Khan

N.Y.C.-based experimental electro producer Can Oral fronts dozens of outputs on the Structure label collective and on multiple Cologne imprints including DJ Ungle Fever, XXC3, Eat Raw, and Pharma. Behind the names 4E and Khan, plus the additional aliases Bizz O.D., Gizz T.V., El Turco Loco, and Fuzz DJ, he ranks among the scant Europeans who relocated stateside to revive a stagnant underground scene. His ongoing projects encompass the Manhattan store Temple Records, situated beneath the Liquid Sky Clothing shop, along with the affiliated Temple and Liquid Sky labels. As sibling to Air Liquide’s Cem Oral, he joined Mike Ink, J. Burger, and Biochip C’s Martin Damm in shaping early Structure releases on Blue and DJ Ungle Fever, the focal point of Germany’s acid and techno surge throughout the 1990s. After settling in New York he adopted the moniker 4E, drawn from his initial apartment address that also housed his studio, and went on to issue numerous EPs and albums under both 4E and Khan, most prominently via Force Inc./Mille Plateaux as well as his own Liquid Sky, Home Entertainment, and Temple imprints. His approach merges experimental hip-hop and electro, layering abrasive 303 textures and polished atmospheric layers over propulsive midtempo rhythms built from recognizable drum sources.

The 1996 Home Entertainment debut Blue Note delivered ambient electro reminiscent of B12, Jonah Sharp, and Autechre/Gescom, omitting the sharper edges of his prior club-oriented material. He also ran and performed at the weekly Killer nights while collaborating with experimental composer Tetsu Inoue. In 1997 Caipirinha issued his first album for the label, Silent Movie, Silver Screen. Two years afterward Matador signed him, resulting in 1-900-Get-Khan. Passport appeared at the start of 2000, followed the subsequent spring by No Comprendo on the same imprint. The 2007 album Who Never Rests came out on Tomlab, and 2008 brought Who Never Rests Remixed Vol.1 as the inaugural release on his own I’m Single imprint. For several years thereafter he confined output to singles and EPs until The Enlightenment Machine surfaced on Album Label in 2014, its drones and loops drawing from Brion Gysin’s hallucinatory invention The Dream Machine.