HiriHara – Khayin

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Introducing HiriHara, the enigmatic alias of the esteemed artist and producer formerly known as XJ. Longtime followers of the underground scene may recognize XJ’s remarkable contributions to El Mahdy Jr’s Rai Dubs, multiple features on our Boomarm Family Album series, and a collaborative effort with Gulls, released under ZamZam Sounds Khaliphonic imprint.

Khayin, the inaugural offering from HiriHara, signals a profound shift in sonic exploration for the artist. Drawing inspiration from their Mediterranean roots, the music resonates with the salty mist of the sea, echoing themes of displacement, travel, and arrival. The album commences with the haunting sounds of “Khayin,” invoking the weathered horizon of a sun that is neither setting nor rising but rather caught somewhere in between. Meanwhile, on “Mother,” the ocean’s gentle lapping and the creak of weathered wood set the stage for a journey brimming with introspection and emotion.

HiriHara’s sonic tapestry weaves together cinematic soundscapes, intricate percussion arrangements, and thunderous basslines, effortlessly traversing from evocative sound design to jungle-infused rhythms. Each track offers a profound glimpse into the tumultuous spirit of our times, refracting the energy, tenderness, and chaos of contemporary existence..

Moreover, Khayin heralds the return of El Mahdy Jr to the Boomarm roster in 2024. El Mahdy Jr’s signature touch graces “Joal,” while his remix of “Mother” provides a stirring conclusion to the release.

Reflecting on the genesis of HiriHara, the artist shares, “HiriHara emerged as a sanctuary, a blank canvas devoid of any past associations. It became a conduit for expressing the vision and melancholy that I was experiencing. The works encapsulated here were written between the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake in 2011 and the fall of Aleppo in 2016.”

Khayin is not merely an album; it is a profound testament to the power of music as a vessel for introspection and transcendence. Available on all major streaming platforms, and as a limited edition cassette, this release beckons listeners to embark on a transformative sonic voyage.

credits

released April 26, 2024

Composed & Recorded by HiriHara between 2011-2017

Additional production on “Joal” by El Mahdy Jr.

Mastered by Jesse Munro Johnson in the Dojo.

Layout & Design by Polygon Press

Jake Chapman & Gulls – Turn Style

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We first encountered Jake Chapman’s incredible playing in 2023 when Gulls was hired to work on the mixes for Chapman’s forthcoming debut album. Instantly captivated by Chapman’s high-energy performance on the Electronic Percussion Keyboard (EPK), an electrified 5-octave marimba, the groundwork for a future collaboration was quickly laid. Months later, Chapman joined Gulls in Troutdale, Oregon, for an inaugural recording session at the newly established Confluence Recording Co.

Leading up to the recording session, Gulls crafted a sonic foundation imbued with the rich textures of dub-infused polyrhythms, motifs, and melodic beds. This was an ideal platform for Chapman to showcase his improvisational prowess, resulting in a series of captivating performances. Chapman and Gulls expanded the horizons of sonic innovation together, maintaining Boomarm Nation’s boundary-pushing collaborative ethos. Their efforts brought us this new music and contributed to ongoing research into the evolution of the EPK as a sound system-ready instrument—a collaborative endeavor championed by Chapman and Confluence Recording owner Shawn Trail. Chapman wields the EPK in fine style, utilizing its capabilities to amplify through multiple outputs and seamlessly integrating real-time effects and stompboxes into his performances.

Chapman is an in-demand instrumentalist within the dynamic LA music community, renowned for his chameleon-like ability to masterfully play across a diverse array of mallet and keyed instruments. He frequently collaborates with various ensembles and contributes to recording projects with esteemed producers such as Linda Perry and Kenny Beats. His hypnotic single, “An Angel Will Be With You Shortly,” released in February 2024, has already amassed over 20 million views and 500,000 plays on Spotify.

