Bibio - Mind Bokeh

On his sixth long player, UK producer Bibio shows incredible craftmanship and versatility. Unfortunately all this technical superiority sometimes gets in the way of delivering something truly inspiring.

British electronic producer Stephen Wilkinson - better known under his stage name Bibio - is not the most conventional of producers. No loud beats or cheap samples here, no gratuitous features or vocal name-dropping either. Wilksinson is a do-it-yourself-man and a nostalgic. He has so far released five albums and a couple of EP's and on his new album Mind Bokeh Wilkinson continues with the same momentum: his signature combination of smart electronics, and intelligent sampling. He explores a wide range of styles and influences of styles, going from ambient, melancholic folk ('More Excuses') over distorted electronica ('Excuses'), indie-rock ('Take Off Your Shirt')  to even happy, danceable electropop ('Anything New'). Key element though is the melancholic, ambient vibe that holds the whole album together. Whether it's a Nicolaas Jaarish atmposphere complete with organic sound-sampling (Excuses), the mysterious, oriental sound on 'Pretentious' or the sleepy, nostalgic title track, Wilkinson knows how to create a mood and above all that how to blend all these different approaches together. Vocals take somewhat of a backseat role on the album, blending into the structure and rarely standing out. It makes for a heterogenous complex and in a way it, and to his credit, he successfully manages to maximize his own limited capacities, through suble sampling.

So why only two stars? Don't get me wrong, Mind Bokeh is never less than good. It's particularly well-constructed and original. But as a whole the album rarely really wows. There's plenty of ideas on it, but they don't always make for a truly inspiring result. For that, his music often sounds a bit contrived. Well thought over and showing amazing workmanship and sampling skills but too theoretical to really leave a mark. In that it should be no surprise that Bibio's music has often been labeled as 'intelligent dance music'. Although in the end, that will always lie in the eye of the beholder, so to speak. Bibio perhaps doesn't create the most accessible type of music and even if you do give it a go, chances are it might just speak to you. But to those who don't mind a portion of smart, intricate electronica, Mind Bokeh will probably stand up from the crowd. More than anything Mind Bokeh shows how relative musical taste can be and how wide the gap that lies between objective and subjective grandeur.

Tracklist
1. Excuses
2. Pretentious
3. Anything New
4. Wake Up!
5. Light Seep
6. Take Off Your Shirt
7. Artists' Valley
8. K Is For Kelson
9. Mind Bokeh
10. More Excuses
11. Feminine Eye
12. Saint Christopher