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*Bibio Appreciation*

PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 9:48 am
by bearhead

PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 8:15 pm
by saob
Many eyes were rolled that day =)

But yeah, excellent artist though. Make a forum search to find more information and discussions about him.

PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 12:25 am
by bearhead
saob wrote:Many eyes were rolled that day =)

But yeah, excellent artist though. Make a forum search to find more information and discussions about him.


I figured there were quite a bit of posts about his stuff, but what I tried achieving with this thread, it failed.

The idea was to find the people on here who likes his stuff, and have a discussion on it.

PostPosted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 5:08 am
by Bryan
bearhead wrote:
saob wrote:Many eyes were rolled that day =)

But yeah, excellent artist though. Make a forum search to find more information and discussions about him.


I figured there were quite a bit of posts about his stuff, but what I tried achieving with this thread, it failed.

The idea was to find the people on here who likes his stuff, and have a discussion on it.


Good aim, but we prefer you do so by bumping the previous discussion so that you may continue it as an ongoing conversation.

PostPosted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 8:48 am
by Aesthetics
Thanks guys, but I did a search for Bibio shortly after bearhead started this topic. I couldn't find any Bibio appreciation thread or any other topic about the artists itself. All other topics are release or gig related.

So let this be the official Bibio appreciation thread!
@bearhead: You might want to change the topictitle to get the discussion going again.

PostPosted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 9:30 am
by Aesthetics
Bibio is kind of a remarkable experience for me. At the time when Fi came out I bought it on vinyl and loved the minimal melancholic touch to it. After a few years his guitar based music started to irritate me.. not sure why though but I skipped his songs when a song passed on shuffle. So in the end Fi and Hand Cracked faded away in my music listening habit.

2009 he shook things really up by releasing 3 albums. Vignetting the Compost which was released in February had this guitar based style which I didn't really like because it had too much in common with his earlier work so I kind of knocked Bibio of my music radar.
Later that year he released Ambivalence Avenue and I was quite surprised by his change of style. He used the guitar less and there were even beats present but still didn't really grab my attention.

When he released The Apple and the Tooth he got my attention all back again. It sounded like nostalgic pop songs to me and the guitar didn't disturb me at all. I really loved the diversity of all the instruments.

The other year when he released K is for Kelson and Take off Your Shirt he surprised me again. His production nowadays is in contrast to what he released in 2006. Stuff he produces nowadays has a very poppy sound to it and is very accessible compared to his earlier stuff.

I don't know that much artists who evolve this much over the years. To me he grew from an adolescent to an adult music wise over the years. This doesn't mean that his older stuff sounds childish. I guess it is sallowness(then) vs diversity(now) what gives me this feeling.

All in all he is an artist who made a huge growing curve to me and is back on my music radar :)

PostPosted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 12:32 pm
by bearhead
Aesthetics wrote:Bibio is kind of a remarkable experience for me. At the time when Fi came out I bought it on vinyl and loved the minimal melancholic touch to it. After a few years his guitar based music started to irritate me.. not sure why though but I skipped his songs when a song passed on shuffle. So in the end Fi and Hand Cracked faded away in my music listening habit.

2009 he shook things really up by releasing 3 albums. Vignetting the Compost which was released in February had this guitar based style which I didn't really like because it had too much in common with his earlier work so I kind of knocked Bibio of my music radar.
Later that year he released Ambivalence Avenue and I was quite surprised by his change of style. He used the guitar less and there were even beats present but still didn't really grab my attention.

When he released The Apple and the Tooth he got my attention all back again. It sounded like nostalgic pop songs to me and the guitar didn't disturb me at all. I really loved the diversity of all the instruments.

The other year when he released K is for Kelson and Take off Your Shirt he surprised me again. His production nowadays is in contrast to what he released in 2006. Stuff he produces nowadays has a very poppy sound to it and is very accessible compared to his earlier stuff.

I don't know that much artists who evolve this much over the years. To me he grew from an adolescent to an adult music wise over the years. This doesn't mean that his older stuff sounds childish. I guess it is sallowness(then) vs diversity(now) what gives me this feeling.

