BOBBY CONN (USA)

Welcome to Bobby’s Place, the new split personality album from long time musical mischief maker and cultural provocateur Bobby Conn! Side A finds Bobby living in a tent somewhere on the astral plane surrounded by synthesizers, woodwinds, hand drums and a pulsating psychedelic fog. Planet Earth and the temporal plane are only faintly visible in the distance. Bobby is joined by his partner in crime Monica BouBou on violin, and DJ LeDeuce on unknown electronics making three long form journeys through polyrhythmic soundscapes. Master percussionist Michael Zerang (Peter Brötzmann Tentet, among many others), virtuoso flautist Constance Volk (Ensemble Dal Niente, Twyla Tharp Dance), and bassoonist Airan Wright (Mucca Pazza) come along for the ride. While sonic exploration has always been an aspect of Bobby’s music, this is his purest expression to date. Side One finds Bobby starring in an alternative reality workplace sitcom also called Bobby’s Place. In each episode Bobby starts a new small business, like a restaurant or a nail salon, with a team of puppets, but the business inevitably fails and ends in bankruptcy by the end of the show. But no matter, Bobby can’t stop, and the six tightly arranged glam rock tunes on Side One are proof. Bobby sings odes to blind (emphasis on blind) optimism in the face of rising Fascism and the decadent decay of late capitalism, joined once again by Monica BouBou and his band from 2020’s Recovery release: Josh Johannpeter, Jim “Dallas” Cooper, Devin Davis and Billie Howard. Essentially, each side exists as an independent conception - which side to play first? There is no answer, they are equally the best entry into Bobby’s Place. The album was recorded at Bobby’s home studio in Chicago over the summer of 2024 and mixed by the brilliant Cooper Crain (Bitchin’ Bajas). 
Bobby Conn is a vocalist, songwriter, and performance artist working in Chicago. He came out of the Chicago “No-Wave” noise and performance scene in the mid-90’s but quickly developed a reputation for extravagantly excessive performances, satirically political lyrics, and experimental, electro glam art rock. His previous studio albums include Bobby Conn (1997), Rise Up! (1998), The Golden Age (2001), The Homeland (2004), King for a Day (2007), Macaroni (2012) and Recovery (2020), as well as various singles, collaborations and compilations. He collaborates with his partner and violinist Monica BouBou, DJ and sound designer Adam “DJ LeDeuce” Greuel, longtime rhythm section Jim “Dallas” Cooper and Josh Johannpeter, as well as many talented players in the Chicago classical, jazz and improvisational scene. With Monica, he often performs as a minimalist electro duo with sequenced backing tracks, and also performs at larger events with his seven piece Superband. He and DJ LeDeuce have a weekly radio show every Monday night from 8PM - 10PM called Post Modern Talking on WLPN 105.5 FM Chicago (streaming at www.lumpenradio.com). 

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