Natasha Khan (Soundcheck Introduction)
On the woman behind one of the best pop outfits to break out of the British music industry yet
By Madeeha Syed
She was once asked how she is received by the Pakistani community to which Natasha Khan responded with a laugh, “I have absolutely no idea! You should probably ask another question.”
Having formally pursued a degree in music, the singer/songwriter/musician is known for her weirdly haunting and enchanting music, the content of which is likened to Grimms fairytales, and for her equally eccentric sense of style she prefers wearing bands and headdresses, glitter and body paint while performing — the influence is now being felt among those who follow her.
Anglo-Pakistani, she’s the daughter of legendary Pakistani squash coach Rahmat Khan who tutored squash player Jehangir Khan, his nephew. In previously published interviews she describes the time spent with her father as “a happy period in her life.” He is a definite influence in her creativity, as she mentions in an interview in The Guardian: “Dad was an amazing storyteller and illustrator, which he did in his spare time — very inspiring and dramatic. I’d travel the world with him and watch him compete. I think that’s why I’m really free-spirited: I’d been all over the world by the time I was three.”
She plays a variety of instruments which includes the glockenspiel, piano, harp, guitar (has recently picked up the bass) and enjoys playing percussion and drumming although she once stated that “I usually speak with all my drummers so that I write my songs with them in mind, and we’ll have bass sounds, choir sounds, and then you can multi-task with all these orchestral sounds. Through the magic medium of technology I can play all kinds of sounds, double bass and stuff.”
Her music which is highly influenced by her dreams and her reading on Jungian theory is highly visual. Compared to the likes of Bjork, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, PJ Harvey, Annie Lenox and Kate Bush, Natasha Khan’s Bat for Lashes is one of the most exciting things to come out of the British pop music industry yet.
She released her debut album Fur and Gold in 2006 and in 2007 it was nominated for the Mercury Prize. She was also one of the nominees for Best Breakthrough Act and Best British Female in the Brit Awards 2008. Her single, What’s a Girl to do, was the first to introduce her into British pop prominence. She was largely unnoticed before being nominated for the Mercury Award and mentioned in The Guardian that dealing with fame “allowed me to get used to the idea of opening your dressing gown in front of lots of people.”
Bat for Lashes opened for several of Radiohead’s shows in 2008 and recently released the second album, Two Suns, early in April.
Source: DAWN.COM | Images
