other tributes found on Infinite Ones. As the album’s final track, this song delves into a cosmic experimentation as it pays tribute with a requiem for Hal Willner. Hal was responsible for selecting the music for Saturday Night Live for decades, but was also an influential American music producer in music, film, TV and live events.

Infinite Ones is not a long jazz album, but has its own flow and sequence that works very well when played in order. This is apparent on tracks such as “(White Nile) Flows Through Memphis” and “A Hard Rain’s Gotta Fall.” The former track seems to come from the world not only of jazz, but also of Ennio Morricone. It is also the longest track found on Infinite Ones, going just over six minutes in length. “A Hard Rain’s Gotta Fall” delivers organic sounds featuring trumpet from Martin Weink of Calexico and drums from Allessandro Piretti. “Mister Mystery” arrives with dizzying synthesizers and clock sounds before guitar mixes with synth sounding bass, and hip hop drums. The song also features intense surf guitar that is also psychedelic. “Mister Mystery” sounds like Miles Davis meets John Carpenter and Ennino Morricone. “Xango Rising” is dominated by the bass and drum parts. Played by King Khan himself, along with the otherworldly organ sounds, the song also features trumpet by El Congo Allen that fills in the spaces of this longer, mesmerizing jazz track.

“The World Will Never Know” oozes with cinematic influences. The song levitates with bass that sounds like it could have come from the soundtrack to The Thing, as it mixes in surf guitars and epic orchestral sounds. This track features contributions from John Convertino and Martin Weink of Calexico, drums from Davide Zolli (of The Mojomatics) and viola from Gillian Rivers. All other instrumentation is provided by King Khan himself. “Trail of Tears” is a track featuring vocals from King Khan, as musically it pushes forth with psychedelic soul, jazz and surf sounds. “Follow The Mantis” brings a darker atmosphere as percussive water sounds, looming bass and a wash of drums sounds permeate this track.

Infinite Ones ends with “Hal.” As mentioned earlier it is a tribute/requiem to the influential music purveyor Hal Willner. The song features the influences of Sun Ra and Alice Coltrane as the listener is taken through a cosmic jazz air. Infinite Ones may be King Khan’s first album that ventures out into the jazz world, but each track overlaps with elements of other music genres. The list of contributors also makes for a captivating listen. Infinite Ones features Marshall Allen and Knoel Scott of the Sun Ra Arkestra, John Convertino and Martin Weink of Calexico, Brontez Purnell of Younger Lovers, Ben Ra from King Khan & The Shrines, and Davide Zolli of The Mojomatics. Some reviews have called this album space jazz. You could also call it cosmic space jazz, but regardless of its description, Infinite Ones finds its own space while drawing in listeners in an organic way.

Listen to an interview that Revolution Rock did with King Khan:

Show #858 Playlist (King Khan Infinite Ones Interview):

1.  James O-L - East On Your Own
2.  Daniel Romano - Joys Too Often Hollow Part Two
3.  Bloodshot Bill - Please Don't (Break My Heart)
4.  Mark Sultan - The Problem
5.  TV Freaks - Living Wrong
6.  TV Freaks - Barely Human
7.  Pup - Edmonton
8.  Cellos - Shooting Star
9.  Psychic Void - Night Terrors
10. Louder Than Death - Scum of the Moon
11. King Khan - (White Nile) Flows Through Memphis

KING KHAN INTERVIEW PART ONE 

12. King Khan - A Hard Rain's Gotta Fall

KING KHAN INTERVIEW PART TWO

13. King Khan - Mister Mystery

KING KHAN INTERVIEW PART THREE

14. King Khan - Hal

KING KHAN INTERVIEW PART FOUR

15. Tough Age - Castigation
16. The Scenics - Great Piles of Leaves
17. Teenanger - Beige
18. Paul Jacobs - Thanks
19. Paul Jacobs - Trapped Inside
20. The King Khan & BBQ - Show Alone Again

DOWNLOAD/LISTEN TO THIS SHOW HERE.