Bibio's new album, Mind Bokeh, relies on synths and drum machines rather than guitars – despite being partially inspired by Phil Lynott, as he tells SINÉAD GLEESON
Your last album, Ambivalence Avenue, was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2009. Do you see Mind Bokehas very different or is there a connection between the two?
I wanted Mind Bokehand Ambivalence Avenueto complement each other. I didn't want to make Ambivalence Avenue: Part Two. I wanted to merge them, but there's definitely an overlap between the two. After finishing Ambivalence AvenueI wanted to make an album that contrasted with it – to rely on synths and drum machines rather than guitars. I've learnt more new techniques and acquired more equipment, so I've got this wider palette of things I can achieve. It's also about getting more confidence. I like every track to have its own idenity and not to repeat things too much but, that said, there are certain sounds that are worth revisiting. You can hear that Light Seepon this record sounds like a sequel to Jealous of Roses.
There are so many sounds, styles and genres on this album. Where does that come from?
Me and my brother had this ghetto blaster and we used to go around in the car recording sounds on it. We had this fascination with recording random things and listening back to see what was on there. I had this particular fondness for the sound of wind and rain – it’s probably the biggest theme in my sound recordings. But I like to use sounds in abstract, so that you listen and won’t necessarily know it’s rain. It’s the same with birdsong. I like to slow it down so that it sounds . . . alien in a way. My favourite records are ones that are not just about music and melody, but texture too. It’s really important to me, which is why I like so much music from 30-40 years ago. There’s often an unintentional graininess. I’m listening to a lot of John Coltrane at the moment.
There are a lot of older sounds on the album that sound almost like samples, but that’s not something you do, is it?
I'm not against sampling music, but part of the enjoyment of making music for me is the doing. I like to keep the apporach physical. Take Light Seep, which sounds like it's full of old samples, but I played everything from scratch. The challenge for me is how to make songs sound a certain way – murky, crackly or warm. People call vintage gear antiquated, but I like old machines that smell dusty.
Where does the title – Mind Bokeh – come from?
I'm interested in photography and a photographer friend told me the word – pronounced bo-kah. It refers to the blurred section of a photograph, and it can mean "haze" or "blur". The song of the same name is an improvised, ambient track and it makes me think of blurred, man-made city lights. I also wanted it to relate to the human mind and how we perceive things. Even though my albums have changed over the years, there are certain themes I've never left. This flickering spots of light is right there on Fion Mush Records [his first album] and is still here on this.
And what about using Phil Lynott as inspiration?
One day I was jamming, rocking out and liking it in a non-ironic way. Take Off Your Shirtbecame this crossover tune between my love for French house music like Daft Punk and the heavy metal of my youth. It's a weird time signature, and the pattern I came up with reminded me a bit of Phil Lynott. I love classic rock from that era – I was a big Iron Maiden fan – so when I came up with the riff I wanted to write lyrics that could be classic rock about fighting and drinking. Then it leads up to this chorus that's about the universal nature of human suffering, which is inspired by Buddhism.
You play all the instruments. Are all the vocals yours?
Yes. In the past I'd write the occasional song where I'd feel comfortable enough to sing it. I really wanted to use my voice as an instrument, so I tried something different with writing words. Some of the tracks have meaningful lyics about how I feel about existence, but tracks like More Excusesand Prententiousare like automatic writing. I'd write the first sentence that came in to my mind, tweak it to match the music and add another sentence that related to it. It's actually very similar to how I make music. It's really interesting, because you can leave it aside, go back and read it.
Bibio plays an electronic set at the Button Factory on Friday, April 8th
