Tags: Albums, Bola, Skam Records

The new Bola album arrives after a long wait following the slick, and calm, ‘Gnayse’. ‘Kroungrine’ - the fourth full length album drops like chewy beef, and overcooked roasties; it has a crunch and fullness that satisfies and leaves you feeling truly replenished, and unable to move, except maybe for just playing, play again, on that just about reachable remote control…More…

Bola is the work of musician Darrell Fitton who is also known to record under the alias Jello and has also contributed to electronic acts D-Breeze, Brahma and Ooblo, and Autechre\’s Gescom project. Apart from being based somewhere around Manchester little else is known about the man which in these days of celebrity obsessed culture is somewhat a breath of fresh air. Needless to say, Bola lets the music do the talking as his releases are widely acknowledged to include electronic benchmarks that stand equal with the likes of Boards of Canada and Autechre in the development of modern electronic composition.

Fitton had his first electronic music release in 1994, on Warp\’s now infamous Artificial Intelligence II compilation and in 1995 he returned, but with the now more familiar Bola moniker releasing the Bola 1 12\” on Skam Records and the now classic ‘Soup’ album followed. A rare set of 3 EPs called Shapes was released in 2000, pressed at only 300 copies and in September 2006, it was remastered and reissued in greater numbers by Skam, adding three bonus tracks.

With his customary play on words titles (just ask bowls legend David Bryant!) Bola lures us into a mesmerizing world of cinematic soundscapes, lush melody and full-bodied bass. His synthesised tones sound entirely organic, accented at unexpected intervals with beats which are digital and satisfyingly crunchy, but still unobtrusive and perfectly balanced. ‘Kroungrine’ is another masterful adventure from one of the UK’s true electronic mavericks and testament to Bola’s growth as both an artist and musician.

( Source: www.skam.co.uk )