Chaka Khan is in a song about Tekken 2, for some reason
What character do you reckon she plays as in Tekken 2? I think it's... every woman.
What do you think about when you think “Chaka Khan”? Do you think of 'Ain't Nobody'– her greatest-ever song that’s become practically synonymous with her? Do you think of her five decade-spanning career? Or possibly how she still looks so damn good for a woman of 70 years old? Whatever you think about, you probably don’t think about Tekken 2, do you?
Well, that’s about to change, for some reason. Khan’s latest work is a collaboration with London indie-sleaze holdouts, Bombay Bicycle Club. Khan, who was apparently hypnotised by the demo track, lends her soaring, iconic vocals to a song named after Bandai Namco’s 3D fighter. Yes, really.
Listening to it, and looking at the lyrics, I can’t really see why it’s called Tekken 2. Maybe the line “Running all the liars and the sellers and the buyers away from me / Fighting all the runners and the beggars that are trying to take from me” is actually about Paul Phoenix threatening to beat up Marshall Law when he catches him on a run, or something? Maybe “Still waiting for the end of the day / Rummage in my pocket, I'm looking for the coins to play” is trying to evoke the memory of a kid stood at an arcade machine, desperate for one more go as Kunimitsu before he needs to get home to his dinner of fishfingers, smiley potato faces and peas that his mum has prepped for him.
You can see the video here.
The song itself is a tepid, inoffesnsive number that sounds destined to be synced to a million adverts about insurance or furniture sales. That’s perhaps down to the milquetoast, forgettable parts of the song spear-headed by Bombay Bicycle Club (still beating the same drum machine beat they have been for over a decade), doing their best impression of a Hot Chip album track whilst priming the ground for Khan. It’s riding that wave of faux-nostalgia generated by Glass Animals, but without any of that weird, dreamy bite that makes Dave and crew so popular.
But when Khan lands – man, does she land. Imagine having those pipes at 70, and still making it sound so easy. Truly inspirational stuff, that. You can tell that she really digs the music, because she sounds as good here as on anything she did with Rufus. “After Jack invited me and then sent the song, I loved it, the ethereal part drew me in,” Khan has said in a press release. “The band has such innovative and passionate energy, truly great musicians. Absolute vibes.”
Tekken 2 and “absolute vibes”, then, together at last.