Mexicola wrote:Naive me equating a five year gap to an ice age. I knew nothing!!
Ha! So much clarity in hindsight.
I never read Bibio's thoughts on Campfire until now, so I'm glad this 17 year old thread got a bump in 2026, for all the right reasons.
When Bibio says he feels like BoC have some kind of cosmic consciousness, I hazard to guess that we all do, really. Some are just much more tapped in, perhaps as a multi-variable function of nature, nurture and practices through life. But I think we all innately carry this capability from birth to the grave.
I'm biased toward speculating that part of this has to do with growing up in nature and remote areas, where formative memories are imbued with a certain fundamental quality that can get washed out or overridden in urban environments.
I grew up in several US National Parks as a kid, namely Grand Teton and Yellowstone, and spent a fair amount of time in Banff too. So, when I saw the cover for MHTRTC in passing at a local record store, I instantly recognized the terrain pictured on it (perhaps having sat at that exact spot with my brothers), picked it up on the spot for that reason, and I've been hooked ever since.
This has in many ways grown out of sense of distant camaraderie through nature - specifically the Rocky Mountains - and how well their music takes me back to the literal places of my childhood.
I was born in Fort Collins, Colorado, and had a view of the foothills of the Rockies out my first bedroom window. I spent the last 7 years in Boulder, with a similar view from my studio window. These days I live in the midst of 250 year old buildings in Philadelphia, which has its own gorgeous qualities, but connection to nature is not really one of them. I require frequent excursions to feel connected to myself and right in the head, so have built up a roster of semi-secret spots nearby.
I've heard several fans describe the nostalgia from listening to their music like yearning for a time they never experienced, but on my end, it often takes me to a very precious and cherished time of my life, and very specific places and memories. To me, their music is a time machine.
My "happy place" - when I want to invoke some cheer into my perspective - is String Lake in Grand Teton....a perfect place...for cubs. Reflecting on such places makes me feel as if I'm tapping into that same cosmic consciousness Bibio is referring to.
Had a fair few nice chats with him too - it was fun how accessible he was back in the Myspace days. Still use the field recorder he recommended I pick up. And now, having written all of this, I feel quite old, but ok with that fact (for now). The field recorder still works, though it's a little worse for wear, and I suppose I can say the same of myself.