The middle of January, the worst part of the year in Berlin. That strange netherworld-time between darkness and more darkness, when people start nervously looking around themselves and their slowly collapsing appartments, the gathering pile of beer bottles in the kitchen, the unwashed housepet which you’re not sure is even yours, the cold and rain and snow and the greyness; all this can induce panic in fine, sensible, reasonable people, people who’ve seen worse, it results in ridiculous decisions being made, decisions you never talk about, so let’s not talk about it, let’s do something about it…let’s all get down to the Festsaal to see King Khan and The Shrines…it could save your life.
This is Bite Your Tongue:
Imagine Roky Erickson backed by the Sun Ra Arkestra or Wilson Pickett and The Velvet Underground, or picture the love child of Anubis and Kali. King Khan & The Shrines is more than a psychedelic soul band with a spectacle of a stage show. They are a cult musical phenomenon and simply one of the most entertaining groups the world has seen and heard since the days of Ike & Tina.
It has been several years since King Khan & The Shrines have played in Berlin, even though, nearly half of them call it home now. They have been busy nevertheless selling out clubs all across North America, Europe and Australia, gracing the stages of some of the finest festivals out there (SXSW, Coachella, Bestival, Pitchfork Festival, Big Day Out) and leaving behind a colorful spell of amazement and wonder. Their last album “What Is!?” received critical acclaim from all over the world and landed at #33 on Pitchfork’s Top Albums of the year. They have been joined on stage by members of the Sun Ra Arkestra and Jello Biafra. Their songs have also been used for movies such as „Chiko“ (produced by Academy Award winner Fatih Akin) or American TV-Shows such as Danny McBride’s “Eastbound & Down“, “Entourage” and “Chuck”. King Khan just recently wrote an original music score for Miron Zownir‘s new short film “Absturz” starring Birol Unel, Rummelsnuff and Natalia Avelon.
In 2010 King Khan and Mark Sultan (the King Khan & BBQ Show) were invited by Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson to perform with them at The Opera House in Sydney. Khan also recently performed at Hal Wilner’s “Freedom Rides” show in the Royal Festival Hall in London, England. A celebration of the music of civil rights also featuring Antony Hegarty, Tim Robbins and Billy Bragg.
2012 was kicked off on a high note as the group headlined the Bruise Cruise Festival in the Bahamas and released “Bite My Tongue,” a sweat-drenched, ass shaking, groovy psyched out number, complete with rip roaring horn lines, southern fried guitar riffs and lysergic melodies.
King Khan & The Shrines new album “Of Madness I Dream” will be released in 2013. To kick of the year they will play a special show at Festsaal Kreuzberg on January 17th.
The Anna Thompsons are a Canadian/Spanish four scoop banana split topped with potato chips from Berlin. Inspired by a vast spectrum of music that ranges from Heart’s Dreamboat Annie, to Dead Moon, to The Zit Remedy, their corpus touches on many themes that include Grace Jones, creepy guys, unicorns, and the economic crisis in Spain. They have a democratic approach to vocals and a totalitarian approach to having a good time.
