boom bip - blue eyed in the red room
second album from bryan hollon (aka boom bip), who has previously been linked
to various strands of anticon styled hip hop. this however cannot in any way be
linked to anything remotely hip hop. other than it has been released on the
excellent lex records - the hip hop off shoot from warp. the album is instead a
predominantly instrumental affair, with off beat sounds and layers of mellotrons,
electronics and rhythmic clicks and whirs recalling prime era ambient
forefathers as well as current smoothness from four tet, and the whole melodic
label output.
apparently this album was recorded while watching flowers blooming and beautiful
sunsets in silverlake, la. and it shows. a gorgeous set of tunes, which are
playful, warm, very listenable, welcoming and accessible despite their creators
origins in experimental sonic discovery. this is not going to upset anyone, and
will easily sit alongside any of your parents chill out collections.
where this album probably is mainly different to most other 'electronic' based
albums is that the music is not wholly based on samples. instead the instruments
are 'real', so there are guitar solos, proper bass guitars, lovely piano solo's
and massively addictive production detail that reveals hidden depth with
repeated (and headphone) listening.
the 2 opening tracks 'cimple' and 'the move' are both wonderful starters,
lulling you into this lovely world, but the real icing on the cake is the first
of 2 vocally enhanced tracks. the epic 8 minutes of 'do's and don'ts' features
gruff rhys from sfa, where gruffs recognisable vocals are layered and harmonised
to down tempo bongos, and bouncy rolling bass lines like some tantric version of
the beach boys. totally mesmerising stuff, and just when you have come to think
you have the track all sorted in comes an epic u2 styled bass line/echoed guitar
line to a driving groove to create an album highlight. following this comes more
of the same, but without the same level of appeal. its all very nice and will be
perfect for the oncoming spring (should it ever arrive!), the polite arpeggios
of 'girl toy' sooth and relax, and bring forth the tangerine dream reference
points, though i suspect that boom bip will not approve of such associations,
but hey. there ya go.
'dumb day' has an old school toy box type of sound that sets up the melody, the
track then morphs beautifully into something very special, being fleshed out by
subtle synths, organs and 'found' voices creating a church type of peaceful
ambience - stunning is an overused word. but so very appropiate in this case.
brian eno fans - go discover. i suspect i am the only one who connects the
tippety tapping rhythm of 'soft and opening' to one of shriekbacks masterpieces?
and so the music goes on, beauty and harmony wrapped up together for 45 minutes.
if only life were so simple.
except, i have to mention the album finale. being the second of the 2 featuring
vocals, 'the matter (of our discussion)' features nina nastasia. and i cannot
tell you the emotion this track evokes. the 20 minute build up to the track
begins to wonder and drift allowing the listeners mind to wander, and possibly a
little navel gazing has been performed, though this is not always a bad thing,
but as soon as ninas breathy vocals are attached to the sublime backing
involving various instruments whose names i have no idea about (they are plucky,
and soothing) then you are drawn back into the core of the music. and, trust me,
you will never want the track to finish. it is by far one of the best things i
have ever heard. nina's human rawness is perfectly matched against the warm
sonic envelop to create something unique.
once again the lex stable proves that hip hop can indeed be stretched all the
way and further to make music that everyone can enjoy. boom bip has crafted a
truly wonderful album that should soundtrack many lifetime events over the next
few months.