Kon Kan

Kon Kan
Barry Harris (1990)
Background information
Origin	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Synthpop Hi-NRG Electronic
Years active	1988–1994, 2013–present
Labels	Revolving Records, Atlantic, Hypnotic, Hi-Bias Records
Associated acts	Top Kat Outta Control Killer Bunnies Thunderpuss Sick Seconds
Website	Kon Kan on Twitter Kon Kan on Facebook
Members	Barry Harris Kevin Wynne

Kon Kan is a Canadian synthpop project conceived and formed in 1988 by Barry Harris in Toronto, Ontario. Kon Kan were awarded a 1990 Juno for the song "I Beg Your Pardon" and nominated for a 1991 Juno Award for the single "Puss N' Boots/These Boots Are Made for Walkin'".^[1]

History

"I Beg Your Pardon"

"I Beg Your Pardon" was inspired in part by both the Pet Shop Boys hit single "Always on My Mind" and an increasingly prevalent use of sampling by artists such as Public Enemy, M/A/R/R/S and Coldcut.^[2] The track sampled Lynn Anderson's 1971 hit "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden", Silver Convention's 1976 hit "Get Up and Boogie (That's Right)", GQ's "Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)", Tones on Tail's "Go!", Spagna's "Call Me", as well as the opening bars from the theme music from The Magnificent Seven (which was also well known as the theme to a commercial for Marlboro cigarettes in the 1960s).^[3][4]

It was recorded part-time during weekends in a home basement midi studio in Hamilton, Ontario, in March, April and May of 1988. It was here that Barry Harris met Kevin Wynne who was hired to sing the song's verses.

The resulting single was originally released in June 1988 on (now defunct) indie label Revolving Records, in Toronto.

International success

A New York-based Atlantic Records employee (and radio promoter) named Marc Nathan, who was on vacation in Toronto, heard "I Beg Your Pardon" in a dance club, where Barry Harris happened to be DJing. Nathan bought several copies of the single from a record store around the corner from the club and took them back to New York. The single was sent to four radio stations and was received particularly enthusiastically in Houston.

By fall of 1989, Kon Kan were signed by Atlantic Records, and marketed as a duo. "I Beg Your Pardon", eventually re-released in the spring of 1989, was a worldwide hit, and reached the Top 5 in several countries (including the UK) and the Billboard Top 20 in the US. The song earned Kon Kan a Juno Award for Best Dance Recording in 1990.

Move to Move (1989)

Kon Kan's debut album, Move to Move, was recorded in Los Angeles in January and February 1989. As well as "I Beg Your Pardon", it also spawned the singles, "Harry Houdini", "Move to Move" and another original/cover combination, "Puss N' Boots". The latter track included recreations (rather than samples) of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" and Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'".

The album also featured collaborations with Bob Mitchell (who had co-written Cheap Trick's number one hit, "The Flame"), Jon Lind (co-writer of Madonna's "Crazy For You") and Dennis Matkosky. The album also featured a cover version of the smash hit "Bite the Bullet" by fellow Canadian group They Never Sleep.

The album was mixed by Alan Meyerson, currently a film score mixer.

Kon Kan embarked on a world tour with backing vocalist Kim Esty and were particularly well received in South American and Asian territories.

Syntonic (1990)

Kevin Wynne, who sang on all but two tracks from Move to Move, left Kon Kan in 1989 and entered the club business. He is currently involved in graphic design and print. Wynne also recorded a Depeche Mode-inspired solo single in the 1990s called "Last Chance", but this remains unreleased.

Kon Kan, now effectively a solo vehicle for Barry Harris, released their second album, Syntonic late 1990. Harris once again teamed up with several writers (including Bob Mitchell), fusing dance and pop tracks with original songs such as Jimmy Soul's "If You Wanna Be Happy" (on "(Could've Said) I Told You So") and Canadian band Trooper's "We're Here For A Good Time" (on "Time"). The album was produced by a number of established producers, including renowned disco producer John Luongo, who had also worked with Blancmange, and Martyn Phillips (who had produced The Beloved's Happiness album that year). Paul Robb of Information Society also produced a couple of tracks.