With a full EP underway, “Turn Style” is the inaugural offering from the sessions. Chapman’s playing emphasizes the elemental earthiness of the wooden material of his instrument, as soaring hypnotic motifs intertwine with a live-tracked percussion ensemble, rolling sub-bass, and reverb-soaked keys, evoking a sense of timeless exploration. The companion “Dub Version” flips things upside down to focus on a saturated exploration of the percussion, bass, and drums, but not without a hearty dose of gritty fader throws of Marimba into the dub’o-sphere. Mixed in Boomarm Nation’s signature full-spectrum dub style, Gulls’ production rides a wave between the shores of multiple genres, creating a current that feels simultaneously new and timeless. With that, we proudly present “Turn Style.

Jake Chapman: www.instagram.com/chappymilkshake/?hl=en
Gulls: www.instagram.com/gulls_sound/?hl=en
Confluence Recording Co: www.instagram.com/confluencerecording/?hl=en
EPK: www.modemarimba.com/epk/home  

Boomarm Family Album 2024

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Boomarm Family Album 2024
Bandcamp Exclusive / Digital DWNLD / Streaming
Jan, 01,2024

Peace to the world!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! This is our first Family Album since 2018! Here’s to the power of our international community, connected through sound. Many thanks to all of the artists involved, this is truly a family affair. Thank you for contributing to this compilation and sharing your art with the world.

This compilation is free to download exclusively on Bandcamp. But, please consider purchasing with a Name-Your-Price Payment Option. 100% of Name-Your-Price Sales will go to Sisters of the Road Cafe. www.sistersoftheroad.org

Sisters of the Road is a long-standing non-profit community organization in Portland, Oregon working to support low-income and houseless individuals through charitable and educational programs, including providing affordable, healthy, and delicious meals in a space that welcomes all to come dine with dignity.

Thank you for listening, supporting, sharing.

Keep bringing the light in any way you can. Music heals.

– Jesse / BN

Artists Involved:


gulls.bandcamp.com
silvioastier.bandcamp.com
hotrocks.bandcamp.com
soundcloud.com/hirihara
saintabdullah.bandcamp.com
sapleo1.bandcamp.com
www.stinkyjim.com
www.ulrichtroyer.at
soundcloud.com/thenaturalmagic
dreckig.bandcamp.com
northerndraw.bandcamp.com
mltzr.bandcamp.com
soundcloud.com/wave-fuzz
shawneecamu.bandcamp.com
soundcloud.com/camu
soundcloud.com/kry_cek
soundcloud.com/gumar
neglectsound.bandcamp.com
soundcloud.com/txted
strategy.bandcamp.com
tropicalcamel.bandcamp.com

Gulls – Cold Path EP

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Gulls
Cold Path EP
Boomarm2.0003
Digital / Bandcamp / streaming
Dec 21, 2023

In honor of the turning of the wheel, the darkest days, and the longest night here in the Northern Hemisphere, Gulls brings forth a new EP of wintery introspection. Happy Solstice to you all!

Vocals, percussion, fujara, shakuhachi, cane flute, synths, electronics, performed, composed, and arranged by Gulls – Jesse Munro Johnson 2023

Gulls – Elements EP

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Gulls
Elements EP
Boomarm2.0002
Digital / Bandcamp / streaming
Oct. 06, 2023

Gulls is back with an enthralling new EP that beckons listeners into an otherworldly realm. Drawing inspiration from the natural world, the cosmos, and the profound mysteries of life, this EP runs like a collection of lost dubs from a soundtrack that never was.

Showcasing a fusion of elements—cinematic soundscapes alive with sweeping sound design, heavy-weight percussion, and harmonized passages of live woodwinds and brass. It’s a direct transmission from the inner sanctum of the Boomarm dojo, pulsating with energy and creativity.

Originally composed in 2021 as part of a collaboration with Dr. Danielle Curry each track has undergone a meticulous transformation. In the early days of fall 2023, each piece was reworked and remixed, infusing them with new life and fresh perspective.

