Biography
Who is this manic Master of Ceremonies who openly confesses to the two grand black bohemians said to be lunatic Sun Ra and George Clinton, and whose antics certainly remind us of a young Herman Sonny Blount and his Solar Arkestra?King Khan and The Shrines have been spreading their love like peanut butter since 1999. A youngblood King Khan on his royal Buddhistic journey decides to sow some wild oats in , where he finds true love and fulfills his life long dream of leading a super bad ass 10-piece soul inferno!!!!"I didn't just want the audience to have an aural orgasm. I wanted an EYEGASM too!!!" - King Khan.The line-up includes 60 year-old Chicago-born, Ron Streeter (the live-percussionist of Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, and many other Soul-Legends), a horn section consisting of Simon Wojan (member of Kranky Records recording artists Cloudland Canyon), Ben Ra ('s John Coltrane), and famous French rockabilly saxophonist Big Fred Rollercoaster. The rhythm section of the Sensational Shrines has been called "a German/French version of the Freak Brothers".Their first album THREE HAIRS & YOU'RE MINE, released in 2002, was produced by Liam Watson and recorded in the legendary Toe Rag Studios in London, England. A second full-length, MR. SUPERNATURAL, followed in 2004. King Khan and The Shrines became an all-star international movement. Numerous gigs followed all across Europe with the Black Lips, Enon, Demolition Dollrods, Mr.Quintron & Ms. Pussycat, even an after-party for 50 Cent in Norway. They headlined Toronto's NXNE festival in 2006 playing three nights in a row and even had a member of member of the Sun Ra Arkestra their brass section.In 2007 King Khan made the soundtrack and film score for "Schwarze Schafe" a major motion picture in . The soundtrack included music from The Black Lips, The Spits, Gris Gris, Quintron and more.That same year, King Khan also released WHAT IS?! which received critical acclaim from all over the world, landing at #33 on Pitchfork's Top Albums of 2007 while their track Welfare Bread landed at #66 on Pitchfork's Top 100 Songs of 2007.In 2008, King Khan's musical dynamite was, for the first time, widely available in the U.S. of A. A greatest hits of his greatest hits, the cream of a very creamy crop - this is the Supreme Genius of King Khan and The Shrines at their absolute very best. The entire 11-person psychedelic-soul big band revue toured extensively through North America that summer, leaving behind them a colorful spell of amazement and wonder. In April 2009 King Khan and The Shrines re-released WHAT IS?! in North America.
