Lloyd Khan – Whispers Of Enlightenment
Lloyd Khan – Whispers Of Enlightenment – Album Review
And there you have it…just yesterday I was reviewing some faith-based Jesus stuff, and today I’m here with the ol’ Mystic Monk himself, Lloyd Khan – who says that I don’t keep an open mind? For a guy that believes in Matrix Theory and nothing more, I sure end up discussing a lot of theologies and beliefs that are outside of my own, but I’m always happy to do that when it comes to the music that I’m listening to.
I remember really enjoying the previous experience with Khan’s music on his album The Mystic Monk – and I’d say that overall, I’m still enjoying what he’s creating on this new record Whispers Of Enlightenment too. I can certainly hear and acknowledge that he’s taking some risks that may or may not land with listeners out there, but for the most part, I think it’s fair to say that the uniqueness Lloyd creates in his work will certainly lead to a loyal following he can call his own. As “From Burma I Come” began, I think there were a couple things I noticed right away…which went on to be somewhat true of all the material found throughout the album – the music very much plays like it’s in a secondary role in terms of where it sits in the mix & how much oxygen it gets in each song, and the poetic design of Khan’s words works both for & against him. I liked that as “From Burma I Come” began, we got a much clearer glimpse of Lloyd’s voice, which is usually heavily filtered through effects and layers. To me, the cleaner it sounds, the better chance he actually has in what he’s communicating reaching the ears out there listening, though I certainly acknowledge the layering effects does create an interesting texture. He puts a significant amount of effort into his words though…so I’ve gotta advocate on behalf of those getting heard too. Mix-wise, he’s taken care of that with the music always set in the distance, or at a significantly lower volume in comparison to the vocals, or being more sparse in design so that it doesn’t overtake the words…like I said, it’s the message that remains the priority and we know that by the way that these tracks are designed. What is a bit of a concern for me is how each track is written and phrased in such a similar way, with two-line couplets and a ton of rhyming involved. With such a rigid structure to it all, it’s impossible to feel like Khan is always saying exactly what he’d want to say – even on a visual level, you can see that the structure is actually the main priority…and that’s honestly a concern. It’s like saying that a plate would be the most important part of a meal, you feel me? If Lloyd was saying things exactly as he’d want to say them, we’d see and hear more deviation from the confines of structure. That’s not to say he doesn’t get close – I’m sure that he does – but there’s no possible way that compromise doesn’t exist in a place where structure never deviates…that’s what I’m saying. So while the opening track of “From Burma I Come” doesn’t expose the wear & tear that approach will have on the material at first, but eventually track after track, the similar methods applied do. You can still appreciate the poetry and uniqueness…the identity of what Khan creates for sure…but at the same time, you have to acknowledge that a little deviation can go a long way to keeping a record engaging.
I like the juxtaposition and contrast created by the conceptual ideas that fuel “I Can’t See What I Hear” – this was an interesting tale to listen to. I’d again advise a whole lot of caution to Khan in terms of the formulaic way this entire lineup of songs has been assembled…he’s gotta be a lot more objective about that and understand that though the message and sounds change between each tune, the methods of how they’re created remain completely the same…diversity and versatility illuminate the path forward. That being said, I’ll try not to dwell on that too much. I really thought the conversational concept of “I Can’t See What I Hear” was cool…I like how it’s like there are two sides represented, and how it’s tough for each to understand the other. “I Can’t See What I Hear” – but “I can’t hear what I see” – that kind of paradoxical concept explains a lot of miscommunication and how each of us approaches understanding things from different perspectives too. No singular method is likely to capture everything, which is why we all strive to see things from another point of view, or hear what someone is saying through their own experiences. “In the depths of perception, a truth to find” as Lloyd explains in his own Yoda-esque way.
