Much love to the Windy City, but Bryan Hollon (aka Boom Bip) and Rave Curious host Joshua Glazer are two Midwest boys who can’t help hold a bit of distaste for a town that, by their estimation, spawned the condescending hipster archetype.
Hollon also has some unkind words for EDM, a world he was almost drawn into, despite a catalog that consist mainly of rich and beguiling downtempo tunes. “I don’t want to have a bass drop every 45 second and pump my hands in the air and all that,” Hollon insists on this episode of the Rave Curious Podcast. “So as that new of DJing started happening, I just lost interest. As soon as I started to feel that pressure from William Morris to do that, I was like, ‘Fuck this.’”
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Hollon is someone comfortable with contradictions. He’s been releasing music on Warp Records hip-hop offshoot Lex for 15 years, yet has only featured two or three MCs on any tracks. His Neon Neon project with Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals has produced two “pop” albums that can’t quite play the pop music game. “It’s hard for me to just give in when something feels uncomfortable and cheesy.”
But it’s not all bitching and moaning. There’s plenty of positives, including Hollon’s moody new soundtrack to the film Sun Choked, to talk about. Or the time he got to party at Björk’s house after his first UK gig with Aphex Twin. Or the time he DJed for a dating Justin and Britney in Hollywood with Steve Aoki. It all gets covered on this week’s podcast.
