electronic music
Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. His work was picked up by
Scott Herren
Guillermo Scott Herren is an American producer who has been based in Atlanta, Barcelona, and New York City. Herren releases music under the aliases Prefuse 73, Delarosa & Asora, Ahmad Szabo, and Piano Overlord, and is also part of the groups S ...
of Prefuse 73 (
Warp Records
Warp Records is a British independent record label that specialises in Electronic music, electronic, indie rock and experimental music. It was founded in Sheffield in 1989 by Steve Beckett, Robert Mitchell and Robert Gordon. It has released recor ...
) after Herren heard him working the club circuit. In 2004, Lipp released his first studio album, '' S/T'', with Eastern Developments Music, a label owned by Warp Records.
Background
Lipp was born and raised in
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...
and attended art school in
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. After graduating from college, he moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, and back to LA before finally settling in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
in 2006.
Career
While in Chicago, Lipp produced two full-length albums; by the time he moved to Brooklyn, he had plenty of material to work with. His work made its way into the hands of
Scott Herren
Guillermo Scott Herren is an American producer who has been based in Atlanta, Barcelona, and New York City. Herren releases music under the aliases Prefuse 73, Delarosa & Asora, Ahmad Szabo, and Piano Overlord, and is also part of the groups S ...
(
Warp Records
Warp Records is a British independent record label that specialises in Electronic music, electronic, indie rock and experimental music. It was founded in Sheffield in 1989 by Steve Beckett, Robert Mitchell and Robert Gordon. It has released recor ...
) and Savath+Savalas (
Hefty Records
Hefty Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois (United States). Founded in 1995 by John Hughes III, who is the son of the director John Hughes,Warp Records
Warp Records is a British independent record label that specialises in Electronic music, electronic, indie rock and experimental music. It was founded in Sheffield in 1989 by Steve Beckett, Robert Mitchell and Robert Gordon. It has released recor ...
in late 2004 and Lipp released his first album, '' S/T'', shortly thereafter. This LP already displayed signs of what is now his signature sound by utilizing
Sequential Circuits
Sequential is an American synthesizer company founded in 1974 as Sequential Circuits by Dave Smith. In 1978, Sequential released the Prophet-5, the first programmable polyphonic synthesizer, which was widely used in the music industry. In the ...
and
Korg ms-20
The Korg MS-20 is a patchable semi-modular monophonic analog synthesizer which Korg released in 1978 and which was in production until 1983. It was part of Korg's MS series of instruments, which also included the single oscillator MS-10, the ke ...
synths
A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis an ...
.
In 2005, Lipp signed with
Hefty Records
Hefty Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois (United States). Founded in 1995 by John Hughes III, who is the son of the director John Hughes, The release of ''Tacoma Mockingbird'' on
. ''Peace Love Weed 3D'' in 2009 was the first of Lipp's albums to be released on his own record label, Old Tacoma Records (OTR). Over the next two years, OTR released ''Light Years'', a collaborative album with Leo 123 under the name Dark Party, and ''How We Do: Moves Made'', a collaborative album with long-time friend Jasia 10. His 2012 album ''Shark Wolf Rabbit Snake'', now with Pretty Lights Music, garnered a number of remixes. At this point, Lipp moved home to Tacoma to be closer to his family and subsequently recorded and released his ninth studio album, ''Come to Life'', with Young Heavy Souls. He made another major move, this time to
Austin, Texas
Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, where he released ''Skywave'' in 2017, again on the Detroit label Young Heavy Souls.
On June 29, 2021, Lipp and Michna released a single called ''Spectra'' under the name Minutes Unlimited. The pair previously released ''Making Contact'' (EP, 2018, Young Heavy Souls); ''Simple Solutions'' (EP, 2018); ''Firewall Breach'' (EP, 2018); ''Green Data'' (LP, 2019, Rellman Enterprises); ''I.D.E.N.T.I.T.Y.'' (debut studio album, 2020); ''Marantz Files'' (LP, 2020); ''Gang'' (EP, 2020); and ''Solve'' (unreleased track, 2020). He also collaborates with Alex B and Lane Shaw of
Pnuma Trio
The Pnuma Trio was an electronic musical group, bringing classical, jazz, funk, hip hop, and drum and bass influences. A recent article in Art Voice magazine dubbed the Pnuma Trio the "Music of the future."
