In
the two years that separate his first solo album, Seed
To Sun, and this collection of odds and sods,
Boom Bip has quietly become an important figure of the
underground hip-hop/electronic crossover. Yet, he still
prefers to keep out of the limelight, leaving his music
to do the talking. As he is currently putting the finishing
touches to his eagerly-awaited second proper album,
rumoured to be released in the autumn, Lex have collected
the From Left To Right and Morning &
Day EPs on one album, adding two previously unreleased
tracks recorded at Maida Vale during Bip’s second
Peel Session.
Prior to Seed To
Sun (2002) seeing the light of day, Bryan ‘Boom
Bip’ Hollon had been trying his guns on the Anticon
crew as a behind-the-desk manipulator, producing records
for, and collaborating with the Mush crowd. This led
to Hollon and cLOUDDEAD
vocalist Doseone working together on the superb Circle,
originally released on Mush back in mid-2000 and on
Leaf two years later. Oblique, skilful and clever, this
album confirmed Boom Bip as a true sound-and-beat wizard.
On his own, Hollon had to face his music head on, and
Seed To Sun
affirmed its identity through evocative hip-hop-infused
instrumentals, with Buck 65 and Doseone providing vocals
on The Unthinkable and Mannequin Hand Trapdoor
I Reminder respectively. Although remaining within
known territories, this album was hinting at more subtle
and fresh atmospheres as it attempted to blur the boundaries
between avant-garde hip-hop and electronica.
Two years on, Hollon has moved on a lot, and Corymb
clearly emphasises the man’s focus on the superb
From Left To Right, which opens the album,
A Morning & A Day and In The Tree Top,
as he explores sonic territories that have more in common
with Boards Of Canada
than with his original soundscapes, yet, Hollon still
refers to his roots through heavy beat constructions
and dark lingering ambiences.
Corymb also provides some interesting reworkings
of Boom Bip’s compositions. With artists as diverse
as Boards Of Canada, cLOUDDEAD,
Venetian Snares, Lali
Puna, Four Tet and
Mogwai contributing, Corymb is a testament
of Hollon’s current position on the music scene.
As they all bring some elements of their usual musical
grounds to expand on his cinematic constructions, the
various artists featured give their own vision of Boom
Bip’s work. The Boards
Of Canada reworking of Last Walk Around Mirror
Lake, if slightly conservative, remains a beautiful
piece of work typical of the pair’s work and establishes
a link between the Boom Bip of Seed
To Sun and that of the From Left To Right
EP, while cLOUDDEAD
give Closed Shoulders a darker tone, building
voluptuous layers of vocals and electronics around the
original guitar loop. In typical Venetian
Snares style, Aaron Funk totally remodels The
Unthinkable, finely chopping Buck 65’s vocals
and Boom Bip’s sonic world, yet Funk appears unusually
chilled in his deconstruction work. German experimental
outfit Lali Puna strip down Awaiting An Accident
to the bone and expose its fragile nature, while Four
Tet turns Third Stream into a luxurious
and chaotic journey, complete with double bass and typewriter
rhythmic pattern. Perhaps the most daring reworking
is to be found in Mogwai’s reconstruction of The
Use Of Acceptable Colours In Nature. As the Scottish
outfit peel off sonic surplus to reveal the core melody
and sombre mood of the original, they expose in the
process Hollon’s most intimate moment. The album
concludes with the deeply emotional Peel Session recording
of Pulse All Over, which evolves from bare
electronic waves to blistering raw guitars bringing
this album to a superb close.
More than a simple remix album, Corymb offers
the chance to hear Boom Bip from different angles and
evaluate the impeccable musical canvas on which Seed
To Sun flourished and its retrospective impact
on Hollon’s contemporaries. It also gives an insight
into what his sophomore album could sound like, but
most importantly, it redefines wider boundaries for
the man to explore.
4.2/5 |
