Max Bien Kahn is a songwriter, bandleader, and side-man who has been based in New Orleans for the past 13 years. His fourth solo album, Flowers, arrived on November 1. When Kahn moved to New Orleans, he was already a songwriter, but in Louisiana, he became a performer—busking up and down Royal Street with jazz and country bands, playing upright bass and guitar until it became a full-time gig. Right now, most of his time is spent playing tenor banjo in the traditional jazz band Tuba Skinny. But it’s been a busy four years for Max Bien Kahn, the solo artist, too. After putting out his first solo album in 2016, Max and the Martians, he was a session player for many tunes on the now legendary Mashed Potato Records compilations recorded in the Springs of 2017-2018 (his song “Island” was included on Vol 1).
Kahn’s never made an album like Flowers before. When he’s recording in New Orleans, the projects are usually live material or feature many guest performers. It’s how you get a record like When I Cross It Off, which includes folks like Esther Rose, Matt Bell, Ray Micarelli, Steph Green, Charlie Halloran, and Shaye Cohn. This time, though, it was just Kahn, Farbe, Pearson, and Snyder.
This new approach provided a bit more intimacy in the world of Kahn, and a stand-out from the new album, “Ghost Song,” elevates this sentiment. The song’s slow-burning nature emphasizes the sentimental songwriting and quaint vocal feel while allowing the poetic songwriting to carry the emotional weight. It’s the type of song that makes the world feel smaller, allowing you to escape from a noisy city street with a familiar warmth that is reminiscent of home. Kahn’s simplistic approach allows every nuanced detail to feel impactful, giving the song the feel of nostalgic soul while keeping one foot clearly in a folksier territory. Leave the bells and whistles at home, Kahn’s “Ghost Song” can evoke palpable emotions with a minimalistic approach. The artist successfully explored new sonic territory while keeping the outing sounding familiar and quaint, a testament to Kahn’s songwriting abilities.
“I wrote ‘Ghost Song’ about some vivid dreams I had where I would encounter my mom a couple of months after she died, but they were so realistic that I would wake up convinced I had actually seen a ghost,” explains Kahn. “I finally wrote down the dream one morning after I woke up. In the dreams, I was alone in my family’s house, and I would usually just hear footsteps and see her walk by out of the corner of my eye.”
