We recently sat down with one of the most successful Organic & Progressive House producers out there, for a friendly chat.
I’ve been quite the gifted kid while doing press. I’ve been lucky enough to speak to so many referents of mine, and so many people who have shaped the scene into what it is today. Best of all, I’ve been able to share those meaningful conversations with the world, so that we get to experience the point of view of the person behind many musical miracles.
Why do I say all of this before kicking this one off? Because this is yet another treat for me. I’ve been following Khen for many years, and things happened, and we ended up having a super wonderful chat. Read on for me to introduce you to the absolute genius that is this guy.
With releases on labels such as Anjunadeep, All Day I Dream, Lost & Found, the newly founded early morning, and even his own imprint closure, Khen is part of the Israeli gang of producers who are at the literal forefront of Progressive House and Organic House these days. We’re talking people like Guy J, Eli Nissan, Roy Rosenfeld, Guy Mantzur, Sahar Z, Shai T, Chicola, and many, many, many more.
And just off the heels of his debut EP on All Day I Dream, My Pure Soul, we sat down with him to have a chat regarding the EP itself, mindset when producing, early influences, burnout, and much more. So sit back and read on, as we have a very interesting interview with Khen.
The Interview
(Please note, the bolded text represents a question (or EDMTunes intervention), while the paragraph(s) following it represent Khen’s answers.)
Thank you for being here. It’s a pleasure to have you on EDMTunes. Also for me, because I’m a huge fan, so it’s double the prize.
Thank you for having me. I’ve been following and I was happy to make it happen. I appreciate it.
Well, first off, congratulations on your new EP coming out on All Day I Dream. Now, we would love to know, what does it feel like to put out a 3-tracker on Lee Burridge’s All Day I Dream label? How does it make you feel? Or does it sparkle something inside you?
So, first of all, 100% yes. I think it happened naturally. I always felt connected with the All Day I Dream sound and the All Day I Dream people and dreamers in general. So, I’m very happy that our paths finally crossed, especially with this special EP. I guess it was the right time and the right music to put out on the label. And I’m very happy with the results and the collaboration with Lee and the team.
Amazing. Now, we are aware that the title track from the EP, ‘My Pure Soul’, has a very special meaning behind it. If you feel comfortable about it, could you walk us through it, please?
Yes. So, the last two or three years, my father was in a bad situation, health-wise. And it was a very difficult time for me and my family in general, especially in the last year of his life. And I’d been spending a lot of time with him in the hospital, it wasn’t easy to see how he suffered. And one day I just started to make this track, that melody came to me during this time.
Last year, he passed away, and I finished the track just a few weeks after. But I felt okay with producing in that time, thinking “I’m escaping to the studio and this is for him”, you know? That’s how I put everything together in this track. It was a very emotional and difficult time, but I think for me, music is how I express myself. And eventually, I called it ‘My Pure Soul’ and I dedicated it to my father. And the track is, if I can speak about it a bit more, the melody is kind of sad and has something very emotional within it. But I’m always keeping some optimism in the music, so the contrast between both feels special.
So life keeps going, and I feel that he’s always with me. And every time I’m playing the track I feel that my father is with me, at the party. He always brought the party on, and now he’s part of it in all of my sets. That’s the closure.
That’s a beautiful take on it all, because having to endure something so rough, of course it’s not easy, but being able to try and transform it into something that’s even cheerful for other people, it’s quite a task. And we’ve seen videos of it being played by you and by your fellow artist mates from Lost and Found, all the way to Anjuna, and they enjoy it and people enjoy it, so I guess it’s a beautiful tribute.
Yes, I’m getting a lot of comments from people. I’m getting all comments from different kinds of people that experienced some kind of loss in their life and then they feel really connected to the song, and they really feel that vibe in the track. And on the other hand, it makes people happy, which is something I’m happy with, because there is a sad background behind it, but as I said, for me, the music is also optimistic and something to get over things and to process things, and I’m happy that it handled both.
Well, now that we know the story behind the title track, would you mind sharing with us a brief story on how the other two tracks came along? ‘Lyup’, and ‘Uchi Mata’?
Yeah, the second I call it “Laeeyup”, but there is no wrong or right here, that doesn’t mean anything, I guess. Only to me. Only I know what’s the name behind it, but I’m not going to say.
Keep your secrets. [laughter]
So this track, from time to time, I like to try to make something a little different, more dedicated to the groove. I think most of the music is dedicated to the groove, but some of the tracks are more melodic. Well, this one is less melodic. More like a dancefloor, underground, but sexy vibe, you know? So it just started with that groove, many small basslines and things that make it like a little bit mysterious, but very groovy.
