Bass player of the band Lo’Jo until 2016, Kham Meslien has performed on all continents, from the big stages of megacities to the Australian and American deserts. He also plays in the trio Sweet Back and has collaborated, on stage or in the studio, with numerous international musicians: Robert Plant, Archie Shepp, Robert Wyatt, and Justin Adams. With ‘fantomes futurs’, Kham Meslien embarks on a new adventure, introspective and shared.
Indeed, he swapped his electric bass for the double bass and, at the request of a festival programmer, he decided to go solo, first for the shows and then he decided to take the plunge and record an album.
Double bassist turned leader, Kham has placed his double bass, a fine blend of power and gravity, at the center of a virtual group where he occupies all positions. Percussions struck on the wood of his imposing instrument, discreet brushes or rhythmic double bass have returned their spells to the printed circuits of a ‘looper’. Looping, cadences, each then replayed on themselves, for the duration of several measures.
The time for Kham to install the deep tonality and the warmth of strings that resonate on the wood to become narrators of stories. A music with images where the vibrations darken the first lines, drive melodies and themes, then leave the solos the freedom to take the floor to write the continuation.
An intense, instinctive word. emotional.
But ultimately, Kham did not want to remain the only musician throughout the album, which is why he called upon the poetry of Anthony Joseph for a unique vocal track entitled ‘la couleur’.