Boom Bip: Zig Zaj (Lex, 9/27/11)
Boom Bip: “All Hands”
[audio:http://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Boom_Bip_All_Hands.mp3|titles=Boom Bip: “All Hands”]Ever since his loop-based beginnings, Bryan Charles Hollan — known better as experimental hip-hop artist Boom Bip — has been on the search for his optimal live-band incarnation. With his latest, Zig Zaj, he seems to have found it. Now Hollan is armed with a permanent live band, and their chemistry is immediately evident on this album.
Partly because of the several guests, the new material takes a poppier and more rock-driven direction. But there’s still plenty of the old Bip underneath, as synths and electronics commingle with the bass grooves and delicate acoustic riffs. It’s a catchy, beautiful, and well-balanced blend, perfect for first-time Bip listeners.