Praga Khan | |
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Birth name | Maurice Joseph Francois Engelen |
Also known as | Khan Project, Maurice Engelen, Somora |
Born | 7 January 1959 |
Genres | House, new beat, acid house, trance, rave, industrial dance |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter, composer, producer |
Instruments | Vocals, synthesizers |
Years active | 1980–present |
Labels | SonicAngel |
Associated acts | Lords of Acid, Digital Orgasm, Milk Inc., MNO, Channel X, The Immortals, Tom Dice, Alice Avery |
Maurice Joseph Francois Engelen (born 7 January 1959), known by his stage name Praga Khan, is a Belgian techno and, originally, new beat musician. Khan is considered one of the leading pioneers of the Belgian originated new beat/rave/hardcore electronic dance music scene. Khan has also contributed to the theatrical scene with his musical collaborations in The Next Dimension and Code Red.
In the late 1980s, he teamed up with Jade 4U (Nikkie van Lierop) and Olivier Adams to form the Lords of Acid (also known under various pseudonyms such as Channel X, Digital Orgasm and MNO). Khan's most famous solo work was "Injected with a Poison" (1992). The single "Free Your Body / Injected with a Poison", by Praga Khan featuring Jade 4U, reach #16 in the UK top40. "Rave Alert" also reach the charts (#39).
In the same year, Channel X's "Rave the Rhythm" was included in the soundtrack for Basic Instinct, after director Paul Verhoeven had by chance heard the track in a New York City disco during the shooting. After this, other tracks were included into other movies, including Sliver, Virtuosity, Strange Days and Bad Lieutenant. He also composed a music album for the video game, Mortal Kombat, with Olivier Adams as The Immortals.
With the release of the CD 21st Century Skin in 1999, Khan became a major music act in his home country, with singles such as "Breakfast in Vegas", "Luv U Still" (Pragamatic) and "Lonely". The album sold more than 25,000 copies. This earned him a place at Rock Werchter, where he performed live.