Amongst the classical Baroque architecture, the countless museums, and idyllic gardens of St Petersburg, live a man and his dog.  The man in question is Bop, Med School Music's newest graduate and specialist in musical neurology. The dog in question is Booyaka, Bop's right hand man, adding the canine creativity. 

 

With Bop's eagerly anticipated first album, Clear Your Mind, soon to be released on the label, it's clear that he is planning to rewrite the rulebooks with his unique brand of iconoclastic drum & bass, showcased in an album which takes the listener on an adventure into the experimental world of Mr Bop.

 

Experimentation certainly seems to be one of the key ingredients in Bop's musical melting pot and in the eyes of the Russian, music is in need of artists willing to push the boundaries:

 

"It is what helps music progress. From my point of view, it is very important not to stand still. It is important to move forward, to develop, and to search for something new in music. It keeps it interesting and keeps it alive."

 

Having grown up on an eclectic musical diet ranging from drum & bass to techno and jazz, this self-professed glasses wearing, bearded vegan certainly had more than just fruit and veg in his five a day, with musical nutrition from the likes of Aphex Twin, Bjork, and Miles Davis all influencing the sounds we hear on the record. 

 

Yet it seems Bop truly found his melodic stomping ground when indulging into d&b, with the neurofunk and techstep offerings of the likes of Photek and Paradox helping to get this Russian cosmonaut's creative juices flowing:

 

"When I heard the music of Paradox, it turned my vision of drum & bass culture upside-down. I became much more interested in drumfunk and more experimental leftfield drum & bass. Nowadays I have a keen interest in the new wave of minimal and deep drum & bass, which is rapidly becoming a genre in its own right. Several years ago I couldn't imagine that it would be getting so much attention."

 

With such a rich tapestry of influences, it's no surprise that Bop's album is being heralded as a breath of fresh air to the d&b genre, oozing originality through his collection of innovative and astrological sounds:

 

"This album includes the best of a stream of tracks that I have written over the last couple of years. I wanted to incorporate ice-cold sounds and ideas that reflected my feelings, emotions and experiences. I wanted to search deep within drum & bass, my mind and my life. I prefer not to use lots of eloquent words, everything I wanted to say with this album I have said through my music."

 

The album is delicate, ambient, and beautiful in its nature, flirting with IDM but always managing to remain unique, and with an amalgamation of minimal techno, dubstep, and drum & bass. Yet for an artist whose music is light years ahead of the game, Bop likes to stay firmly in the present:

 

"I try not to look ahead too far, I simply wish to continue to live and create. We'll just have wait and see what the future holds - only heavens knows."

 

Heaven may only know, but at a youthful 19 years of age I think it's safe to say that this is not the last we will be hearing from the man and his dog.

 

Bop in the Knowledge download store

 

www.iambop.com

www.medschoolmusic.com

 

Words by James Bass

• Bop
,
• Med School

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