That’s how I worked on it. And it’s something that I meant for the dancefloor, I made it with my focus on playing it out. And I was very, very surprised with the reactions because it became a very requested ID during the time me and my friends played it, Sébastien, Roy, Guy, Mantzur and the other guys. So every time, I’m getting comments and people are sending me reels from sets from somewhere, like, “What is this? What is that track in this set?”. Which was kind of weird to me because it’s not melodic and doesn’t have much. It’s not very catchy in that memorable melody sense, but it happened with this track.
And the third track, ‘Uchi Mata’, I’m really into that House-infused Prog. So I like those basslines, funky bass lines, stabby chords, things that remind me of old school House. And Uchi Mata is kind of a combination between that organic, almost aggressive Melodic and a more Housey proper tune. That’s what I feel the last few years musically. I like when I put out an EP with two, three tracks. Usually I like the tracks to be a bit different from one another. It’s still the same style though. You can play all three of them in one set, but still different tracks. It’s neither a second track that’s similar to the first one nor three completely different tracks, it’s a middle point. So that’s how we built the whole EP.
Well, that’s interesting because, to me, you have a signature sound that is mostly groove, mostly percussion, mostly whatever little candy you add alongside the tracks. But yeah, the EP doesn’t have like a melodic thread or link to it all, but it does have something. It feels like it all belongs there in the package.
Yeah, it’s not the same, but it works together. At the end of the day, music is music. We can talk about genres a lot, but if it works, it works.
Now that we’re talking about this, let me ask you this. Actually let me start with a bit of context prior. You’re an artist who has, in my opinion, really few elements, but they all work, they all have a role, and they fill out the space. I feel like your simplicity works wonders. How do you do that? How do you put yourself in the mindset?
I think, everyone who produces, most of the people I know at least, are not thinking about it too much. So it’s not something that I plan to put more channels or more layers or fewer. I’d say with years and years of making music, when it comes naturally to you, I feel like you know when and where less is more, do you know what I mean? I mute channels a lot, I’m making some ideas, and I can listen to it, and, “Okay, this one is adding something or maybe takes something away”. If we talk about production in general, technically, at the end of the work, you have one file, WAV, 16-bit or 24-bit, and there is a space to fill. And sometimes if you add something, it takes the space away from another thing. So you need to really listen, and just by listening, make decisions if this added channel is adding value to the track, or maybe that’s the opposite. Many times, it just takes away some space that you need, and then maybe the main lead or the main percussion doesn’t stand out because something else is taking over.
So that’s technically production-wise how it works for me. But if I’m talking about ideas, if I make a melodic idea and I’m starting from the melody — for example, in ‘My Pure Soul’, I started from that chord progression, and then the piano, and then everything else is there to support, in the best way, support the main ingredients, let’s say. Not taking over, but yet being groovy and pushing forward. So that’s, for me, the balance I worked on this track specifically. But it also depends on the genre, right? Because there are some more classic, heavier Progressive tracks with a lot of elements, a lot of delays, which is good for that. So there’s no one formula.
Yeah, I get it. Well, let’s talk a bit about production then. I’m a fan, so you’ve got an impressive sound to me. To the guys that you sign to as well, Anjuna, Lee, etc. You’ve got amazing music and a steady amount of releases year after year, which is something that not everybody can say. Where do you find inspiration to produce? Is it Nature? Is it spontaneous? What gets you inspired to hit the studio?
Things that can get me inspired, first of all, I wish I could know. I know what inspired me in the past, but I can never know what will in the future. That’s a good question. But I can tell you that things that happen in life, Nature, movies, I don’t know, experiences in general. So that’s where I’m taking some inspiration, also from other kinds of music. Maybe I will listen to something and get inspired to do something. But it’s usually not music, inspiration comes more frequently from feelings.
I get you. And when you get to the studio to actually produce, do you often come with an empty mind or do you have a melody or something in mind? Does it all happen magically whenever you’re producing, when you open up your DAW, or do you come with something?
Most of the time, nothing comes out if I push myself to make something. There are a few tracks that I remember that came with the idea, or when I started I already had a concrete idea. ‘My Pure Soul’ was like that. ‘Out Of A Dream’ was like that. ‘Carolina’, ‘Manginot’, all those tracks I started with the main melody, I played the riff, the synths, and “OK, that sounds interesting”. Then once that backbone is strong enough for me, or makes me excited, I already feel what kind of groove, what kind of bassline to add. So it comes to me fast in this case. But the other case, which is most of the time when I produce, starting something from nothing, from a blank page and playing with groove, playing with some elements. Most of the time, nothing really comes out of it. Sometimes I will make tracks that are more dancefloor-focused, a little more underground, which I really like to play. So that combination is something that I like.
