Bola

Hmm...underrated? Maybe I'm an old head but I remember clearly in the late 90s/early 2000s he was pretty highly regarded. So much so, that I actually felt Bola was OVERrated. He wasn't a Warp "rockstar", but was always super praised (deservedly) in the idm community.

That said, I could never get into his music back in the day; there was too much interesting stuff coming out in the late 90s to want to listen to "Soup", which at the time sounded a bit generic, or like a bunch of Amber b-sides (which also felt like Autechre's least interesting album at the time). Then Bola went heavily down the staid path of incorporating obvious breakbeats/hip-hop elements which just sounded so tired and played out by the early 2000s.

Well, times and tastes change, Amber has now become my favorite Autechre album, and I love Bola's Soup (and Shapes). They def have a vibe, like Amber, which is hard to find in other albums. Very warm, open, ambient, engaging yet chill, well produced...lots of purposeful flanger and big reverb. The sound is synthy in ways other idm is not. The recordings just sound GOOD sonically. I'm glad I went back to rediscover Soup and Shapes, even if the later stuff still doesn't do it for me. Soup sounds like it could have been a Metroid Prime soundtrack.

Bola has to be one of the most underappreciated electronic artists.

Bola, is amazing, with each release, I continue to appreciate the depth and warmth imbued in these recordings and I am thankful.

Fantastic artist, one of the best in the IDM scene. Best album: Soup. Such a classic!

Underrated artist indeed. hhh hhh hhh hyy uuu ggg hhh

Under-rated,under appreciated,and clearly not understood by many.this guy should be up there with the pioneers.he is one of those rare artists who can immerse you in a world all of his own creation.in these times of flipping and over inflated prices the relatively small amount of coin which one has to part with to own his work,to me,is staggering! Grab yourself a copy of 'soup' or 'fyuti' and discover what a real bargain is!

Bola is one of those few authoritative figures when it comes to producing completely unique electronica like Beaumont Hannant, Atom tm, Future Sound of London, The Orb.....etc. He masters many albums for other artists so that also shows he has more of an understanding about the science of layering sounds. This reclusive fellow is making music that is absolutely far past what a person would call idm or techno. This is is our modern Moroder, Vangelis, Wendy Carlos, etc. Timeless music that is so potent that it brings on a meditative state. This is music about the universe.

Well I do say that Bola Gnayse has been tastefully licking the hairs inside my ears for weeks now. I am currently purchasing every album of his on Vinyl! Luckily for me he is one of the few artists I truly appreciate that has every album released on Vinyl! Why don't most musicians press vinyl??? Let's talk about Gnayse:

The opener "Eluus" pulled me in quicker than it let me go. The track is intricate and melodic with a hypnotic repetition of perfectly sequenced beats and FX. I didn't realize the second track "Sirasancerre" had even started until the mood changed into somber cosmic pads and glitch beats shined off each the stars. "Heirairerr" is the kind of track you might FEEL more than hear. It's as if stuck in a space station medics lab. Depressing and un-hopeful... maybe the space station might explode, like "Effanajor", the next track, which blows up with dead air and synth beats entangled with subtle melody but continues with struggling pads until you are lifted into an ethereal after-life realm of "Opanopono". Am I alive or am I dead, the feeling you get from "Opanopono", maybe hopeful, but definitely down trodden. "Pfane pt 1 and pt 2" continue on this same melodic journey with the alien-like sounds and futuristic arpeggiations accompanied with a piano with hall reverb. It gets pretty hopeful towards the end of Pt. 2. "Vhieneray" has the bouncing sound of rubber inside a glass tube. Genius! Lots of pad work here with minor synth rhythm. "Papnwea" is nothing like the rest of the album. It has notes of trip-hop beats and a filtered vocal synth sound that hints old tones. The melody is very unnerving and uncomfortable at times. We end the album with "Effaninor", a 4 on the floor danceable track with that same deep ambient element in the background and many god-like synth lfo's hovering above. It breaks down into a symphonic piece towards the end and then blanks out until the hidden track starts. The hidden track is somber and algorithmic and finishes with a smooth taste for another Bola album.

Overall, great album. 9/10. Darrell Fitton is a master at what he does, making amazing synthetic sounds that seem to come from aliens. I love it!

Thanks
Tobin Dack

I bought my first ever turntable from Darrell in 1994 when he worked at Dr Rock in Rochdale. He looked cooler with his long hair back then. I say that, so did I.