Hisham Bharoocha
Encyclopedia
Hisham Akira Bharoocha was born in Niigata, Japan
and is an ex-member of the Providence, Rhode Island
bands Lightning Bolt and Black Dice
. Currently, Bharoocha is involved in his band Soft Circle
and works an artist in New York City
.
, and then to Toronto
when he was two, then to Los Angeles
when he was six, and spent the rest of his elementary school years in San Diego. Bharoocha's mother moved the family back to Tokyo after his father died of cancer. It was at this time he began to study the bass guitar
and found an interest in heavy metal
. After graduating from high school, Bharoocha attended the Rhode Island School of Design
(RISD) in Providence, Rhode Island
, where he studied various art forms such as video
and photography
. There he met fellow musician Brian Gibson
and soon became the vocalist in the band Lightning Bolt. This was short-lived, however, and Bharoocha eventually replaced Gibson as the drummer in a band that would eventually become Black Dice
. The only officially released Lightning Bolt music with Bharoocha was a track on the Repopulation Program compilation. Hisham played in Black Dice until leaving the band in 2005.
In addition to music, Hisham is also a visual artist and photographer. He has had solo exhibitions of his work at D'Amelio Terras gallery in New York, as well as Vleeshal
, a state run space in The Netherlands. He has been in numerous group exhibitions at galleries such as Deitch Projects
, John Connelly Presents, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
. His work has been published in Artforum
, V
, i-D
, Flaunt
, Tokion
, and more.
, who released several EPs on DFA records.
Bharoocha served as musical director and participated as drummer 4 in the Boredoms 77 Boadrum
performance which occurred on July 7, 2007 at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park
in Brooklyn
, New York
. On 8/8/2008, Hisham again musically directed and performed in the 88 Boadrum
, a duo of free concerts performed at La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles and the Williamsburg waterfront in Brooklyn, NY. Each concert began at 8:08 PM local time and featured 88 drummers selected by Boredoms and Hisham Bharoocha, the concert's director. Boredoms themselves appeared in Los Angeles, with Gang Gang Dance conducted the Brooklyn concerts. The concert was composed by Japanese noise band the Boredoms, with Hisham as the project's artistic director.
In July 2009 Hisham released a split 12 inch with High Places on the label PPM.
In 2009 Ben Vida- formerly of Town & Country and currently of Singer & Birdshow, joined Soft Circle. A new album entitled "Shore Obsessed" was released November 6, 2010.
Hisham is currently collaborating with Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, model Erin Wasson, No Age, Opening Ceremony, Maria Cornejo, & United Bamboo on a line of sunglasses called Phosphorescence. http://www.nbcnewyork.com/blogs/the-thread/THREAD-Epic-Fashion-Music-Sunglasses-Collabo-84045457.html
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and is an ex-member of the Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
bands Lightning Bolt and Black Dice
Black Dice
Black Dice is an experimental electronic music group currently based in Brooklyn, New York, USA.-Early years:Black Dice formed in spring 1997 soon after guitarist Bjorn Copeland met drummer Hisham Bharoocha and bassist Sebastian Blanck when they were students at the Rhode Island School of Design...
. Currently, Bharoocha is involved in his band Soft Circle
Soft Circle
Soft Circle is the project of New York City based musician Hisham Bharoocha. His debut album, Full Bloom, was released January 23, 2007, on the Eastern Developments Music record label. His sound is characterized by looped guitar riffs, drums, and repeated vocals.In 2009 Ben Vida joined Soft Circle...
and works an artist in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Biography
Hisham was born in Niigata, Japan to a Japanese mother and Burmese father. As a newborn, the family moved to TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, and then to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
when he was two, then to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
when he was six, and spent the rest of his elementary school years in San Diego. Bharoocha's mother moved the family back to Tokyo after his father died of cancer. It was at this time he began to study the bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and found an interest in heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. After graduating from high school, Bharoocha attended the Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
(RISD) in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, where he studied various art forms such as video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
and photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
. There he met fellow musician Brian Gibson
Brian Gibson (musician)
Brian Gibson is a musician and artist based out of Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Gibson is best known as the bassist for the band Lightning Bolt, alongside drummer and vocalist Brian Chippendale, and as the drummer of Wizardzz, with Rich Porter of Bug Sized Mind, and Megasus. Gibson...
and soon became the vocalist in the band Lightning Bolt. This was short-lived, however, and Bharoocha eventually replaced Gibson as the drummer in a band that would eventually become Black Dice
Black Dice
Black Dice is an experimental electronic music group currently based in Brooklyn, New York, USA.-Early years:Black Dice formed in spring 1997 soon after guitarist Bjorn Copeland met drummer Hisham Bharoocha and bassist Sebastian Blanck when they were students at the Rhode Island School of Design...
