Hasta La Ideas

A prolific artist channels global communities and Eastern philosophy

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Brooklyn-based visual artist and musician Hisham Bharoocha blurs the boundaries of artistic medium, creating multi-sensory anthems that deftly move between a daydream quality of images and sound. The skateboarding scenes in LA and San Diego instilled an interwoven sense of creativity and community in Bharoocha at an early age and, melding seemingly divergent influences of punk rock aesthetics with the prevalence of his mother’s homespun folk art, Bharoocha pursued a burgeoning interest in visual art. After attending high school in Tokyo, Bharoocha enrolled at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), which introduced Bharoocha to what he fondly refers to as, “a really good balance of kids who made interesting visual work and people who played music.”

While studying photography and video, Bharoocha’s compositional experimentation took a new direction as the inducted drummer of Black Dice, a progressive noisecore ensemble. Inspired by flyers accumulated from years of touring and the art of fellow bandmate, Bjorn Copeland, Bharoocha started to explore the artistry of collage. His art pairs psychedelic imagery with naturalistic elements, assuming an otherworldly quality with undertones of hyperreality that has garnished exhibitions ranging from D’Amelio Terras gallery in New York, to Vleeshal, a state-run space in the Netherlands.

Originally influenced by ’60s street photography, Bharoocha later began documenting nature to contrast the predominance of living in urban environments. Bharoocha explains, “As a person who grew up mostly in big cities like Tokyo and New York I was always seeing nature as something that felt displaced in urban environments. I now see it as an escape where people have to leave technology behind and I love the way people seem relaxed in nature when they are away from the devices that usually cling by their side.”

Informed by his consciousness of space, Bharoocha worked with multi-media artist Doug Aitken to create an atmospheric backdrop to cinematic art installation, Sleepwalkers. Aitken’s Sleepwalkers, projected on eight exterior walls of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, visually interconnects the tale of five New Yorkers over the span of one night. Bharoocha, along with an assembly of other percussionists, provided rhymthmic ambience, drummed out on a customized “sonic table” designed by Aitken known as the K-N-O-C-K-O-U-T. Frequent collaborators Bharoocha and Aitken have fortified a relationship that reflects Bharoocha’s dedicated commitment to the arts. “I’m all about growing the creative community to expand in as many directions as possible,” explains Bharoocha.

Bharoocha continues to expand his work, connecting with Japanese avant-garde group the Boredoms. Inspired by the concept of 77 drummers, Bharoocha and the Boredoms organized a free concert event entitled 77 Boadrum held in Brooklyn to coincide with 7 July 2007. The popularity of the event prompted an encore, entitled 88 Boadrum, facilitated by Bharoocha as musical director, held on 8 August 2008 at the La Brea Tar Pits in LA.

Bharoocha has forged a spiritual relationship between drums and technology with stylings that range from the intensifying surge of his early musical inceptions, Lightning Bolt and Black Dice, to the aural atmosphere of his current project, Soft Circle (with a new release due early next year). Underlying Bharoocha’s musical and artistic work is the meditative philosophy of Vispassana; an introspection that has clearly driven Bharoocha’s diverse talents and communal spirit. Bharoocha muses, “I’m fascinated by the fact that we are all born with a certain path paved for us and depending on the choices we make along the way our lives change and differ drastically. I am fascinated by life and all its avenues.”

Bharoocha and The Boredooms will be performing in Kyoto, Japan at Kyoto at Seika University on 2 November. The Boadrum events continue with the 111 Boadrum event held at Byron Bay Australia on 11 November 11 2011. Bharoocha has also developed a eyewear line entitled “Phosphorescence” through the Phos Project.

This story is part of an editorial series sponsored and inspired by Le Meridien.
New Perspectives explores fresh ideas and distinct points of view in global art and culture.

Sculpting with sound, an artist crafts multi-sensoral experiences

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Navigating the strata of sound, composer and visual artist Kamran Sadeghi maneuvers a digital diving bell that harmoniously discovers new territories forged between art and music. Culling sounds from eclectic sources such as found objects, a grand piano and the chamber of a nuclear cooling tower, Sadeghi weaves together an electronic topography that is both hypnotic and haunting. Sadeghi explains, “I would take the time to learn something and after doing so, I would use it for something other than what it was originally designed for, or I would just take it apart and or break it out of boredom.”

Born in Iran, Sadeghi and his family relocated to America around the time of Iran’s Islamic Revolution. Although the indigenous tones of Persian folk and pop music were prevalent, Sadeghi spent most of his time as a visual artist growing up. At the age of nineteen, Sadeghi channeled his artistic talents into music, self-educated on curiosity and record stores. “I would spend a lot of time in [record stores], talking to people and listening to new music. They were my library for many, many years,” reflects Sadeghi.

In 2000, Sadeghi began to experiment with traditional instruments and computer synthesis, culminating in four full-length albums first released in 2005 under the alias, Son of Rose. Establishing a name to evoke a spirit, Son of Rose was created to “explore and experiment with electronic music theories and techniques.” Under Son of Rose, Sadeghi deftly fuses patterns of sine wave frequencies and polymorphic rhythms with a measure of warmth and timbre. “I’m often using sound as a physical material, much like a sculptor would with their preferred materials,” elaborates Sadeghi.

Delving further into the relationship between rhythm and space, Sadeghi launched the evocative album entitled, “Through Thickness,” recorded under his given name. Released by Dragon Eye, electronic artist Yann Novak’s label, “Through Thickness” forms part of Sadeghi’s “Kha series.” Referencing the Sanskrit word for “zero,” the numeric marker in tabular arrangements, the Kha series escalates into an exotic interplay of beats and movement. Sadeghi states, “It was a way to create a platform for me to focus specifically on rhythmic structures, both for sound and image. I like to create a series of work. They become more like a study that I develop over long periods of time.”

