Memphis Khan

Hello and welcome back.
Let me begin by stating that this group has produced the greatest version of "Beat It" I have ever heard. For one thing, Memphis Khan, the group in question, are a modern folk duo.
So, this recording has guitars and banjos and layered background harmonies, coupled with a sentiment evoking a sort of resigned determination, like the guy really does not want to have this conversation again. The result has its own unique power to it, and I don't think anyone can touch this.
I was first introduced to the music of Memphis Khan this past September ('08), at a gathering of about 20 people in Fox Point, in Providence. I managed to talk to both Ryan and Patrick that night, and decided that if I liked what I heard I would pick up a copy of the The Merchant EP, their six-song demo containing the aforementioned version of "Beat It". And it was in that spirit that I handed over a few dollars for a copy.
The next day I went downstairs and put the disc in the stereo, and was able to truly appreciate what I had seen the other night. This was due to significant differences between the live and recorded versions of the songs I had just heard.
Whereas the live set was Patrick and Ryan with no backup, the disc is a much more orchestrated experience. Not that the live set was lacking. Not true. In fact, it served to demonstrate the pairs' talent. The ensemble was tight and fluid. The songs were musically expressive and they managed to convey a lot of sonic information with a very limited personnel.
It helped me to put the demo in context. I would love to hear those arrangements live. The use of distortion on the banjo is an intriguing bit of orchestration, and brings out the natural metallic quality in its' tone-color. The use of overdubbing to layer the guitar and beef-up the arrangements in general is really interesting. The end result is some sort of electric folk music.
It was explained to me that there has always been an interest in American folk music, that "at some point you realize that the music made in the first half of the twentieth century in America had a raw, elemental power and heaviness." We agree with this assessment. What is great about this bands' conception is the way they inject electricity into the folk tradition. There is a certain aspect of noise rock in the proceedings. My personal favorite is "Criers On The Phone", with the slight bit of feedback at the beginning and then the clean banjo layered on top of distorted banjo following that. The form of the piece has a strange, assymetrical shape to it as well. It seems that they are using a harmonic sequence of some degree of regularity coupled with irregular phrase lengths and syncopated cadences, which evolves into an A-transition-B-coda type of form.
These guys definitely have carved out their own niche. There is something about the demo versions that reminded me of Smog, not in a specific way, but in the spirit of the proceedings.
Memphis Khan was born in the summer of 2008, after a homeless man stole one of the bandmembers' shoes and bet that person that they couldn't start a band called "Memphis Khan". They decided to take up the challenge in earnest, having a great love for those shoes.
The band plans on having a full-length release available in spring of 2009, and The Merchant EP has been picked up by an indie label called Reverb Worship (www.reverbworship.com), where it can be found for sale on the labels' website. They will be posting new tracks on their MySpace page, and will be appearing on the radio in Sydney, Australia on January 28. (www.sidewaysthroughsound.com)


check 'em out at www.myspace.com/memphiskhan