By Keith Walsh
When it comes to studio whiz/singer/songwriter Martin Bisi, you can expect the unexpected. On his new video and single for “Transit Hub Extraordinaire” there’s a lot of strangeness – the kind that comes with having unique ideas and decades of music experience.
“Transit Hub Extraordinaire” is essentially a new category: prog rap, featuring only the innovative drums of Oliver Rivera Drew, and vocals and effects by Bisi, as well as some subtle bass sounds. As the song progresses, the tempo and verses accelerate near the end. And while the sonic arrangement is minimal, the compositional arrangement is complex, with a variety of changing vocal and drum rhythms that one can only imagine took lots of planning and coordination between Bisi and Drew, who recorded the song in Berlin, Germany under the direction of Diego Ferri.
The video itself, directed by someone named Ego Sensation, is a serious piece of work in itself, involving lots of shenanigans at New York’s Grand Central Station. Acting crazy in public is usually a bad idea, but not in the case of “Transit Hub Extraordinaire.”
Martin Bisi usually records at his BC Studio in New York, which got its start in the early 80s with Brian Eno, Bill Laswell’s band Material, and Herbie Hancock. Other acts recorded there include Sonic Youth, Violent Femmes, White Zombie, Swans and many others.
“Transit Hub Extraordinaire” is from Martin Bisi’s new EP Your Ultimate Urban Fantasy, which features five tracks of innovative, strangely ear pleasing sounds.
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Martin Bisi dot com
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