As life in the 21st Century gets into full swing, it is no surprise that electronic music has pervaded the music landscape. What is surprising is how much emotion can be conveyed and even generated by artificial instrumentation. Such is the case with the newest long player from Boom Bip, a Cleveland, OH native who has several releases under his belt and is considered by many to be a remixer extraordinaire. His music is best described as a hybrid of leftfield instrumental hip-hop, ambient and experimental electronica and Intelligent Dance Music (IDM). Although Mr. Bip has collaborated with and remixed for Amon Tobin, Four Tet and Lali Puna, the favor had yet to be returned by other artists in the underground music community. That is, until the release of 2003's "From Left to Right" EP.
Essentially, this album is a compilation of the aforementioned and the "Morning and a Day" EP. On "Corymb," several noteworthy musicians appear to remix and rework tracks from the Boom Bip back catalogue. Boards of Canada have redone "Last Walk Around Mirror Lake" into a pastoral and nostalgic piece that is perfect for middle of the night meditations. cLOUDDEAD contribute their ambient and beautiful remix of "Closed Shoulders" while Venetian Snares add a bit of drill and bass and blip-hop to their remix of "The Unthinkable." The most surprising remixes, however, are those made outside the IDM and Blip-Hop circles. "Third Stream," as remixed by Four Tet, is virtually unrecognizable from the original version but is utterly gorgeous in its own right. "The Use of Unacceptable Colors in Nature (Mogwai Remix)" is stamped with the trademark sound of one of the most important bands on the indie-rock scene.
This is a very solid release with several surprises thrown in that should keep Boom Bip fans sufficiently pacified until his next full length release. Visit the Boom Bip website for more information.
Reviewed by Alex Slawson and Herman Snell
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