TAHA - präsentiert von Rausgegangen

Taha, previously known as Kex Kuhl, returns to his punk roots
Debut album under new name: "Medicine" released on own label FUKK MUSIC

Taha is back! Wait, has Taha even been around before? Well, from that point of view he has: Most people know him as Kex Kuhl. But because everything is different right now anyway and you can safely leave some things behind, the musician is from now on only under his civil first name on the road. "Friends like Nura or SAM have always released their art under their own names," Taha explains. "I think I have a nice name and I don't have to hide behind an alias anymore. I am my music and what I say with it."

With "Medicine" Taha released his debut album under a new name on 02.07.2021. It was released through his own label FUKK MUSIC. "I find it exciting to do my own thing and understand the processes," Taha says. "Also, I'm in charge of everything and decide for myself how I want my music to sound. No one can interfere with me. That feels just right."

The eleven tracks on "Medicine" leave no doubt about that. "This album is the result of years of shadow work," Taha says, laughing. Some songs are quiet, others loud, some therapeutic, others danceable for it, some angry, others smooth - just melodic and melancholic pop-punk in all its facets. "Of course, with 'Stokkholm', after my rap beginnings, I have also already gone to a much more guitar-heavy and organic sound. And of course I was already dealing with my depressions on the album. But the songs were a lot more somber and melancholic." With "Medicine," that changes.

"Even though I did hip-hop for a long time, I come from punk," says Taha. The genre is his home, that's where he feels comfortable - and the pink hair, the piercings and the tattoos leave no doubt about that. But the latter in particular are more than just subcultural styling measures. There are, for example, the numbers 4, 7 and 8 on his knuckles - a cross-reference to the breathing technique of the same name, which can alleviate anxiety. Or the anatomical heart on the back of the hand. "Whenever I thought my heart was going to stop, I looked at it and it helped me a little bit," Taha says.

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If nothing more went, also medicines had to be brought. From the
dependence on antidepressants and the fight against exactly that.
Medicine", the first song that Taha recorded for the album together with Nura
and Nugat for the album. "Getting along without the medication has given me back a lot of self-confidence that I had lost for a long time."

After that, it's hit after hit: Taha records the album in Emsland at MC Zirkel, who also does much of the production. He also gets musical support from Jules Kalmbacher, Patrick Luckert, John ODMGDIA, Nugat and drummer Roy Knauf, who after working with and for Peter Fox, Deichkind and Marteria also refines a large part of the songs on "Medicine" with his skills on the drums and brings them to life again in a completely different way.

One of them "Serotonin", a loud punk song as it is in the book, a noisy ode to the happiness hormone and what it does to you when it is no longer there. "Benzin" tells of intoxication, romance and sleepless nights in the best sense of all - whether this means a person or a drug? Hard to say... But "Medicine" is not only about riot and rampage, especially towards the end of the album the songs become much calmer and more reflective. There is, for example, "Ein Schluck", a song for and about Taha's good friend, the rapper and songwriter Sam, who died three years ago. Such a poignant piece has its place on "Medicine" as well as "Stories of War", a song in which Taha processes his time as a pawn in the music industry, or "Knife", a song-like proof of love of a somewhat different kind. Some songs make you smile, others make you sob or gulp. But they all have one thing in common: they come from the heart.

"'Medicine' is my second album, but the first with my real name - so it feels like my first release ever," Taha says. "I've had so many obstacles put in my way and doors slammed in my face. But when someone tells me I'm not allowed to do something or something can't be done, it's motivation for me to try harder. The fact that the album is now finished and then also comes out through my own label FUKK MUSIC is the best proof of that."