- Radio Monash Journalism
Khartoum: Modern Problems Require Modern Musicians
Written by David Paicu.

Finding artistic confidence in a world constantly pumping out content, whether that be in the form of musical or visual art, is becoming an increasingly difficult endeavour. Indeed, it feels harder than ever to discover anything unique in a world where it seems it's all been done before.
In this way, London rock foursome Khartoum's ability to define themselves despite their relatively narrow oeuvre makes them all the more interesting.
Locating themselves firmly within their unique take on politics and aesthetics - both visual and, more importantly, musical - Khartoum has already created somewhat of a persona for themselves. Having played on the catwalks of Each x Other and even the stages of Glastonbury, for an up-and-coming band, they have a built up a resume that competes with many an established ensemble.
Interested in seeing how Khartoum has explored their musical capabilities and aesthetic principles, Radio Monash sat down Oscar and Cam. What followed was a conversation about what it means to be a band making themselves in London during these uncertain times.

How’ve you guys been during this pandemic?
Cam: "We’ve been quite productive, which is cool. We’re going to be playing some of these new songs that we’ve had a chance to fully finish off tonight actually. We’re having our first gig in the last six months. We got a deal signed. We started releasing music and Oscar filmed a music video he is just finishing off the editing on which we are very proud of."
Oscar: "I think it’s been tough. I live in London and so does Cam. It’s been pretty intense. [With our government], they aren’t looking after the arts or supporting venues."
C: "Financially, it’s pretty terrible."
O: "We have been staying creative and writing. Luckily, just before lockdown had happened we had recorded our music. We had these songs ready to go and we had managed to get the music videos including the one for ['New Cold War'] alongside a few other things done. It’s been tough but there’s been some positives."
How did you guys meet and form Khartoum?
O: "That’s a good story. Cam and I were at boarding school together. We were dorm mates. I wasn’t really interested in playing music at that point in my life..."
C: "I was always playing music, but we only collaborated making stupid songs about Ribena and shit like that. We weren’t actually writing any songs. Then I went to Uni and Oscar went off to New York to drama school and came back to London after that.
Once we met up again it just fell into place. It was just us for a while for a couple of years then we got Jake in. I went to Uni and studied music with him. Then Oscar met Scarlet in a field somewhere. I’m not sure how that one happened actually."
O: "Pretty much, I was at a rave. It was a small mini festival and Scarlet was there. We got to speaking about music and she said she was a drummer and she just so happened to fit as a piece of our jigsaw. We played our first gig two and a half years ago and we’ve just been developing ever since. We are quite lucky because we have a residency at this place called Laylo and we get to play there. We played consecutively, like twenty shows, there and that’s been really helpful to learn how to play live."
C: "It’s a great way to hone the craft, see what works and what doesn’t. You can feel what’s good when you know the venue and the crowd - obviously the crowd is changing, but the interaction is key."
O: "We were allowed to pick our own supporting bands and got to help with choosing the bands we got to play with. They are really fun nights, we try to make them that way. They are quite eclectic and raucous, they end up becoming quite a party."
Your Spotify bio mentions you had a residency at Laylo, a place renowned for having Mick Jagger play with the Stones. How does it feel knowing you’re playing in a place that has such a historical pedigree tied to it?
O: "There’s a venue called the Troubadour that’s nearby and we’ve played there too a bunch of times and that’s had Led Zeppelin. There’s a lot of venues in London, in the same way they are in Melbourne with venues that have had amazing Australian artists. It’s nice to play in these spaces that these people have played at. You’re getting closer to where you want to be."
C: "I think you’re underplaying it a bit there Oscar. Let me tell you what happened… what really happened.
At Laylo we were playing a show and we didn’t see him at the time, but someone came up to us at the end and were like:
‘Oh look, Mick Jagger was here, he was actually watching you guys and filming you on his phone’. We were like, what the fuck.
It then transpired he actually - I’m not sure how exactly this happened - but the Stones played some shows in Wembley a couple of weeks later. They had an after-party. After having seen us play, Mick Jagger had actually booked us to play the after-party which was insane. That was mad. Getting that kind of recognition from them- it was pretty mind-blowing. It felt like a dream."
O: It was a bit of a strange gig, because it was like more of a private party. I remember looking up and Woody Harrelson was just right there, and I was in shock. I love True Detective and I just love Woody Harrelson so seeing him dancing along was sort of surreal."
C: "Just playing for those kinds of occasions and in these types of venues it really is sort of surreal."
So, the name Khartoum comes from the horse in The Godfather. You guys mentioned you are interested in drama and film - when it comes to the creation of your music, do you look to film as a source of inspiration?
O: "That’s a good question. I think so. Cam sent me one song named 'Modern Make Believe', he did the music for it. It struck a chord with me and for me. It made think of a film that can be found in suburbia. What’s that film with Kevin Spacey?"
C: "American Beauty."
O: "Yes, American Beauty. I look at music and just see it sometimes. God, this sounds so pretentious. You can hear a piece of music and you can visualise the scenario. I watch too many films. I would be far more productive if I stopped watching so many films, I’m always watching. Our next music video looks amazing and I hope the ones after that look even more cinematic. The one you’ll see is what I want to do more of. We’ve got an actress in it who is actually my mum so that’s going to be amazing cool."
C: "When I give Oscar a piece of music and he is writing the lyrics to it, he will often say, "Alright, I am visualising a character". It’s sort of like how David Bowie did the persona thing, however, Oscar does it per song. It’s not necessarily that the lyrics are coming straight from the heart of us, sometimes it’s that persona that might be inspired by a film we’ve seen."
With so many up-and-coming bands, what do you guys feel makes you guys different?
O: "I don’t think we try to fit into any boxes. A lot of the bands that are coming out of London at the moment are doing this post-punk thing. They shout their lyrics and try to fit into this mould. It may be a little harsh, but that’s what I think."
C: "I think we strive to not have that. It’s all about whether or not it feels good. If it feels like we are doing something for the sake of fitting in, then there’s no point in doing it."
O: "We are doing our own thing not trying to be particularly like anyone. Obviously, we have influences and inspiration with bands that inspire us, but we hope we are creating something different. There are quite a few scenes in London and I think we move in and out of them, but we never stick to any particular one. When we play a set list the songs are quite different. We like to experiment with our own sounds because overall this willingness to be different can create something new. Some of our favourite artists are people that really experimented - like Bowie, for example."
