Over recent years, Boom Bip and Doseone have become unavoidable
figures of the West Cost hip-hop scene. Known for his
turntable mastery, DJ/producer/artist Boom Bip has worked
with an impressive amount of musicians as well as releasing
his own work on progressive hip-hop label Mush and Warp
off-shot Lex Records. Doseone has been equally productive
since he first co-founded the highly influential Anticon
collective. With several collaborative projects on the
go, including Themselves, Deep Purple Dynamics, Greenthink
and the utterly essential cLOUDDEAD,
as well as a handful of solo releases, the man continuously
develops his incomparable style and twisted poetry.
Released a couple of years ago on Mush, Circle
finally makes its way to Europe, thanks to the good people
at Leaf. Remarkable in every way, this album condenses
in just over seventy minutes the most challenging and
imaginative soundtrack of the moment. Born of Bip’s desire
to work on a project with no limitation, the pair locked
themselves in the studio for a couple of months to experiment
with live instrumentation and vocals. Constantly shifting
angle, Circle disconcerts and intrigues in a
way few hip hop records have managed until now. Dose’s
continuous incoherent diatribe evokes in turn the babble
of a madman, the discourse of a preacher or the conversation
of a child. The poetry of his lyrics, stressed by his
lyrical dexterity and astounding debit, and a clever cut’n’paste
editing, captivates by its sharp assertive reading of
everyday life, from God to Star Wars, and absurd and insane
sense of humour. The music supporting Dose’s monologues
is equally puzzling, ranging from textured found sounds
to post rock arabesques. Boom Bip plays countless tricks
to rival the ingenuity of the rapper, and manages to steal
the show more than once. The multitude of influences seems
like thrown in a bag and picked at random, creating a
volatile and intriguing web of incongruous sounds and
beats perfectly shaped to work in this particular environment.
At the complete opposite of gangsta rap, Circle
represents, more perhaps than any other Anticon-related
release, the future of hip-hop. Intimate and extrovert
at the same time, this album knows no boundaries and the
pair experiment to their heart’s content while remaining
completely accessible all the way through. Every word,
sound or beat has its purpose, and the alchemy between
Boom Bip and Doesone is incandescent. Essential record.
5/5 |