So…just in case anyone out there is reading this sideways – let me make myself clear – I really dig the core idea and concept of what Lloyd Khan creates and the sound he’s going for. While I do think things like less structural rigidity would give the ideas in something like this project more of an opportunity to breathe and find a new level of creativity that could help, I still also believe that the uniqueness of what Khan creates could go a long way with listeners out there too. Being different is never a bad thing in the realm of music-making and art…it could take people a long time to catch on, but that’s just kind of how things go with any band or artist out there in any corner of the scene that dares to do things differently. As I listened to “In The Realm Of Spirit” I felt like these words of wisdom from Khan are certainly beneficial to the mind, body, and soul as intended…and I genuinely believe that a lot of folks out there would appreciate the high degree of spirituality that Lloyd brings to this idea. As for the main mix on the vocals…I’m kinda torn on that if I’m being honest with ya…my gut is telling me that in short bursts, it’ll work, but over the course of a record, diversity is really the key to keep people from tuning out. You can have all the great things in the world to say, but if you’re saying them all in a similar way, then trust me when I tell ya, eyes and ears start glazing over pretty darn quickly…and I’d say that’s a bit of a concern here. I also stand by Khan’s music deserving more of the spotlight than it’s getting and feel like he might be underestimating the power of its potential impact on us. A track like “In The Realm Of Spirit” will give you a bit more time to spend with the music in comparison to some of the others, but you get what I mean – there’s still plenty of room for it to share the spotlight with his words. Because there is great stuff happening there, without a doubt…Spoken Word is a tricky genre to begin with, where you’ll find many folks feeling like an instrumental representation could have been the way to go anyhow – I feel like there is tremendous value in Lloyd’s words, but that he’s got room to entwine them more within his music is all. “In The Realm Of Spirit” admittedly gets a lot closer to the mark I think he’s searching for in that regard…the music is seriously cool, and if it wasn’t built for Spoken Word, it’d fit right into Trip Hop.
Everything in life would reveal some kind of strangeness if you looked at it under the microscope like we tend to do in these reviews. Like, in listening to Whispers Of Enlightenment, the lyrical couplets became much more clear to me this time around in reviewing Khan’s music – but so too do similar things he’d write about, like how many things are referred to as a ‘dance’ of sorts throughout multiple songs. No matter who we are, we all fall into patterns of some kind, and more often than not, we’re practically never aware of them until they’re pointed out. The meditative qualities of his music and ideas are always going to be the strongest aspect of Khan’s music I’d reckon…and tracks like “In The Stillness Of Meditation” prove that to be true. I feel like we’ve got vocals up above the music as much as we do so that the words don’t get missed…and while I appreciate that, because Lloyd has clearly spent a great deal of time writing them and they should be heard, I also feel like if he were to find a different mix of effects on the vocals, the clarity might naturally increase, which would allow him to bring the music up around him a bit more, which would help each individual track stand out a bit more too. The domino effect, but where each piece is falling the right way in favor of accessibility. “Mindful steps, like a gentle, flowing stream,” if you will. For the New Age crowd and the Self Help section, listening to what Khan creates would likely be considered to be essential…I’m putting out breadcrumbs that he can follow if he’s looking to expand the potential reach of his art and ideas to a wider range of accessibility overall.
As with all music, even in the Spoken Word realm, you’re bound to find moments that resonate a bit more than others. For me, it felt like “Life After Death” was the track that seemed to make an instant difference on a sonic level…I love the way the music in this cut starts out. Even on a conceptual level, I’d say something like “Life After Death” is more appealing to me on a personal level too, simply because that’s a topic I’m endlessly interested in. At track five on the record, it’s hard to say that pure interest will get Lloyd past the structural rigidity I’ve been talking about…we start really feeling the weight of the similarities in his approach track after track around this point on the album, but he’s still got plenty of wisdom to share that makes any effort it would take to push past that well worth your while. Regardless of the fact that he writes in a similar way throughout this set-list, you’ll find his lyrical imagery is always enchanting & vivid, and themes of positivity, light, and love are always on display. “Life After Death” is a reminder of how much we don’t know about what lies ahead of us, and that when our eyes are closed here on Earth, there could very well be a whole lot more in-store for us in a completely different chapter. Personally, I find that both comforting and compelling…heck, it’s exciting to me if I’m being outright honest with ya! We created a valley of malls here on Earth that has always been harder for me to be jazzed about…so while I’m not rushing to find out what happens in “Life After Death,” I’m also not going to kid myself either and say I’m not highly curious (and yes, excited) about what would come next.
