Bibio Returns with <i>Mind Bokeh</i>

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Jan 13, 2011

English electronic artist Bibio has honed his laptop wizardry into a fine art over the years. Though whipping up hazy, blissed-out washes initially brought on comparisons to Boards of Canada, the man born Stephen Wilkinson really came into his own with 2009's bounced-up Ambivalence Avenue. Hoping to top that dizzying masterpiece, Bibio has just announced his new album, Mind Bokeh.

A press release for the record, to be released by Warp Records, claims that Mind Bokeh "has exceeded all our high expectations with its full-on, neon-lit pop whilst not compromising on any of the vintage, textured production that makes up Bibio's trademark sound."

A sampler of Wilkinson's fourth full-length proves to be a woozy, late-night excursion of wobbly beats, distorted '70s soul samples and even a few moments of four-on-the-floor dance rock. It's a heady brew, to say the least. You can check it out below.

Though it would be a stretch to call it a concept record, check out Wilkinson's description of the album and how its title fits the songs perfectly:

Bokeh is the out of focus region of a photograph. It's not a quantifiable thing, but photographers and lens manufacturers are obsessed with it. In Japanese it means "haze," "blur" or even "dementia." I called the album Mind Bokeh because I'm interested in the effect of defocussing your mind, whether through meditation, chemicals or whatever -- it's a state of mind quite alien to Westerners.

Mind Bokeh comes out March 28 on Warp Records.

Mind Bokeh:

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"

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