It might seem unusual, at first: British folk/pop auteur Sean O’Hagan padding Here Come The Rattling Trees—his latest outing as bandleader of the High Llamas—with several breezy musical snippets that work as either introductions or codas to delicate, fully realized songs. But in fact, the project first coalesced as a narrative the singer scripted about his South London neighborhood of Peckham, where a local working-class recreation center was being threatened by snooty gentrification. But it quickly morphed into a full-scale production that he staged at a Covent Garden theater—hence the inclusion of rising and descending motifs. O’Hagan will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new High Llamas feature.
O’Hagan: I suppose we should be grateful that the gentrification of Peckham that we witness at an accelerating pace is at the moment balanced and at an exciting point. The West African community are very much still present in Rye Lane. The halaal butchers and Afghani fruit and veg traders are enjoying custom from multiple communities. About six hipster bars have bedded into the surrounding streets over the past five years and maybe seven cafs or coffee shops, as we are getting use to calling them. So the art-school kids, no money but lots of ideas, rub shoulders with the new German and American financiers, loads of money, no idea.
But there is one institution that expresses the beautiful idiosyncratic nature of Rye Lane. It’s a large shop that resembles an eastern bazaar. Anything can be found in the unending ails from motor accessories to industrial catering tools. We find giant wholesale bags of rice and chickpeas and, of course, rugs and carpets. Khan’s occupies a yellow, 1930s art-deco building that use to house Holdron’s department store. Holdron’s was a genuine gem in the golden shopping mile—as Rye Lane was known in the 1930s. We can wander through Khans and glimpse the odd feature of past glories, in the ceiling currently being revealed and restored, or the amazing mosaic floor hidden by years of 60s lino.
Mr. Khan arrived from Afghanistan 14 years ago, starting out his retail business from a street stall. What he achieved is valued and adds to the incredible buzz of Rye Lane. However, he realises that the site has a significant history and wants to participate in on going efforts to restore the building’s former charm. Mr Khan gets the old Peckham and the new Peckham. He is the balance. Lets hope he keeps it.
