Artist Profile: KhanPhAro and the New Creatures
KhanPhAro and the New Creatures, a punk-rap band initially born from the basement genre experimentations of brothers Marc and Kris Pacheco, has now blossomed into a full, boundary-pushing outfit, and, with the release of their new single “AOAS”, they have continued to forge their sound in the crosshairs between hardcore energy and pulsating rhythm, pushing out three singles that display enduring evolutions in their sound.
As children, Marc and Kris both showed an early interest in guitar. As the older brother, Kris naturally had a strong influence on his sibling, and, as Kris grew more interested, so did Marc. When their father noticed their budding passion, he circled pawn shops in the Seattle area seeking out instruments that he could place in their basement for them to play, always knowing that, if he could hear distorted guitar or pounding drums, they were at home and staying out of trouble.
Initially, they would primarily play Blink-182 covers, but, over time, their tastes became more and more geared towards hardcore sounds, and, as progressive rock and hip-hop music entered his brother’s rotation, Marc eventually softened his strict adherence to punk music. Yet, as they introduced more and more sounds into their creative atmosphere, for Marc it was always punk that he found a home in.
“What attracted me to punk was there was just a freedom to it…There was just no other genre of music that helped you get out the feeling of wanting to yell [or] punch holes in walls… And it always came more natural to me to play heavier riffs [and play with] distortion, that was always the first thing I wanted to do with a guitar.”
Yet, as Kris increasingly introduced aspects of hip-hop production into their processes of instrumentation, their sound increasingly evolved into a unique blend of the two genres. As the band, and its sound, grew, Kris and Marc knew that it was time to take it more seriously. They moved from Seattle to Southern California, where they recruited the other two members of the band: Jason, the drummer, and Carmine the bassist.
As the COVID-19 Pandemic put a hold on their collaborative creative efforts, Kris and Marc doubled down on their own, stashing idea after idea into the hard drive so that they could later be developed in the setting of the full band. Throughout the course of their work together, Marc attributes their united focus and creative efforts to their enduring relationship not just as bandmates but also as brothers.
“It's been very easy [working with Kris]. As much as other siblings are like ‘Yo, how do you get along with your brother? I want to kill mine,’ (laughs), we've always had that agreeance in that we love music… We've always had that alignment, so, even though we do bump heads at times , we've always come back to the music.”
Primarily driven by the creative tandem of Kris and Marc, KhanPhAro and the New Creatures, through their short discography, have already undergone a series of sonic developments
Their first single, “Kross”, was a Billie Eilish-inspired track that, through its gloomy, atmospheric production and relative lyrical simplicity, did ample work to begin establishing the band’s sound.
Their second single, “Scumbag”, leaned more into the hardcore, energetic sound that has come to define the group over time. Layered with intense distortion, the track makes for an intense three minutes, oscillating between a fierce, ravenous lyrical energy and the rhythmic adroitness of hip-hop lyricism.
Now, with “AOAS”, the group has pushed their sound even further, leaning even further into a rap-centric lyrical zeitgeist, punk instrumentation comprises a potent bed for what appears to be yet another evolution in their sonic manifestations.
As the group marches onward, with plans for their first EP to be released in the near future, KhanPhAro and the New Creatures present an intriguing, and energy-packed, listen for any fan that stumbles across their genre-blending output.
