“I
want to go way beyond Hip-Hop” declared Bryan Hollon recently
in an interview with British magazine The Wire, adding “when
you start breathing some fresh air into something, and a lot
of different sounds are coming from a certain genre, you’re
pushing the envelope, but you don’t know when you cross
over into another genre”. Twenty seven year old Hollon,
aka Boom Bip is one true maverick. If his music is firmly rooted
in the Hip-Hop culture, Seed To Sun presents a twisted
interpretation of the genre, bending it to the point where it
becomes difficult to identify it.
Boom Bip has been making waves since he first started sniffing
around the Anticon collective, collaborating with some of the
most interesting new talents to emerge for the West Coast, acting
as a respected producer for some of the records released on
Mush, part of sonic propaganda branch of Anticon Dirty Loop
Music. Seed To Sun is Hollon’s first album as
a solo artist, and follows the magnificent Circle,
recorded in collaboration with the ubiquitous Doseone, better
known for being one-third of Clouddead. If Circle was
a collection of dismantled beats and convoluted lyrics, Seed
To Sun appears more straightforward and disciplined. This
is however an immensely deceiving impression. The album is mostly
instrumental, with occasional vocal contributions from Buck65
on The Unthinkable, Nacky Koma on Popsicle
and Doseone on Mannequin Hand Trapdoor I Reminder.
Boom Bip meticulously deconstructs beats and sounds, greatly
distorting the Hip-Hop ethic by using unusual samples and favouring
soundscapes over energy. The message is conveyed not by way
of verbal diatribes, but by way of subtle sonic collages, interfering
with the common procedures of the genre and deflecting the all-too-tired
political or sociological object to refer to more cerebral values.
Hollon reacts to the repetitiveness of modern Hip-Hop by opening
new doors and ignoring boundaries. Using a wide range of emotional
effects, he creates a soundtrack that has as much to do with
the dream sequences of Boards Of Canada as with the down-to-Earth
darkness of Massive Attack. Hollon is far too clever to simply
assimilate his inspirations though. He prefers to define his
own rules, only to break them again moments later and instigates
new ones. At times playful, Seed To Sun is a more diverse
record than Circle, and the nasal lingerings of Doseone
on the magnificent Mannequin Hand Trapdoor I Reminder
only highlight the divergence between the two records. Boom
Bip not only challenges genres here, but also his listeners,
taking them into rich conceptual worlds.
Bryan Hollon’s attention to details reflects the marginal
approach developed by the Anticon collective. The music is delicate,
yet intense, and truly innovative. A masterpiece.
5/5 |
