"As far as I'm concerned," Samir Khan says of the forthcoming Tusks EP, "this is my first record."

Khan is allowing for the fact his previous bands Kepler, and Weights and Measures, released a number of CDs between them. But, he notes, you won't find any at your neighbourhood music store. Or online. Or anywhere.

Not even the brilliant Attic Salt, the swan song for the underrated Kepler.

"I really tried to do something with that," Khan says of the album whose release was preceded by drummer Jeremy Gara's high-profile departure to Arcade Fire. "But it just didn't work. But it's not tragic. It's just kind of a bit of a bummer for me."

The bittersweet remark is typical of Khan, whose melancholy sentiments, set against restrained musical backing, continue to mark his work with Tusks as it did with Kepler. New bandmates and collaborators Robin Buckley (a holdover from the final Kepler lineup), Shaw-han Liem and former Wooden Star Julien Beillard, meanwhile, breathe new life into the veteran singer-songwriter's work.

Now, the challenge is to get the music heard.

"We'll just take little baby steps and see if people are interested in having us," Khan says. "That's the naive hope -- that this is something good enough for people to be interested in."