By exploring ambient dimensions, Sadeghi has also studied how space forms sound. In 2008, Sadeghi was commissioned to create and record a musical piece inside a nuclear cooling tower. Using the tower as an instrument,Sadeghi amplified an original composition and re-recorded it with the attached echo effect; repeating the procedure to affect a lulling, drone state. Sadeghi reflects. “It was a serial experience. That night I had my first acoustic dream’ where I could almost feel the sound of that place in my sleep.” Sadeghi also explored tonal resonance through his collaboration with the dance company, Zoe | Juniper, using twelve individual speakers to spatially project his live score.

Harkening back to his visual artist roots, Sadeghi has also interwoven color and shapes into his compositions, creating installations that have been internationally displayed at galleries including the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle and the Staalplaat in Berlin. In 2010, Sadeghi showcased his animated graphical score, “Pattern Recognition” at the 4Culture Gallery, an emergent, electronic art space. “The piece is like an animated Rubik’s Cube that is being moved by the music. I wanted to explore how the eye follows the ear, or vice versa,” describes Sadeghi. Intuitively exploring sound and images, Sadeghi describes his approach: “I’m hyper aware of acoustic space. I am always listening to the difference between what it sounds like ‘over here’ compared to ‘over there.’ I like to explore the threshold of sound and music in space.”

Continuing to develop musical narratives, Sadeghi is currently working in collaboration with Soundwalk Collective on a three-part album series entitled “Medea,” which chronicles the collective’s nautical journey along the coast of the Black Sea in the mythical spirit of Medea and is due for release in 2012.

This story is part of an editorial series sponsored and inspired by Le Meridien.
New Perspectives explores fresh ideas and distinct points of view in global art and culture.

A new platform for making and sharing music worldwide

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J&B, one of the world’s most renowned whisky brands has joined forces with producer Russ Chimes to create a unique international music project. J&B City Remix has been launched across 12 countries to inspire people all over the world to make groundbreaking music in an unconventional way. This J&B initiative is designed specifically to celebrate global cities and the energy that makes them special.

Taking inspiration from ambient city sounds, Chimes created a unique party track
composed of a mix between the vibrancy of urban metropolises and a memorable bass
line. To help bring this concept to life, renowned short film director Patrick Jean worked
with Chimes to create an original music video to accompany the track and to show how everyday sounds can lead to great music.

The project enables anyone to contribute to the remix by using the J&B City Remix iPhone App to record and upload sounds of their own cities via the J&B City Remix
Website or Facebook App. The final tracks will be exclusively launched at J&B parties
all over the world in early 2012.

Music and animal hijinks come together in a handmade children’s book by Breathe Owl Breathe

For a child, the ritual of bedtime reading is as important as the story. They enjoy the togetherness, the feel of the pages and the imagination that the illustrations inspire. It’s refreshing to hold something that looks and feels like a family treasure, which is exactly what Micah Middaugh of the band, Breathe Owl Breathe has given us in his new children’s book “The Listeners / These Train Tracks.”

Structured as two stories that read from either cover into the middle, the endings culminate at the centerfold where a seven-inch vinyl record awaits, holding two musical renditions of the stories by Breathe Owl Breathe. Everything from the canvas cover to the pages—hand-printed from wood blocks—was made in Michigan by Middaugh, the final product a result of three years’ work.

“The Listeners” is a comic tale of the friendship between an ostrich and a mole who meet by chance one day in a hole. The mole with sightless eyes and the bird with flightless wings join to form a band called “The Listeners,” and perform together in an underground concert for their friends. “These Train Tracks” is a story of metamorphosis, in which a set of train tracks transforms into everything from a caterpillar to the night sky to a set of pajama buttons. Its mood is both whimsical and soothing, a perfect end to a child’s long day.

“The Listeners / These Train Tracks” is a limited-edition production and is available from Breathe Owl Breathe’s website, shipping in time for the holidays on 6 December 2011.

An insider’s perspective on London’s clubland 1976-1984

There’s a seductiveness that surrounds the London club scene of the late ’70s and early ’80s. It was an era that spawned a host of new music, a few new drugs, some serious fashion and Boy George. With his new book, “We Can Be Heroes,” Graham Smith packages the nostalgia for those who romanticize or actually remember it.

As a young man, the untrained photographer got his hands on a 35mm Praktica and began snapping friends and musicians in the early punk scene. He started out processing them at home in a cupboard, storing them away as mementos. Later, when the media caught on to the trend and began reporting on what they called “The New Romantics,” Smith and others felt that it was misrepresented. The photographic coverage was always from an outsider’s perspective, and attracted poseurs who flocked to be part of the scene’s cool factor.

Smith’s intensely personal photos depict his cohorts, many of whom went on to become major icons. Among the book’s 400 images are stills of Gary Kemp, the Sex Pistols, Boy George, Iggy Pop and Robert Elms. Smith conducted 60 interviews with artists and club regulars and wrote the book with Chris Sullivan, a friend and fellow ne’er-do-well. “We Can Be Heroes” offers a glimpse into the interiors of legendary old spaces like Billy’s, the Mud Club, the Blitz and Le Beate. The book also includes DJ set lists, club flyers, magazine covers and other paraphernalia of the bygone era.

Due out on 8 December 2011, “We Can Be Heroes” is raising funds to get made through the donation-based site Unbound, and still needs supporters. To help bring the book to life, head over to the site and make a pledge. There are a range of donation options—£50 will get you a signed first edition and the satisfaction of knowing you helped record a pivotal moment in music history. In the meantime, the book’s on display through 23 December The Society Club in London.