VARIOUS

BiP-Hop Generation [v6]

CD, Bip Hop

I find the ways in which letters get shaped nowadays really funny. What people do with small and big letters is, even though such a confined space of possibilites, really creative and unique. Everyone wants to stand out of the mass of everyone else and a lot of people try this by writing their name, or fake name, or company name in new and curious ways. Also the incorporation of the @-sign into company names or all the variations people find with the syllable “com” always amazes me. Sometimes typing down these names is harder than trying to type finnish names. And Bip Hop has them both. Finnish artists, who stick to their real names, and artists from other places, that try to get their exotica-bonus by writing every letter DifFer.Ent/ly and with various si/g[n]s in their name. Yes, funny. And the more I have to do this and watch this, the more I hate it. But this is about the only thing I do not like so much about Bip Hop. Moreover, I find it very pleasing that they obviously do not insist on curios writings, because whe who is named “bittonic” on here, I have already seen as bitTonic as well. On the new compilation, number six in a series that has gathered a cult-following in special circles, they write them all in only small letters.

I usually don’t do this, but with this compilation I feel that it is necessary to introduce the artists and tracks one by one, so that you get a picture of what is ahead of you, if you decide to get this compilation.

Volume 6 starts off with Alejandro & aeron, who provide us with an intimate peep into their private life, ending with a soft kiss goodnight.They are a married couple, so this is where the intimacy comes from. And they founded Lucky Kitchen in 1996 and this is more than just a name, it is a philosophy for life. A “lucky kitchen” is where they come from and want to be.

Next on is Scanner aka Robin Rimbaud, whom you all know already, and who offers two multi-layered soundscapes, one very much like a drone, the other one more distorted and awkward but both with some vocal sampels. My first record by Scanner was released on Earache – no less – and he has never disappointed me since, although I must admit I haven’t followed his career and shenanigans as closely as some. Since then he has moved more from his scanned samples to producing more complex music, which is just as well with me.

Bittonic is one of the few (why is that so?) female electronic artists and the interesting thing is, that in electronic music gender has no actual influence on the output – so why did I mention this? Because the correlation is interesting. The two tracks by Bittonic are full of weird references to earth and natural sounds, from waterfalls in caves to the shifting of landmasses, but it all comes from various digital sources. Then there is the subdued female voice on the first track, which adds to the gothic atmosphere. The second track is called “a theory of disorderly behaviour” which might tell you everything you need to know about it.

Ilpo Väisänen is also a well-known electronic musician and artist. As one half of frequency-explorers Pansonic, he knows how to shape soundcurves to really make them massage your intestines. On his solotracks he has turned away slightly from the monotony of his collaboratiove tracks with Pansonic. But is still miles away from the free-form-imporvisation he does with Angel (together with Schneider TM – see below) This time around he also tries to find new sounds and shapes in common sources such as table-tennis (I guess) in “kaputus” and then reworking, looping and cutting the whole mess up until it is not recognizeable anymore.

Next to last is a trio called “battery operated” which I really can’t tell you a lot about, except that they are from Montreal and Paris and have a great name. They cut up lots of different and very differing sounds into tiny little pieces, then plaster them together until they start to form a concrete block that has both dynamic and meaning. Even to those, who don’t fall into their almost hypnotic surge, this is at least “interesting”. Either way, “battery operated” won’t give you an easy time.

And last one is Angel, the free-improvisation project of Ilpo Väisänen (see above) and Dirk Dresselhaus aka Schneider TM, which is like holiday away from their homebases for both of them. Free improvisation that might range from industrial to minimal to pure noise to rock’n’roll. It says “play loud!” in the booklet and they mean it.