BACK DROP BOMB
After the first half of the 90’s when artists such as Cornelius and Pizzicato Five had gained international recognition and representing the “Shibuya Style Movement”, the world’s leading area for record shops, Shibuya had become one of the principle towns in the scene where underground street music began to surface. Besides Hip Hop and R&B, DIY Hardcore Punk, Bassline heavy Dub Reggae and Rough House/Techno were a few of the many genres becoming active around that same time. This is where in 1994, five people each with various different musical backgrounds had come together to form the rock band, “Back Drop Bomb”. Back in 1999 when their debut album, “Micromaxmum” was released, the band’s style which was fronted by the use of two vocal/MC’s could have only been categorized as a “mixture band” but upon each further release numerous musical styles had been incorporated into their works fusing various genres to the point where they have surpassed simply being a mixture band and difficult to pin down to any one style. The 2002 remix album release, “Refixx” was what really distinctly represented the extreme creativity behind their music. In this project the band chose various artists from all quarters such as Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and Jim O’rouke, Yokohama born reggae sound system, The Mighty Crown Sound System who in 1999 and 2007 were winners of the World Clash Competition, EYE from the Boredoms, Krust from Bristol’s drum and bass crew Reprazent and Incognito’s Jean-Paul “Bluey” Manuick’s side project Para:diso to collaborate by contributing a remix track. No doubt, this selection of varied artists clearly shows their diversification in musical tastes and styles.
Though soon after, Back Drop Bomb’s drummer leaves the band but the four remaining members continue to be active with the help of a support drummer and in the autumn of 2007 started the recording of their 4th album. The album titled, “Venometeoric” was completed in the course of three weeks with engineer, Keith Souza who is also known for his works with Battles, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Lightning Volt at his studio, “Machines With Magnets” in Rhode Island America.
The album, titled as a word-formation from band names in the British Thrash and Black Metal Band “Venom” and “Meteoric” can be described as an album showing their advanced expression of “Math Rock”. While American math rock representative, Battles had snatched works from such artists as Gary Glitter and Slade on the German techno label, Kompakt and stretched them out, reshuffling the beats and recapturing them into fifteen minute pieces for their masterpiece album “Mirrors”, Back Drop Bomb’s album is, in the broadest sense of the word, a dismantlement of the extreme musical styles of hardcore punk, heavy metal, hip hop, reggae, house and techno. By replacing the programming with live instruments, building variant nuances and phrases in puzzle like calculations, Back Drop Bomb have constructed a band ensemble of elaborate and extreme precision. In addition, the skilled combination of Keith Souza’s subtle engineering work makes for a simple sound yet in parallel, it shows the diversification that symbolizes their success in obtaining a futuristic band sound.
Their futuristic sound scape is greatly captured through the visual production company, STUDIO 4°C/GENIUS PARTY who are known for their animation work with film director, Katsuhiro Otomo’s “Memories” and film director, Michael Arias’s “Tekkon Kinkreet”. They have produced a video clip titled, “Venometreoric” which is amazing artistic footage with intricate color and lighting that evokes geometric imagery. “Venometreoric” is surely going to be the cutting edge musical experience in Tokyo 2008.
Official Website: http://backdropbomb.jp/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BDB_JP
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/backdropbomb
Blog: http://backdropbomb.jp/blog/
BACK DROP BOMB