For over two decades, Gulls (AKA Boomarm Nation founder, Jesse Munro Johnson) has passionately dedicated themselves to the world of music as a collaborative artist, sound engineer, label owner, and producer. Consistently pushing forward to expand the boundaries of music and sound art as a means of connection and community building. Today, aside from running Boomarm Nation, Gulls works as a specialized audio engineer, focusing on…  more

credits

released October 6, 2023

Trumpet, Flutes, Percussion, Electronics: Jesse Munro Johnson

Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered in the Boomarm Nation Dojo

HOT ROCKS – MINERALS (Versions)

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HOT ROCKS
Minerals (Versions)
Boomarm2.0001
Digital / Bandcamp / streaming
Sept. 08, 2023



Hot Rocks is the musical partnership of Jesse Munro Johnson (Gulls), and Mike McKinnon (Natural Magic). Since day one, each has followed their own musical path, but for the past 20 years, their journeys as musicians and engineers have been intertwined in various studios across the West. Working in tandem as engineers and producers with the likes of Elite Beat, Mdou Moctar, and many others, a chemistry of distilled musical enthusiasm and kinship solidified. In 2021, they began gathering weekly in the Boomarm Nation studio, experimenting with the intention of building up a new sound.
Minerals (Versions) is the first offering from a harvest sown from those weekly gatherings. The sonic palette is earthy and cosmic, cool to the touch yet emanating a warmth that travels effortlessly. The woody melodic tones of tuned hand and mallet percussion, resampled brass, and bamboo flutes float in the anti-gravity of shimmering chordal clouds and throws of dubby solar flares. Built from live jams, re-spun, resampled, looped, and reassembled in a live all hands on the board mix. Each of the three versions rides an arc of slow-mo, mid-tempo glow and a weighty soundsystem embrace. This is a heartfelt dose of something fresh for your speakers

Silvio Astier – Pampa EP

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Silvio Astier – Pampa EP

BoomarmD012

Oct. 26, 2018

Free DL via Bandcamp.

Pampa is a Quechua word (the language of the Incas) which refers to the fertile plains and lowlands of the Río de la Plata, which extend through the central zone of Argentina and Uruguay.
The arrival of slaves in the 1500’s transformed the Pampa into a sonorous territory of rhythms mixed between African percussion and the native song of the Gauchos. However, in the mid-nineteenth century, revolution and war silenced the Pampa.
A silence which led Silvio Astier to look deeply into his own Argentinian roots.

With the Pampa EP, Silvio Astier presents a musical exploration of the ancestral Latin American landscape of the Pampa.
The journey is led by Slivio’s own Pampean style guitar playing, flutes and hand percussion, set beautifully against the warmth of sub bass, mystical dub FX, vocals, and soundscapes.

Silvio Astier is a multi instrumentalist musician and producer based in Buenos Aires. Mixing the rhythms and ancestral musical landscapes of Latin America with textures and beats of organic electronics. This sound is the product of the search for ancient Latin American music and its African influence, the constant dialogue between reminiscences of the past and the electronic sound of the present. 

Credits:
Music / production / Instruments: Silvio Astier
Cover Artwork: @birdofnothing – Zohar Doron
Mastering: JMJ for Boomarm Nation
*Track1 – Mixed by JMJ in the Boomarm DOJO
Video by: Tropikal Camel

—DWNLD press release—

BOOMARM018 OUT NOW!

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We are beyond thrilled to see this legendary session between Mdou Moctar and our own Elite Beat come to vinyl!

Act fast, limited copies available from our bandcamp! 

 

Elite Beat – Casual Rhythms Vol. 3! OUT NOW

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Hot on the heels of the stellar collaboration with Mdou Moctar, Elite Beat are back with Volume 3 of the Casual Rhythms series!! 

With an all hands on deck approach to analog, DIY dub mixing, these tracks shine and bubble, patiently revealing layers of cosmic orchestration, and hypnotic repetition. Press play, and the mission is clear once again, another offering of Casual Rhythm is served up, hot for your boombox! 

Recorded live in Portland, Oregon, and mixed in the Boomarm dojo. Cop the limited edition cassette tape while supplies last!!