So there are two different ways for me to make music. But if we talk about it technically, if I don’t have an idea, I can take some sequence or loop and try to make it very special with some effects. I’m running through it and making it something, “This loop is kind of talking or has something like sounds weird or sounds different”, and then, that will make me inspired to make a track out of it. The thing that is the least inspiring to me is when everything is kick and bass only. It’s too broad. Anything can be born from that.
Which is an interesting approach, because when changing from genre to genre, there’s people who say this is the foundation of the song. If you don’t get the kick-bass combo right and you don’t think of all your song in terms of the kick and bass, you’re done for. But then we’ve got people who say otherwise.
That’s correct. If the kick and bass don’t work, the track won’t work on the dancefloor for sure. But if you just have the kick and the bass and you don’t have music and ideas, you don’t have a track. And if you have music, you can always change the kick and the bass. So they are here to support and not to lead the music.
I get your point. Now, you’ve been producing for a handful of years already. Do you remember the first time, or a very memorable time, that you recall working on a track and feeling like you had something interesting, like a really good product in your hands?
Obviously, with ‘My Pure Soul’, but also the remix for HANA [‘Hot Night’]. Because when I got the vocals, when I got the original, I said, “Wow, it’s a banging track, but I don’t know what I can do with that”. And then I put just the acapella on Cubase and started playing with it. I figured, the original is like 130 BPM, kind of banging Melodic Techno, almost Trance-y. And then I said, “OK, I will take it to the House-y vibe”. But banging House-y, not just…
No, I’ve heard it live, so I can testify!
Yeah, so I played those chords, “pum pum, pum pum” with the vocal and that’s when I felt, “I got it”. I felt that it was going to be strong.
You’re really good at that, because I remember two tracks that got me super hooked to you were ‘Closing Doors’, which I discovered thanks to Tony [McGuinness]. And then also thanks to Tony, I started hearing your ‘Every Little Beat’ remix when it was still in production. And it’s got the same groove. It’s something that makes you move your body unconsciously.
Yeah, it was a pleasure to work on the Above & Beyond remix. Again, it’s a challenge to take a Trance, melodic vocal track and turn it into more House-y styles, a more laid-back House-y vibe. And it was during COVID, so I said, “Alright, no rush for the dancefloor anytime soon. Let’s just make something nice to hear”. But it works. It also works on the dancefloor. So it’s an added bonus.
For sure. Now, why do you make the sound you make? Why Organic House and not other genres? What has you hooked to the style you produce?
First of all, I don’t make Organic House. [laughs] I’m joking. I think for me… I’m known as a Progressive House artist first, and then Organic. But the Organic title is something that’s new. It’s four, five years old, not more. I think it’s a way to describe Melodic House, progressive, but deeper music. It’s not really for me one specific genre I’m really doing.
And why I’m doing what I’m doing in general is because of influences from the past. So I started making music and playing music thanks to my older brother. My older brother, Vic, was a big DJ in Israel and a great producer. And we have 14 years of an age gap. So when I was a little baby, he was already playing music. That’s my biggest influence. So we’re talking about the 90s, House music, Trance music, Techno music. I was really into Trance when I was young. So I really like the melodic, epic Trance vibe, but also the Progressive Trance back then. Push, Bonsai Records, ‘Airwave’, that kind of sound. So this is a big influence for me. The years passed and I grew a bigger interest towards House, Tribal House, Progressive House.
And that’s my childhood background. But when I was growing up, Tech House was the leader. Like, 2007, 2008, 2009, Tech House was up there. And I discovered it, and really liked the grooves and the drums. But I was like, “Hey, where are the melodies?”. So I started to make Tech House with melodies. And I didn’t know that combination was considered Progressive for some people. So it’s not that I really choose a genre or follow one genre. I put what I like in music in general. And something new may come out.
So Hernan Cattaneo, Guy J, Guy Mantzur, John Digweed, they started playing my music, automatically putting me as a young newcomer under the topic of Progressive, which then I discovered more. And I loved it. I was surprised so many artists were doing what I was doing.
So that’s a combination that leads me into that sound at the beginning. But then, in doing this, I started to work on my album in 2016, my album for Lost and Found. I was given free hand to do whatever I wanted because, it’s an album. So I remember the first track I made was ‘One Day of Independence’. And then the second was ‘Authentica’. ‘Authentica’ was a different kind of Progressive, deeper, groovier, more breathing kind of vibe, not very banging. And then ‘Carolina’, which is, I don’t know what it is, Latin, Afro, Prog, whatever. But back then, even Afro was not a genre on Beatport. So I only knew I had put together elements that I liked, groovy, Latin kind of vibe with proggy elements.
What happened during the years is, that sound turned into Organic House. But these tracks I produced four or five years before Organic House was even a name. So I don’t really follow a genre. I’m just making whatever I like and whatever influenced me. Sometimes it becomes a genre afterwards.
