The Special Agent K
Roots and Wires Sound Dimensional
Khenu Singh (aka The Special Agent K) weaves together a few threads in his particular tapestry. By day, he is a psychiatrist who works with the homeless in Alameda County, as well as a certified Jungian Analyst (C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco), engaging the support of dreams and the imaginal in his clinical work. By night, the realms of the Oneiroi, well that's what we have here...
The Agent Especial, aka D.O.C., has been a guitar player since his teens, and later became a student of Vishal Nagar on the tabla, studying Indian Classical percussion since 2002. His journeys to his ancestral home in Northern India were often by route of London, where he developed a love for all forms of underground music, from drum and bass, to grime and dubstep, and through to UK steppers (he was forever changed after attending his first Jah Shaka sessions). In the US, his first project was the Bruce Lee Hi Fi soundsystem, forged in the humid inner zones & dirty Third Coast of Houston, Texas. Alongside Andrew Groeschel (Ital Counselor Records) they played memorable sessions at Cafe Brasil, the Wax Museum, Club Some, the Pyramid Shop and Cafe and various underground raves, warehouse spaces and parties alongside H-Town stalwarts such as the Rebel Crew, Scooby Doo Crew, DJ Sun & Melodic and more.
In the Pacific Northwest, SAK played a variety of sessions - from the beloved Oseao/Zion's Gate space, to a host of outdoor renegade parties... I close my eyes and remember walking through bioluminescent algae, radiant waves pulsing with each step towards the softly thundering soundsystem I would soon perform on, singing call and response with the ocean. Khenu and collaborators such as DJ Advent also curated a series of Asian Underground Events called Naata (an Urdu term which translates to communal relationship), fundraising for organizations such as the independent South Asian Film Festival, Tasveer. The events ranged from Indian classical music and dance, to Butoh performance, to sweaty junglist throwdowns, with an eclectic and outer national tip
Finally, the Agent Especial moved and settled in the Bay Area, where he organized a long-standing event, Stateless - eventually at Amnesia and then the Rickshaw Stop. His project with Andy G took on new form as the Roots and Wires Sound Dimensional, inspired by UK sound system culture but always thriving at liminal spaces that conversed with a range of other musical influences and traditions - Stateless. The Stateless events flowed between bass heavy DJ sessions, live Dubwise manipulation, video mixing, and live bands and musical performers. Guests included Maneesh the Twister (Dhamaal, Surya Dub), Kid Kameleon, DJ Rupture, Filastine, the band Lemonade, tabla virtuoso Vishal Nagar, beatboxer Tim Barsky, DJ Tomas (XLR8R), Kush Arora, Micropixie, Teleseen, Maga Bo and the legendary Rob Smith of Bristol's legendary Smith and Mighty...
There was a long hiatus in performing as analytic training took center stage, along with parenthood. Then came the Pandemic, which became an alchemical vessel to re-engage with music and film, and to cultivate his modular and semi-modular synthesis collection, as well as to weave in his guitar work, inspired by players such as John Fahey, in his unique Indo-American Primitive style held in dialectical conversation with the world of electronics and synth hardware. Roots and Wires!
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