Bibio

All Music Guide:

Bibio is the folk-meets-electronica project of self-taught producer/multi-instrumentalist Stephen Wilkinson, from England's Black Country (aka the West Midlands). As a student of sonic arts at London's Middlesex University, Wilkinson was first inspired by '90s electronic acts such as Aphex Twin, Autechre, and especially Boards of Canada, but became equally intrigued by mid-20th century British folk. He combined these sounds in his own music, along with found sounds and field recordings, for a unique mix of organic and synthetic atmospheres. Boards of Canada's Marcus Eoin handed Wilkinson's demos to Mush Records, which released Bibio's debut album, Fi, in 2004, and its more song-based follow-up, Hand Cranked, two years later. Wilkinson also released the limited-edition Sheila Sets Sail/Tribio on the Artist's Valley imprint, part of a collective Wilkinson has with producers Andy Harber and Richard Roberts. The Ovals and Emeralds EP, which featured organ instead of Bibio's usual acoustic guitars, arrived in 2008; Vignetting the Compost followed in 2009. That summer, Bibio moved to Warp for the eclectic Ambivalence Avenue, followed several months later by the release of a remix-heavy album, The Apple and the Tooth. For 2011's Mind Bokeh -- named after the term for the blurry area in a photograph -- Wilkinson moved further away from folktronica and deeper into the meticulously sampled, electro/hip-hop direction he began on Ambivalence Avenue.

Wikipedia:

Stephen Wilkinson, (born 1978) better known as Bibio, is an English music producer. His music is primarily electronic and experimental in nature. He currently releases music on the Warp Records label, and previously on Mush Records.

Biographical information [edit]

A resident of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, England, Wilkinson developed a passion for experimental music during his time at Middlesex University in London, where he studied "sonic arts". He developed his own style of music, drawing from contemporary experimental electronica bands such as Boards of Canada, and incorporating field recordings and found sounds. Electronically modified guitar melodies and droning synthesizer sounds are a recurring theme in his pieces, causing many people to label his music as a hybrid of electronica or intelligent dance music and folk music. Talking about his approach, Wilkinson has said “Electronic music doesn’t have to be so grid like, it can be elasticated, more human.”

His music has recently been licensed for commercial campaigns by L.L. Bean, Adult Swim, Toyota, and Amazon.com. His song, "Lovers' Carvings" was featured in the first Google Project Glass commercial and in the 2011 commercial for the Amazon Kindle; it also featured in the 2010 film "The Switch". In 2009, he contributed a cover of the Boards of Canada track "Kaini Industries" to the Warp20 (Recreated) compilation. Part of the track "Cry! Baby!" (from the album Ambivalence Avenue) was used over the end-title sequence of the Louis Theroux documentary "Miami Mega Jails".

Wilkinson adopted the alias Bibio from the name of a small black and red fly his father used on childhood fishing trips in Wales. He has said to be influenced lyrically by foreign languages, phonemes, Daft Punk, Boards Of Canada, Madlib, J Dilla and Elizabeth Fraser. Influences on his guitar playing include The Incredible String Band, Nick Drake, Tortoise and João Gilberto.

Releases [edit]

Mush releases [edit]

Previous to Warp, Bibio was signed to American independent label Mush Records. His debut album, fi, was released in February 2005; his second, Hand Cranked, in 2006, was followed by Vignetting The Compost in 2009.

Ambivalence Avenue [edit]

Bibio’s fourth studio album, his first with Warp Records, was released on 22 June 2009. Ambivalence Avenue is arguably his most critically lauded album to date; it was described as his “most creative and penetrating release yet.”

The Apple And The Tooth [edit]

Bibio’s second album on Warp Records, The Apple And The Tooth, comprises four new tracks and eight remixes of tracks from Ambivalence Avenue. It was released on 9 November 2009 and saw Wilkinson compared to such artists as Gil Scott Heron. The four original tracks were described as “expert, full of electronic papier-mache layers of arpeggiated guitars, glitchy drum patterns and joyful percussive samples,” by The Guardian.

Mind Bokeh [edit]

Bibio’s sixth studio album - his third studio release on Warp Records - was released on March 29, 2011 in the US and April 4th in the UK. Wilkinson described the album as a "balance of the familiar and the non-familiar". Talking about Mind Bokeh, he said, “I think that when I finished ‘Ambivalence Avenue’ one thing I wanted to focus on was the use of synthesisers and drum machines more, so it’s going to lend itself to an electric sounding album rather than an acoustic album.” Instrumentally, it consists of “folding twinkly keyboards, crackly loops, and gently insistent beats” making “tracks that are evocative and detailed enough to reveal more with repeated listens”.

Bokeh is a photographic term that describes the blur of the out-of-focus area in an image.

Wilkinson explains that the album title was chosen to represent different forms of consciousness; of the artwork he explains “The crystal clear representation of a moment isn't necessarily the most interesting. Think about when you look at your parents' old photographs - it's not an exact image of how they look; it's like a stained glass window into how they look.”

Silver Wilkinson [edit]

Silver Wilkinson is the name of Bibio’s seventh studio album and will be released through Warp Records on 14 May 2013.

Visual work [edit]

Stephen Wilkinson creates the majority of the artwork for Bibio - namely for The Apple And The Tooth, Mind Bokeh, and Silver Wilkinson. He also works on videography, having created the film for his Mind Bokeh album sampler, and co-directing the video for “Excuses” with Michael Robinson.