Thank you. Now another question, since we’ve discussed your debut album it only makes sense. What’s your opinion on albums, and how the current Dance scene is sort of stepping away from releasing them, making it all more focused on singles, EPs, radio edits, and so on? Do you think there’s a change for the worse, for the better? Do you think there’s a change at all?
I don’t know if there is a change. Personally, as a music consumer, I love albums. I appreciate albums, I’m still listening to albums. While scrolling Instagram, I’ve seen some producers, not only from House music, and some say albums are not a thing anymore, because people are listening to playlists, and they create their own playlists on Spotify. But me, personally, maybe I’m old school here, I love albums, I really appreciate a good artist album. It’s beyond one or two tracks. When you listen to a good album, you can find things on the first listen, on the hundredth listen, on the thousandth listen. You always get to hear new things, and you get something that is more than one song. For me, maybe one day I will make my second album.
Thank you. Now, next question, I guess the answer to this is yes, but I’ll let you give it a go. Do you ever go through burnout? And if so, how do you overcome it? Of course it happens with the standard 9-5 job, but I guess it’s an interesting thing to ask artists, because there’s often the belief that, “Oh, artists, they’re doing what they love all day, every day, so they just can’t really get tired of it”.
I think I learned the last few years, actually, that I cannot stress myself to make music, for example, or to work on music, and sometimes when you feel like it’s too much and you’re not in the mood, it’s OK. I’m releasing, because I used to have days in which I would say “Nothing comes out, I don’t like the studio anymore and don’t like the music anymore”, and then I would stress myself out for nothing. So, yeah, what I do is take some space, do something else. I like to play football when I’m home twice a week. I like to meet friends, drink good wine. It’s good to have other hobbies. And then you feel refreshed, and at the end of the day, I decide I actually like to make music, so I go back to the studio and I’m starting again.
Touching on the same topic again, do — or did — you ever feel guilty when stepping away from the studio and taking time off?
Yeah, I used to, but again, I worked on it a lot with myself to avoid those feelings, because it’s for nothing. Better for me, in my opinion, is that when I get into the studio, I enjoy it. When I enjoy it, I make better music. If I suffer or I don’t like it, I’m not in the mood, so what will come out of the studio? There are other people that say this is like a normal job, you have to get up every morning, every day, and get into the studio, and work hard, and something will happen. OK, maybe, but when you’re in that burnout situation that you really don’t like making music, you don’t precisely love what you’re putting out, so I don’t think that for me to stress out is the right choice.
Now, a bit of a hypothetical question. If you could travel to the past, say, 10, 15, 20 years, whatever amount of years you feel like interesting to bring up, and meet your past self, what would you tell him? Was there anything that young Khen was worrying about, far more than necessary?
Yes, of course. In the beginning, you’re always asking yourself, will it happen one day that I really become someone who plays, and gets invited? “I make nice music, some DJs play it, but there are so many steps on the way”, and sometimes I felt like, maybe it wouldn’t happen. If I could go back and talk to myself, I would say, “Relax, boy, keep doing what you’re doing, it will happen”.
Amazing. And this one is kind of the same question, but applied to someone else. So, suppose there’s someone in our audience, aspiring producer, who looks up to you, and really looks up to your work, what would be the one piece of advice that you’d give them, in order to find success through music?
Good advice? I have to say that, what was good 10 years ago, is not necessarily good now. Because things are changing all the time. So, I would say, genres and trends are always changing. If you start to make music, you have to enjoy what you’re doing, and commit with a lot of passion to it, and keep doing what you like. It’s good to absorb inspirations from outside, and from what is going on, but you have to make something that is yours. And if you got it, it will be unique, it will be yours. So, try to be unique in your own way. It doesn’t matter if it’s trendy now or not, but if you’re unique and you do that for a long time, it will happen.
Got it. Amazing, thank you. Well, I’ve got one more question. How do you see yourself in a few years’ time? Like, what do you wish will be your legacy as an artist in the future?
Two years ago, I founded my own label, closure. So, I want that to grow, and represent the sound I like, and my sound. And for me, something that really makes me happy, and I wish it will be the same in a few years, is that when I make something from my heart, and people listen to it, I see them feeling something out of my music for me. That makes me feel accomplished. I did it all, you know? Yeah, that’s my wish for five, ten years from now.
Final Words
Huge thanks to Khen and the whole team who made this happen. It’s turned into a beautiful product that, as I always try and excel at, gives an insight into the person behind the music, much more than the music itself. I believe artists are a very interesting, and often left behind aspect of music. Yet without them, there’s no music at all. Thank you Khen!
You can listen to his My Pure Soul EP below. And below that, you’ll find a remix he just released in Guy J’s early morning.