The album was preluded by the single "Liberty", which featured vocals by Debbe Cole. At the time, Cole was a well established session vocalist, who is best known for her work on Malcolm McLaren's "Madam Butterfly". Cole also provided backing vocals on the subsequent "Syntonic" tour. Another single, "(Could've Said) I Told You So" was also released but, like the previous single and parent album, it was not a hit.

Vida!... (1993)

Following the commercial failure of Syntonic, Kon Kan was dropped from Atlantic Records’ roster. Marc Nathan (who had been fired in April 1991 following an altercation with the record company’s president), stayed loyal to Barry Harris and, in his new role with management company Between the Ears, helped to secure a new deal for Kon Kan with Hypnotic, a subsidiary of A&M Records.

The next album, Vida!... (Hypnotic Records), saw Harris resuming songwriting duties with Bob Mitchell and saw Kon Kan expand to a 4-piece band. Alongside original songs such as the album's lead single "Sinful Wishes", was a remake of "Move to Move" and a cover of David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream". The second single released from the album was "S.O.L." (short for "shit outta luck"), a collaboration with Crash Morgan.

The album, released solely in Canada, failed to regain Kon Kan's earlier success and Harris wound up the Kon Kan brand over the next few years.

In 1994, Harris re-recorded "I Beg Your Pardon" without any samples and re-recorded all the vocals. It was released as an EP double pack 12" with various remixes on Hi-Bias Records in early 1994.

Post-Kon Kan projects

In 1994, Barry Harris teamed up with fellow DJ and Canadian compatriot, Terry Kelly, and formed the house music project, Top Kat. They released a series of independent singles (on the Stickman label) and one album, Hi-Energy House on the Hypnotic label. The album featured revisits of Kon Kan's "I Beg Your Pardon" ("Pardon Me/Rose Garden"), "Liberty" ("There's A Voice In My Heart") and "S.O.L." ("Come Unto Me...Sing").

Barry Harris then went on to collaborate with Rachid Wehbi in the Eurodance band Outta Control, featuring the vocals of Kimberley Wetmore. They released a self-titled album in 1996 which featured versions of Kon Kan's "Sinful Wishes" and Joan Osborne's "One Of Us". The album also featured a version of Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey's "Together In Electric Dreams" sung by Barry Harris (but credited to guest vocals by Kon Kan).

In 1997, Barry Harris recorded a one-off single, "I Can't Take the Heartbreak" with Rachid Wehbi under the name Killer Bunnies.

Harris gained his greatest post-Kon Kan popularity as one half of Thunderpuss (originally named Thunderpuss 2000 from 1997–1999), collaborating with producer, remixer and DJ, Chris Cox. Cox had previously worked with Harris on the Outta Control album. Together they produced and remixed dozens of dance hits for many major music artists in the late 1990s and early 2000s, most notably "It's Not Right but It's Okay" by Whitney Houston. The duo also concurrently released material under the Thunderpuss moniker, such as covers of "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" and David Bowie's "Heroes".

Harris also continued to release singles in his own name too, such as "Why'd Ya Let Her" and the tribal dance anthem, "Dive In The Pool".

Two Thunderpuss albums were released, Dancemania 20 (2001) and Thunderpuss (2002), while Harris has also released a couple of "continuous mix" albums, as part of 4-Play’s Circuit Session series. Volume 3 (released in 2000) included the single "Beg For It", another reprisal of Kon Kan's "I Beg Your Pardon".

Concurrent to his remixing activities, Harris also resumed his DJing career, securing regular employment in prestigious clubs in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other major cities. He was also a popular draw at various circuit parties around the world, and particularly successful on a Japanese tour in 2000.

Following a solo remix for Chaka Khan, Harris took a break from the music industry. Following a 4-year hiatus he re-emerged in 2009 with "Drama Queen (Texting You)", a collaboration with Simone Denny whom he'd previously worked with in the 1990s.

In 2011, Harris formed Sick Seconds, a rock band featuring Anton Cook (who had provided drums on Kon Kan's Vida!... album) and other local musicians. They released their self-titled debut album via iTunes in March 2013.

In June 2013, Barry Harris and Kevin Wynne officially reunited as Kon Kan.

Kon Kan discography

Albums

• Move to Move (1989)
• Syntonic (1990)
• Vida!... (1993)

Singles

References

External links

• Kon Kan on Twitter
• Kon Kan on Facebook
• Electricity-club.co.uk