Biishop

Through an ethereal piano entry, amidst pins and needles of crackles and an ambient drone, a voice reverberates, “My heart can’t take these alibis,” to which a passionate “Can’t take it!” answers. So begins “Suffer,” a song written by the rising artist, Biishop, alongside South African artist Bruce Loko. There’s an undeniable spiritual quality at play, like a minister whose sermon is buttressed and extolled by the adjoining choir. Indeed, iterations of electronic dance music have had direct parallels with religious experience and higher powers; look no further than one of the progenitors of Detroit techno, Robert Hood, and his use of gospel in tracks like “We Magnify His Name”; or the large post-industrial clubs in the German capital, where Sundays at 10am are often the busiest congregations. Biishop harnesses a rawness and simultaneous restraint that, when paired together, is nothing short of the sublime.

It’s in this space that Biishop thrives; the deployment of technology, like filters or reverb, serves only to highlight his natural singing prowess, not the other way around. Embodying this are tracks which boast two-step rhythms with ‘90s grooves, reminding one of a gritty London alleyway, or where analog synths harken to a parquet floor at Danceteria, but when juxtaposed to Biishop’s enigmatic vocals, take on a whole new meaning.