Khari Lucas, using his musical alias Contour, belongs to a notable group of young artists who blend the traditions of black music with a modern, avant-garde approach to songwriting. Once starting out as a producer, he expanded his musical knowledge with albums such as ‘Onwards’ (2022), ‘Love Suite’ (2021) and ‘Weight’ (2021), in which he switches between genres and disciplines such as dark, sample-driven R&B, post-punk and new wave. Despite these musical forays, his sound remains recognizable, thanks to his voice, flow and candid lyrics, which in turn are heavily influenced by rap.
Khari’s curiosity remains evident on his upcoming album ‘Take Off from Mercy’. This time he leaves the samples behind and focuses on guitar-driven songwriting, mixing blues, tropicalia, hip-hop, post-punk and indie rock. The album documents the lessons he has learned along the way. Together with his co-producer Omari, Khari worked on the songs in different cities around the world, with the central theme of transformation through migration. Following the album’s release this fall, an extensive tour of the U.S., the U.K. and Europe will follow, including a visit to Amsterdam on February 11th.