Max Bien Kahn, who is skilled on multiple instruments, lived in New Orleans for more than ten years before the release of his single ‘Skipping Stones’. During that period he played tenor banjo for Tuba Skinny, the traditional jazz group which has been keeping the sounds from the century ago alive on the street corners since 2012.
Although he was raised in San Francisco, it was New Orleans that shaped his musical identity, and meanwhile he carried out collaborations with Sam Doores of The Deslondes, Camille Weatherford of The Lostines, and Esther Rose.
ADVERTISEMENT
EXCLUSIVE
ACCESS
Indie Boulevard Magazine
Discover the Indie Artists Shaping the World!
Unleash the Indie
Latest Issue
for just €2.99!
Nothing in that background really sets the listener up for his solo material. ‘Skipping Stones’ is the third single taken from ‘Baby Green’, his fifth full-length album, and it features a style of guitar pop which seems hazy and rather unsteady, unlike the tight group performances he is usually associated with.
Live recordings tend to leave a trace, and this one gives the impression of a room full of musicians. The title also matches the atmosphere. When a stone skips across water it builds up speed instinctively and bounces to wherever the throw has sent it before eventually sinking, and that idea of small, unrepeatable moments accumulating seems to be at the heart of ‘Baby Green’.
*The song was submitted via Groover. The editorial decision was made independently.