All in all he is an artist who made a huge growing curve to me and is back on my music radar :)


I agree with you on some points, but I'd like to point out that what I most admire about his music is how he manipulates and experiments with tape. I'm also very drawn to his melodically guitar-based compositions. The structures are very unique. Like in Puffer, off fi. If you listen closely, you can hear chops in the guitar lines, as if he sectioned each piece on an MPC, and played it through, that way. Or like in Black Country Blue, when he processed the guitars in reverse and ran it through (what appears to be) microcassette tape. Or in Odd Paws, that shifty rhythm change that comes in with a second guitar after the first guitar line. His guitar work is very impressive, and a lot of it is what inspired my guitar compositions. His music got me very interested in tape manipulation and experimentation. But, I'm not saying that I dislike his newer work, because Ambivalence Avenue is one of my favorite albums, but if there were two Bibio's, one being his early work and one being his newer work, I'd probably find more "home" in his earlier work. Fortunately, all of it is Bibio, and as impressive as his work is, I can only imagine how his next album will sound.

Do you still have Fi on vinyl? I'd buy it from you if you're interested in selling it. Fi is my favorite album of his.

PostPosted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 2:03 pm
by Aesthetics
I still have Fi on vinyl but won't sell it. It still is part of my musical journey.
I sometimes imagine how it will be once I'm retired and have tons of time to listen to "old" music. That's one of the reasons I do these annual mixes. I guess once I play them when I'm old I will jump in a roller-coaster of memories and emotions.

PostPosted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 11:55 pm
by Waterbagel
I love Bibio!
I've only got Ambivalence Avenue (mp3) and Mind Bokeh (vinyl), but I'm looking to get all of his work!

PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 9:04 am
by TaoTapeTao
Fi is the shit.

Handcranked is the shit.

Vignetting the Compost is the shit.

Ambivalence Avenue is the shit.

His Ovals and Emeralds ep is the shit.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 9:22 am
by bearhead
Aesthetics wrote:I still have Fi on vinyl but won't sell it. It still is part of my musical journey.
I sometimes imagine how it will be once I'm retired and have tons of time to listen to "old" music. That's one of the reasons I do these annual mixes. I guess once I play them when I'm old I will jump in a roller-coaster of memories and emotions.


Somehow, that seems really depressing, but very interesting at the same time.

I think it'd be weird being 60, going through music I listened to at 18, but in a good way.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 9:22 am
by bearhead
TaoTapeTao wrote:Fi is the shit.

Handcranked is the shit.

Vignetting the Compost is the shit.

Ambivalence Avenue is the shit.

His Ovals and Emeralds ep is the shit.


^ I second this.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 12:30 pm
by portiss
bearhead wrote:
Aesthetics wrote:I still have Fi on vinyl but won't sell it. It still is part of my musical journey.
I sometimes imagine how it will be once I'm retired and have tons of time to listen to "old" music. That's one of the reasons I do these annual mixes. I guess once I play them when I'm old I will jump in a roller-coaster of memories and emotions.


Somehow, that seems really depressing, but very interesting at the same time.

I think it'd be weird being 60, going through music I listened to at 18, but in a good way.


It is basically the only reason I buy cd's, for me to listen when I get older and have a family, and share my music with my children, like my dad used to do with me. I just think it will be awesome to spin a BoC when I'm 50/60 years old.

PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 12:59 am
by lyst
Still play bib on the reg. Lol@d at the old whiny bastards saying go back and look at older threads.

I literally got like 20+ plus into Bibio personally that would have never heard of him through the years. That's remarkable alone. I mean nowadays he's doing that himself, and people realize how dope he is.

Overall my favorite memory from his work is back in College when i really needed alone time I would throw on the ipod and start a walk. The college was the center of a small town, so if you kept walking in any direction eventually you would hit woods. And so Handcranked and some tobacco made those days for me.

PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 1:03 am
by TaoTapeTao
lyst wrote:Overall my favorite memory from his work is back in College when i really needed alone time I would throw on the ipod and start a walk. The college was the center of a small town, so if you kept walking in any direction eventually you would hit woods. And so Handcranked and some tobacco made those days for me.


Damn that sounds awesome. Some of my favorite memories of Fi and Vignetting the Compost are from walking alone in the woods with Bose headphones listening to those two cds in their entirety.

PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 1:15 am
by bearhead
My favorite Bibio memories are when I used to drive around during the spring (2011) and had Vignetting the Compost playing. I live deep in the countryside, so it's just grass and green acres around here. It's really nice, too. Especially around the time before the sun begins to set. My car is fucked now, so I can't do that. Haha.

PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 1:54 am
by TaoTapeTao
bearhead wrote:My favorite Bibio memories are when I used to drive around during the spring (2011) and had Vignetting the Compost playing. I live deep in the countryside, so it's just grass and green acres around here. It's really nice, too. Especially around the time before the sun begins to set. My car is fucked now, so I can't do that. Haha.


Damn that sucks about your car but I'm jealous... driving around the country listening to bibio also sounds fucking amazing. I don't even have a car atm but when I do plan on spending most of my time driving to the middle of nowhere blasting tunes. Of course I'll need something that handles gas well...

PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 8:55 am
by Cupz
I loved Bibio to death with Fi and Hand Cranked, only like with Robin, the sharp guitars get tiresome after a while. I started ignoring his music. The tracks that featured his singing gave me a small boost of joy, but overall the sound started getting old kinda fast. So vignetting the compost and jeweleyesomething weren't that emersive.
Ambivalence Avenue is a great change of pace and a good that I still play regularly.
Mind Bokeh is still a complete stranger to me, and I never play it, and I've tried to like it. I guess its way to clean for my taste. It sounds boring.

Great artist that got a little side-tracked in my opinion. But that's me. Musical growth is something odd.

PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 2:28 pm
by bearhead
TaoTapeTao wrote:
bearhead wrote:My favorite Bibio memories are when I used to drive around during the spring (2011) and had Vignetting the Compost playing. I live deep in the countryside, so it's just grass and green acres around here. It's really nice, too. Especially around the time before the sun begins to set. My car is fucked now, so I can't do that. Haha.


Damn that sucks about your car but I'm jealous... driving around the country listening to bibio also sounds fucking amazing. I don't even have a car atm but when I do plan on spending most of my time driving to the middle of nowhere blasting tunes. Of course I'll need something that handles gas well...


This is a bit off topic, but another really cool feeling is driving around at night in the middle of nowhere, blasting Lone with the windows down. I remember leaving a friend's house one time, around 2 AM and I took a wrong turn out. I ended up passing by this huge field where the moon sat over. I ended up just sitting out there for about half an hour. I wish I had a camera. It was a fucking nice sight.

PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 9:08 pm
by lyst
bearhead wrote:
TaoTapeTao wrote:
bearhead wrote:My favorite Bibio memories are when I used to drive around during the spring (2011) and had Vignetting the Compost playing. I live deep in the countryside, so it's just grass and green acres around here. It's really nice, too. Especially around the time before the sun begins to set. My car is fucked now, so I can't do that. Haha.


Damn that sucks about your car but I'm jealous... driving around the country listening to bibio also sounds fucking amazing. I don't even have a car atm but when I do plan on spending most of my time driving to the middle of nowhere blasting tunes. Of course I'll need something that handles gas well...


This is a bit off topic, but another really cool feeling is driving around at night in the middle of nowhere, blasting Lone with the windows down. I remember leaving a friend's house one time, around 2 AM and I took a wrong turn out. I ended up passing by this huge field where the moon sat over. I ended up just sitting out there for about half an hour. I wish I had a camera. It was a fucking nice sight.


Lmao. I used to do the SAME exact thing. Back when lone would make some offbeat hip-hop bangers. So beautiful in the car stereo. "Midnight Feast" would probably be #1 in most played, but so many others as well. Kona Triangle too!!!