Resident Focus: BIPED
This month's Resident Focus features Bristol experimentalist, BIPED.
BIPED has been making a steady and impactful impression over the last few years with a series of self-releases alongside slew of razor sharp releases on experimental powerhouse, Avon Terror Corps. Their work as a multidisciplinary artist has been bolstered with accoutrement in the form of mutant objects and custom USBs, solidifying their presence amongst the wider scene's most discerning listeners.
Their music takes shape somewhere between the dizzying dystopia of The Caretaker, the programming prowess of Flying Lotus, and the collaborative spirit and avant-gardist sensibility of Nurse With Wound's Steven Stapleton. But to compare BIPED's music to others really seems a disservice — their music sits somewhere in world it's own, drawn from diverse influences but weaved into something entirely unique.
Tell us a little about yourself, where you are in the world, one fun fact about yourself.
BI’m Ted BIPED, just got back to Bris from Paris with some Avon Terror Corps krew - a fun fact is I love garden peas / petits pois, often eat them on toast.
How are you spending your days at the moment?
BRecently there’s been a fair bit of travelling around for shows and to get out of ruts. Other than that I’ve been living under a bit of a rock at my little studio practising drums and other instruments, developing live shows, reading Herman Hesse, sharing a bedroom and working out what I’ll do when we’re kicked out ! Also developing a pantheon of little folkbeasts.
Favourite thing to hear in nature?
BWhen you hear loads of birds, and the sky’s thick with all of them singing, and it feels like it must have used to when all the birds were chilling. Otherwise any environments where you can hear no sound of humans…no cars…
How do you approach your creative practice?
BFrom all angles ! Always looking + listening outside and inside, zooming in and out of perspectives and feeling situations deeply. In parallel I’m studying and practising different skills, mediums, instruments. And then making the time to experiment and fuse those two parallel practices. But the key is humour, like lightness of heart, putting intentions and ideas to the side when it comes to the making, and asking the material or piece what it wants to say, letting it be real and flawed, I’m talking about play.
What is inspiring you outside of music right now?
BThe seeds I’ve planted and also Spring in general, people I meet, James Baldwin, learning to do contact juggling, learning Polish.
Three artists which you think are criminally underrated?
BKat Holmes (painter), Solomon OB (poet), Otis Jordan (music)
What song is playing at your funeral?
BSinnerman by Nina Simone
If you could have anyone around for dinner, who would it be (dead or alive) and what would you cook?
BPeas on toast for Slavoj Zizek, want those peas flying everywhere.
What do you have coming up in the future for BIPED?
BThere’s a whole load coming up, soonest the LARPgarden workshops, then pretty soon a new album, then a little less soon but still coming up a 7”, looking like tours and more European shows, CUD sessions, playing new material with drummers and making custom kits with them, collabs of all kinds - things feeling very blessed and charged up.
What are you doing? Head over to BIPED's resident page have a dig through their shows, exploring all things Experimental, Avant Garde, Electronia and all else in between.