Where I felt like the mix on Lloyd’s vocals was most effective was on “Life With AI,” because to me, that is where the texture of sound seems to fit in conceptually the most. Ultimately, I think he’s going for a spiritually wise sound in his vocals that echoes the words…and I get that…but it does carry with it the digital means of how it would be created, which ends up feeling more suited to a track like “Life With AI” that is directly dealing with technology – make sense? I have to admit, I was a lot surprised by Lloyd’s take on AI in general here…but perhaps I shouldn’t have been. While it’s fair to say he acknowledges some of the many concerns, he’s also fundamentally preaching acceptance of all things at all times too – so…yeah…I mean, I guess it’s natural that he wouldn’t necessarily be as fearful of AI as many of us are. He’s ‘dancing’ two times in this particular song…and I feel like my chalkboard tally marks are filling up with respect to that…but other than that, I still appreciate where he’s coming from. Like all artists and bands that come my way, I consider it my job to poke and prod and encourage you to tap into as much uniqueness and creativity as you possibly can…so whenever I discover patterns of any kind, that’s why I tend to point’em out – it’s an opportunity to shake things up even more, and do more with your art. I dig the fact that Khan took on AI as a subject here – that’s highly relevant, and I dig that the sound of the music has a vibe that seems to reflect the mechanical aspects of technology too. Lloyd seems to embrace the technological aspects of our advancement much more than you might assume a spiritual type of dude ever would, but he makes a solid case as to why that is, and explains its positive potential.
“Quantum Monks” – four ‘dance’ moments Lloyd. You see what I’m talking about my friend? Plenty of opportunity for you to say more with just a few slight changes and looking at the material objectively. He’s got his rhythm down to a science, which works a little for and against him by track seven on his album. If you dig what Lloyd does, I’m absolutely confident that you’ll stick with him from start to finish – but if you started to feel that wear and tear a while back, then the road is a bit tougher ahead. You feel the cadence naturally at this point in the record and know how Lloyd is going to phrase his words before they even come up…but that’s also a natural property of meditative sound too – you want things to be similar in the sense that they’ll help you trance right out into your own thoughts and such, or into the nothingness where space helps you find clarity & all that. Look…I’m not gonna be the guy that pretends I have any real idea as to what it takes to meditate effectively or reach that higher plain – that’s where folks like Lloyd come in, not me. I’m just here to tell ya what I hear and what sounds good to me. I enjoyed “Quantum Monks” about as much as I have the rest…there’s an undeniable consistency to Khan’s material on Whispers Of Enlightenment, but again, I’d be the first to argue that there’s plenty of space in the scene for something like this to exist and find its loyal audience to listen.
“The Black Hole” was an interesting track to me conceptually…I think a great many of us will be able to relate to what Lloyd is on about in this one. It’s really about “insatiable hunger, in the human heart” and how we try to fill the void so many of us feel in our life with things that aren’t going to solve that problem. From social media to drugs, to whatever it is we choose to do as a vocation, “The Black Hole” exists “within us all” – but so too, is the answer as to what you should really fill it with. While I wouldn’t disagree with Lloyd on the fact that all of what he’s pointing out on this track could certainly be to our detriment in many ways – I’m also not going to tell ya that all drugs are bad, that social media doesn’t also have benefits, or that your job is slowly killing you. Drugs can be bad, social media can be a problem, and your job might be killing you – these are all possibilities, yes – but it’s all about how you choose to use the tools at your disposal as opposed to letting those same tools use you instead. “In the pursuit of more, we lose control” – that’s what I agree with most. “Everything in moderation, including moderation,” as Oscar Wilde once said…if you can follow that advice, I’d reckon you’ll avoid falling into “The Black Hole” of trying to fill your soul up with a bunch of nonsense that’s not as fulfilling as you’d ever hope it would be. Do things for a purpose I’d say, as opposed to simply going through the motions and doing more of something simply for the sake of doing more. I’m sure Khan and I could write essays on a topic like “The Black Hole,” what defines it, or how to avoid it…it’s a great concept for him to tackle.