The Pnuma Trio consists of Alex Botwin ...
under the name Lipp Service; with vyle under the name AUBURN; with Willie Burns as Galaxy Toobin'; and with
Blockhead
Blockhead(s) may refer to:
Films
* '' The Blockhead'', a 1921 German silent film
* ''Block-Heads'', a 1938 film starring Laurel and Hardy
* ''Blockhead'' (film), a 1966 Italian film
Music
* Blockhead (music producer) (born 1976), American hip ...
under the name Lipphead.
Musical influences
In his hometown of Tacoma, Lipp was influenced by mostly
hip hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
artists such as
RZA
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name RZA ( ) or the RZA, is an American rapper, record producer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is the '' de facto'' leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having pro ...
and DJs who have strong roots in hip hop such as
Madlib
Otis Lee Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American record producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. Critically acclaimed for his eclectic, music sample, sample-heavy production style, he is rega ...
a.k.a.
Quasimoto
Quasimoto was a side project of hip hop producer Madlib, from Oxnard, California. Quasimoto is composed of Madlib and his animated alter ego Lord Quas. Lord Quas is known for his high-pitched voice, which often interacts with Madlib's regular ...
. When asked what musical genres he found the greatest influence from, Lipp responded, "
Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...
and Detroit rap, classic electro, 1970s fusion, early 1990s
techno
Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
, and
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...
bands are all styles that influence my music."
Discography
Collaborations
With John Hughes, Leo 123, and Jasia 10
* ''Wanna Be Neuro'' (single, 2006,
Hefty Records
Hefty Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois (United States). Founded in 1995 by John Hughes III, who is the son of the director John Hughes,Sound Tribe Sector 9
Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9) is an instrumental band whose sound is based heavily on instrumental rock and electronic music, funk, jazz, drum and bass, psychedelia, and hip hop, originating in Georgia, United States. Self-described as "post-roc ...
(single, 2005, System Recordings)
With various artists
* ''Hefty Naked Ninja Remix'' on collaborated album ''History is Bunk Pt. 1: Collaborations, Reinterpretations & New Compositions'' (single, 2006,
As Galaxy Toobin' with Willie Burns
* ''S/T'' (LP, 2008, Not Not Fun Records)
As Dark Party with Leo 123
* ''Light Years'' (LP, 2010, Old Tacoma Records)
As Minutes Unlimited with Michna
* ''Making Contact'' (EP, 2018, Young Heavy Souls)
* ''Simple Solutions'' (EP, 2018)
* ''Firewall Breach'' (EP, 2018)
* ''Green Data'' (LP, 2019, Rellman Enterprises)
* ''I.D.E.N.T.I.T.Y.'' (debut studio album, 2020)
* ''Marantz Files'' (LP, 2020)
* ''Gang'' (EP, 2020)
* ''Solve'' (unreleased track, 2020)
As AUBURN with vyle
* T/E/L/E/X (LP, 2011, Pretty Lights and Tekheartsyou)
As Lipphead with
Blockhead
Blockhead(s) may refer to:
Films
* '' The Blockhead'', a 1921 German silent film
* ''Block-Heads'', a 1938 film starring Laurel and Hardy
* ''Blockhead'' (film), a 1966 Italian film
Music
* Blockhead (music producer) (born 1976), American hip ...
* ''Lipphead'' (EP, 2019, Young Heavy Souls)
* ''In The Nude'' (LP, 2022, Young Heavy Souls)
* ''From The Back'' (LP, 2023, Young Heavy Souls)