Interview by Anne-Cécile L.
Crédit Photos: Hanni El Khatib

La version française arrive bientôt.

His fourth album, Savage Times, was released a few months ago and he is now touring all over the world. For the occasion, Hanni El Khatib, « musician and proud owner of a blue nose pitbull named Harlow » in his own words, gave me the opportunity to ask him a few questions.

When I sent you these questions, a few weeks ago, you were in Paris, it was a long time since you last played there… How was your show at La Maison Sage?
Hanni El Khatib: I took a long break from live shows and touring in general. I had been on the road for so long that I was forgetting what it was like to take my time and enjoy my normal life. I also felt like I became to focused on playing live and wanted to shift my energy towards writing and producing music. During my break from live shows, it enabled me to have the time to work in the studio and really give all my energy over to creation. It was a good thing for me to do musically. I’m definitely happy I took that break. But now, I’m back out on the road and ready to start playing all this new material. I feel like the new band lineup and I will be able to breath new life these songs. The show at La Maison Sage was a lot of fun and was one of the first shows where we were able to test out some of this new music. It was small and intimate and the crowd was pretty wild. Definitely a good time.

I read an interview where you said Paris was your second home. Why do you like France so much? What is your relationship with it?
Hanni El Khatib: When it comes to my relationship with Paris, in regards to music, I do still feel the same. I’m not exactly sure why France has embraced my music in the way that it has, but I’m very thankful for it. It may have something to do with the fact that many people, as well as the critiques and journalists, still have a huge appreciation for live instrumentation and more classic forms of rock music. In a world where pop music and rap has dominated the radio, France has held true to their love for live instrumentation and classic song writing. This may be one major factor to why I’m able to even share my music with the French public in such a broad way.
France is a beautiful country and I’ve been lucky enough to see a lot of it through touring and my music. For some reason I just seem to get along with the people here. I’ve managed to build strong and lasting relationships with the people I’ve met and even if I didn’t have music I could see myself visiting often.

Talking about music…

How would you define your music in a few words?
Hanni El Khatib: Spontaneous and in the moment.

You first released 5 EPs and then a new album, all called Savage Times. Could you talk about them?
Hanni El Khatib: Well, like I was saying earlier, I took a break from touring to shift my energy towards writing and recording music. When I went into the studio I didn’t really have a plan to do anything with those songs. In fact, I just wanted to use them as a way to experiment with my sound and try new things in order to help find my way to my next album. I quickly realized that this was gonna become the new way I recorded music. Everyday I went into the studio I challenged myself to tap into a different inspiration and make a song that reflects that mood in the moment. As I did that, I thought that it’d be interesting to start just releasing the music directly to my fans somehow. Which is why I went with the digital approach from the very start. It is the quickest way to get the music to the fans. Also, in doing so I wouldn’t have the time to second guess my work or edit my ideas or concept. I was forced to live with whatever I released and just keep moving forward. This is why the physical form of the music came six – eight months later.

But how did you work: did you plan to released these 5 EPs or was it more spontaneous/impulsive?
Hanni El Khatib: It was all about spontaneity and impulse. I would record the songs, get them mastered and release them almost immediately. I wanted this to be a living project that would grow whenever I had something to add.

Some of these new songs seem more « aggressive », I guess I should say more savage, like « Born Brown » for example. What were your inspirations behind them?
Hanni El Khatib: The songs on this record are a direct reflection of how I was feeling at the time. I wanted these songs to be truthful and meaningful to me at all costs. I wanted to write songs that mattered to me first and foremost. I had this mind-state every time I got in the studio. I was careful about not hiding behind metaphors and abstract thought. I wanted to get to the core of what I felt inside at that moment.

And what’s your favorite song that you’ve ever written?
Hanni El Khatib: Ooooooooo… That’s a tough one, I’m generally never fully satisfied with my songs. I always feel like something could be done differently or it can be improved somehow. But if I had to choose something, it might be Two Brothers or Paralyzed I was pretty stoked on how those two came out.

As I told you lately, I love discovering new bands, new movies, … Especially from artists that I love. So what are your favorite movies? 
Hanni El Khatib: If I had to chose my top 3, it might be No Country For Old Men, Taxi Driver and Mouse (the skate video from Girl).

What do you listen to these days?
Hanni El Khatib: I go through a lot of musically phases when I listen to music. I will get hyper focused on a genre or artist and only listen to that. These days it’s been Ebo Taylor which has gotten me back into Afro Beat and African Funk and Psyche Music.

And who were/are the bands/musicians who had the most influence in your life?
Hanni El Khatib: This is too difficult to list. I can tell you that Soul, Funk and Hip Hop has been largely responsible for shaping my ideas and outlook on how I make and approach making music. The influence is endless.

I don’t play any instrument and I don’t know how or why but… Music, and some artists, helped me a lot to go through many things. It kind of saved my life… I have always wanted to take part in it through many ways. What made you want to start playing music?
Hanni El Khatib: I kind of feel like you when it comes to music. I’ve always turned to music whenever I’ve been lost, depressed, confused, etc… It’s always been a savior for me in that sense. I’ve been playing guitar and a little piano since I was a child. In high school I collected records, sampled them and made beats on my MPC. Making music was never new to me. However, recording songs and releasing them happened late in my life. For the last seventeen years or so, I’ve worked as a designer and art director, this is something I still do today, but at the time around my first album design and art wasn’t quite fulfilling my creative urges. So I set up a little recording thing in my apartment in SF and started making songs.

Did you had any role models as you were a kid? 
Hanni El Khatib: When I look back in life and think about my role models when I was a kid, it was usually someone in my peer group or someone older than me showing me the ropes with whatever I was doing at the time. For a long time through in my late teens and early twenties there were a couple guys that filled this role. My good friend Shane was a guy that taught me a lot about life, business, skateboarding and Hip Hop. He and I were really close and even though I’m younger than him, he treated me like an equal. Then there was my boy Marc. He too was older than me, but he was the first guy to teach me what I know about recording and making music. He even took me out on my first tours, where I played in his band Her Space Holiday. He took me to Japan, England and through parts of the US all from music. I’m forever grateful to these two dudes, they both definitely played a part in shaping who I am today.

You’re also a tattoo lover… You once said you were surprised to see people get inked your album cover but could not judge « weird tattoos » because you got many ones… I have some song titles tattooed, I asked artists to wrote them for me so I can have their handwriting under my skin… I don’t know if it’s weird but people can’t really understand. What’s your weirdest ones?
Hanni El Khatib: My weirdest ones might not be that weird, but I find them to be funny. I have one of a drunk and dirty Mickey Mouse wrapped around the legs of a beautiful pin up woman. I have a tombstone surrounded by cacti that says « No Kooks ». I have got another one with the phrase « Ay Carumba » like the phrase Bart Simpson says on the Simpsons. I guess I could keep going and going, I have a lot of silly tattoos.

What do you love in this art ? And who are your favorite tattoo artists ?
Hanni El Khatib: I love the discipline, skill and technique it takes to be a good tattoo artist. I have a lot of respect for them. My personal favorites are Freddy Corbin and Dr. Woo.

So that will be my last question. I know you will be back in France in October but what’s next for you? 
Hanni El Khatib: I will definitely be hitting the road this year and touring a bunch. On my downtime from shows I will hopefully continue to be in the studio recording more solo material as well as producing other bands. I’ve recently been working with a new band from Los Angeles called Pinky Pinky and hope to finish recording their album this summer. Funny enough I’m currently in France playing some festivals right now. It should be a busy year…