Boom Bip

Inspired by New York's "illbient" scene, a number of djs aimed for a hip-hop that could transcend hip-hop, that is for a a new (ambient, psychological, free-form) form fo art founded on the marriage of poetry and sound. Ohio-born dj Boom Bip (Bryan Hollon), a self-described "anti-dj", well impersonated the sound sculptor and collage assembler of the new wave of hip-hop. The sprawling 29-song Circle (2001), a collaboration with rapper Doseone (Adam Drucker), a member of the Anticon collective and of the trio cLOUDDEAD, was both haunting, cryptic and intense. The album explores a vast landscape of moods, styles and tempos in quirky and witty pieces that range from 13 seconds to five minutes. The clownish and carnival-like The Birdcatcher and Ironish and the Buddhist-style recitation of The Birdcatcher's Return are the best rap moments. They are counterbalanced by the psychedelic and jazzy instrumentals The Lantern and This Album Was Meant to Be Myself but Somewhere Along the Line It Ended Up Feeling More Like You Yet. There are several demented skits that belong to a dadaistic cabaret, notably Questions Over Coffee and Slight, but also a laid-back and light-hearted instrumental like Town Crier's Walk. A lot of the album is a waste of time: ambient interludes, barely sketched ideas (Poetic License), abstract electronica (Wishful Thinking), found dialogues, radio-style narratives (Gin), and five minutes of silence (Close).

Boom Bip's solo and mostly instrumental album Seed to Sun (2002) was an exercise of abstract creativity. Some pieces feel like hip-hop mixes of the Boards Of Canada (Roads Must Roll and especially distorted standout Closed Shoulders). The more symphonic and romantic U R Here and the more festive and Afro-funk Awaiting an Accident are balanced by the cosmic vibes of The Use of Unacceptable Colors in Nature. Beats are abandoned for the muffled musique concrete of Me The New You and the droning ambient interlude Pulse All Over. Dose One pens the murky rap of Mannequin Hand Trapdoor I Reminder.

The lengthy EP Corymb (Lex, 2004) adds a few more tracks, but it is mostly taken up by remixes.

Blue Eyed In The Red Room (Lex, 2005) is another collection of futuristic downtempo instrumentals (that add live instrumentation to samples), with a couple of nods to folk and pop music, such as Nina Nastasia delivering the ballad The Matter Of Our Discussion. The ticking and celestial Dumb Day and the tender lullaby built around the acoustic guitar One Eye Round The Warm Corner are the highlights. A distant relative of hip-hop.

Stainless Style (2008), credited to Neon Neon, was a collaboration between Boom Bip and Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys, originally meant as a concept album about John DeLorean, a futuristic designer of cars, and crafted as a tribute to the music of the 1980s.

Zig Zaj (2011) was another creative effort and peaked with the 10-minute Tumtum, but too much of the album sounds like filler.

He also scored the film soundtrack Sun Choke (2016).

He formed Belief in Los Angeles with Australian drummer Stella Mozgawa, and they debuted with Belief (2022) that harks back to acid house.