There is undoubtedly a lot of wisdom in what Lloyd is creating, and I think many folks out there can benefit from what he’s communicating. As I’ve pointed out along the way through this review, there is some risk in how that message is getting out there based on how he’s assembling these songs from the standardized poetry of its design to the mix of the effects on the vocals and where Lloyd’s voice sits in the mix – but despite these things, I still think he’s got something decisively unique worth listening to. I feel like the music itself deserves a bit more credit than it tends to get…Khan’s got some seriously stellar stuff to be heard in that regard, but there’s no question that it plays a secondary role to what he’s got to say. Putting the mix between the vocals and music on par with each other could potentially be the right way to go…it’d give tracks like “Understanding Is The Way” a better opportunity for crossover traffic in the sense that the music lovers would get more of that, and the spoken word fans would still get what they’re looking for as well. I’d imagine Khan would have to adjust the effects/layers of his vocals to get the clarity he’d need if the music came up in the mix, but the songs would sound larger overall, and a bit more cohesive in terms of how one aspect of the art complements the other, whereas right now it’s fairly clear that the music is the vehicle for the words and not much more. Having said that, for those out there that listen to Lloyd’s words and feel like they can guide them to a better place or plain of existence, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for it. I’m the kind of person that believes there is always something to learn…I’m a perpetual student, and it’ll be a long, long time before I’d feel comfortable doling out the wisdom on how to live with the confidence and precision that someone like Lloyd does. I stay firmly in my lane…I can hear things in art & music others can’t…that’s where I’m somewhat useful. “Understanding Is The Way,” as he says…and I’m just fortunate enough to understand myself a little bit and know the vast scope of my own limitations. I really like the music underneath the words of this tune & feel like “Understanding Is The Way” has the right foundation to be one of the album’s more impactful cuts between what it’s saying & how it sounds. Khan’s got a wealth of knowledge we can all draw from.
“Yet, in the silence, a plea for change, to break free from this rhythm, so strange.” #Amen brother-man. I get it, we’re talking about two different things – Lloyd’s talking about the effects of war, and I’m talking about the compounding effect of similarities in the span of an album…but the statement applies equally. As we reach the last track on Whispers Of Enlightenment, “War Mongers,” I can’t help but feel like this latest experience with Lloyd’s music revealed a spectrum of what works, and where more opportunity for this idea to evolve exists as well. I found myself feeling like my favorite thing about what Khan creates is what he chooses to speak about subject/theme-wise…his concepts are remarkable, and as I’ve said from the very start, he’s got a ton of valid wisdom to share. As to how he’s sharing that knowledge, I think that’s where the most opportunity exists…listening ears need a bit more variety than he’s currently offering, and there’s a risk of people tuning out without that piece of the puzzle, in my opinion. You wouldn’t want to write words and thoughts like you hear on “War Mongers” and not have them heard and understood by one and all…because what Khan has to say is genuinely important stuff, but we’re also on track ten by this point too. I feel like he’s got room to be more objective with his material and how it would be received on the other side of the speakers, and more space to dig even deeper in order to ensure what he’s saying is as unique as the concepts and framework of the idea he’s created with this Spoken Word-based project of his. Plenty of positives to be found…the uniqueness of the idea itself is definitely commendable…but now it’s about making sure that’s not getting lost in translation by creating too many noticeable similarities in the material that might hinder the important messages he’s sending out into the world. Performance-wise, I feel like Khan’s in good shape, it’s just that need for a greater level of diversity and the willingness to challenge himself in that direction…production-wise, I feel like there is room for the music to play more of a role…but overall, he’s still very much on the right path with a project that offers something much different than the rest, and he can proudly call his own.
Find out more about Lloyd Khan from his official website at: http://lloydkhan.com
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