ben khan @ king tut's, glasgow

Samantha Potter

Ben Khan is very much an enigma: apart from the use of his own name as an artist, he retains an aura of mystery around him. He’s extremely taciturn on social media, his twitter feed nothing more than photos shared from his Instagram: quirky, slightly blurred photographs, most with a negative filter.

With only these impressions to work with, I was pretty unsure what to expect seeing him play live, especially at such an intimate venue that is King Tuts, Glasgow. King Tuts - this year being its 20th anniversary - is famous for hosting up-and-coming artists before they make it big, with a staircase reminding you of its legacy as you head up to the venue. Each stair represents a year and lists the stand-out acts to have played in that year, boasting the likes of Oasis, Coldplay and the Strokes. The 300-capacity venue was barely filled, but by the time Khan took to the stage at 10.30pm a modest crowd had gathered in front of the stage, consisting of both loyal hipster fans and what seemed like passers-by (we did notice people literally handing out tickets outside for free). 

Playing each of his tracks from the ‘1992’ EP, Khan pleased the crowd with his more well-known singles including ‘Youth’ and ‘Eden'. Khan also played some tracks that are yet to be released, and with a great reaction from the crowd, I was left eagerly anticipating the release of his new material. With only one 4-track EP and 2 brand new singles on Spotify, the set was only a short 40 minutes. It lacked a certain charm, perhaps due to the lack of audience interaction. In-between songs, Khan filled the time with atmospheric musical interludes and a swift change of guitars, rather than with any engagement with the crowd. Despite normally being displeased with a lack of audience interaction at a gig, I felt that this reserved performance reflected his mysterious persona. 

It’s difficult to fit Ben Khan into a specific genre, he’s been labelled as ‘electro-soul’, ‘minimalist funk’ and ‘mutant R&B’: each of these sub-genres I’m sure may have just been constructed in order to try to effectively describe Ben Khan’s unique and elusive sound. His multi-faceted sound translated extremely well, the live show allowing the band to be more experimental with guitar riffs and atmospheric synth. Finishing with an extended version of ‘Savage’, the crowd were left very much satisfied.

Despite an extremely impressive live performance, his general approach and his elusive nature indicate that Khan is not exactly one for the spotlight. His value is about sharing his music to open-minded listeners, and he delivered just that at King Tuts. 

(Thanks to Milan Cater for input)