Bibio


Stephen James Wilkinson, better known as Bibio, is an English musician. His music is primarily folk-oriented, electronic, and experimental in nature. He currently releases music on Warp Records, and previously released on Mush Records.

Biography

A resident of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, England, Wilkinson developed a passion for experimental music during his time at Middlesex University in London, where he studied "sonic arts". He developed his own style of music, drawing from contemporary experimental electronica bands such as Boards of Canada, and incorporating field recordings and found sounds. Electronically modified guitar melodies and droning synthesizer sounds are a recurring theme in his pieces, causing many people to label his music as a hybrid of electronica or intelligent dance music and folk music. Talking about his approach, Wilkinson has said "Electronic music doesn't have to be so grid like, it can be elasticated, more human." For a brief period Wilkinson was also a lecturer at Stafford College teaching Music Technology.
His music has recently been licensed for commercial campaigns by L.L. Bean, Adult Swim, Toyota, and Amazon.com. His song, "Lovers' Carvings" was featured in the first Google Project Glass commercial, in the 2011 commercial for the Amazon Kindle and in the 2010 film "The Switch". In 2009, he contributed a cover of the Boards of Canada track "Kaini Industries" to the Warp20 compilation. Part of the track "Cry! Baby!" was used over the end-title sequence of the Louis Theroux documentary "Miami Mega Jails".
Wilkinson adopted the alias Bibio from the name of a small black and red fly his father used on childhood fishing trips in Wales. He has said to be influenced lyrically by foreign languages, phonemes, Daft Punk, Boards of Canada, Madlib, J Dilla and Elizabeth Fraser. Influences on his guitar playing include The Incredible String Band, Nick Drake, Tortoise and João Gilberto.

Career

Mush releases

Previous to Warp, Bibio was signed to American independent label Mush Records. His debut album, fi, was released in February 2005. His second, Hand Cranked, in 2006, was followed by Vignetting the Compost in 2009.

''Ambivalence Avenue''

Bibio's fourth studio album, his first with Warp Records, was released on 22 June 2009. Ambivalence Avenue is arguably his most critically lauded album to date, described as his "most creative and penetrating release yet."

''The Apple and the Tooth''

Bibio's second album on Warp Records, The Apple and the Tooth, comprises four new tracks and eight remixes of tracks from Ambivalence Avenue. It was released on 9 November 2009 The four original tracks were described as "expert, full of electronic papier-mache layers of arpeggiated guitars, glitchy drum patterns and joyful percussive samples," by The Guardian.

''Mind Bokeh''

Bibio's sixth studio album – his third studio release on Warp Records – was released on 29 March 2011 in the US and 4 April in the UK. Wilkinson described the album as a "balance of the familiar and the non-familiar". Talking about Mind Bokeh, he said, "I think that when I finished 'Ambivalence Avenue' one thing I wanted to focus on was the use of synthesisers and drum machines more, so it's going to lend itself to an electric sounding album rather than an acoustic album." Instrumentally, it consists of "folding twinkly keyboards, crackly loops, and gently insistent beats" making "tracks that are evocative and detailed enough to reveal more with repeated listens".
Bokeh is a photographic term for the blur of the out-of-focus area in an image.
Wilkinson explains that the album title was chosen to represent different forms of consciousness; of the artwork he explains "The crystal clear representation of a moment isn't necessarily the most interesting. Think about when you look at your parents' old photographs – it's not an exact image of how they look; it's like a stained glass window into how they look."

''Silver Wilkinson''

Silver Wilkinson is the name of Bibio's seventh studio album, released through Warp Records on 14 May 2013.
On 3 December 2013, Warp and Bibio announced a follow up to the album titled 'The Green E.P.', set to be released on 27 January
"I wanted to do a follow up EP with ‘Dye The Water Green’ as it is my favourite track off Silver Wilkinson and I also have a lot of music in my archives that would complement the track well" – Bibio

''Men, Women and Children''

In 2014, Bibio composed the original score for the film Men, Women & Children, directed by Jason Reitman.

Visual work

Stephen Wilkinson creates the majority of the artwork for Bibio – namely for The Apple and the Tooth, Mind Bokeh, and Silver Wilkinson. He also works on videography, having created the film for his Mind Bokeh album sampler, and co-directing the video for "Excuses" with Michael Robinson.

Discography

Albums