. The only officially released Lightning Bolt music with Bharoocha was a track on the Repopulation Program compilation. Hisham played in Black Dice until leaving the band in 2005.
In addition to music, Hisham is also a visual artist and photographer. He has had solo exhibitions of his work at D'Amelio Terras gallery in New York, as well as Vleeshal
Vleeshal
The Vleeshal is a historical building dating from 1603 on the Grote Markt in Haarlem, Netherlands.-History:Vleeshal means meat-hall; it was the only place in Haarlem where fresh meat was allowed to be sold from 1604 to the 18th century. The ox-heads on the front of the building indicate the...
, a state run space in The Netherlands. He has been in numerous group exhibitions at galleries such as Deitch Projects
Deitch Projects
Deitch Projects was a contemporary art gallery in New York City founded by Jeffrey Deitch.-History:Since opening with a performance by Vanessa Beecroft in February 1996, the gallery has presented nearly one hundred and eighteen solo exhibitions and projects, ten thematic exhibitions, and a few...
, John Connelly Presents, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is a multi-disiplinary contemporary arts center in San Francisco, California, United States. Located in Yerba Buena Gardens, YBCA features visual art, performance, and film/video that celebrates local, national, and international artists and the Bay Area's diverse...
. His work has been published in Artforum
Artforum
Artforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art.-Publication:The magazine is published ten times a year, September through May, along with an annual summer issue...
, V
V (American magazine)
V magazine is an American fashion magazine published since 1999. The magazine is printed seasonally and highlights trends in fashion, film music and art. A men's fashion quarterly entitled VMAN started as an offshoot in 2003.-History:...
, i-D
I-D
i-D is a British magazine dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. i-D was founded by designer and former Vogue art director Terry Jones in 1980. The first issue was published in the form of a hand-stapled fanzine with text produced on a typewriter...
, Flaunt
Flaunt
Flaunt is a monthly American fashion culture magazine founded by the current editor-in-chief, Luis Barajas, and creative director, Jim Turner, also the founders of Detour magazine. Long Nguyen, a third founder and style director, also was working on Detour for four years...
, Tokion
Tokion
Tokion is a New York-based magazine covering art, fashion, music and film. It publishes separate US, UK, and Japanese editions. Tokion also produces the annual Creativity Now Conference, a weekend-long seminar of panel discussions with speakers from across the creative spectrum.- History :Tokion...
, and more.
Current Activity
Bharoocha moved to New York City upon graduating from RISD in 1998, where he became actively involved in the music and art scene. Since leaving Black Dice in 2005 he has released two albums as Soft Circle. The first album,"Full Bloom" was a solo endeavor. The following album "Shore Obsessed" was the first to include bandmate Ben Vida. Bharoocha also played drums for PixeltanPixeltan
Pixeltan are a Brooklyn based noise rock/electronic band consisting of Mika Yoneta , Devin Flynn , and Hisham Bharoocha...
, who released several EPs on DFA records.
Bharoocha served as musical director and participated as drummer 4 in the Boredoms 77 Boadrum
77 Boadrum
77 Boa Drum was a concert held on July 7, 2007 at 7:07 PM consisting of 77 drummers. The concert was organized by Boredoms. The title of the concert was a portmanteau of "Boredoms", "boa", "drum", and "77"...
performance which occurred on July 7, 2007 at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park
Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park
Empire–Fulton Ferry Park, formerly Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, is a park in Brooklyn, New York, United States. The park is located next to the East River, extending north and south of the Brooklyn Bridge...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. On 8/8/2008, Hisham again musically directed and performed in the 88 Boadrum
88 Boadrum
88 Boadrum was a duo of free concerts following 2007's 77 Boadrum, hosted by Japanese noise rock band Boredoms. The concerts took place at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California and the Williamsburg waterfront in Brooklyn, New York and featured a new 88-minute composition.Each concert...
, a duo of free concerts performed at La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles and the Williamsburg waterfront in Brooklyn, NY. Each concert began at 8:08 PM local time and featured 88 drummers selected by Boredoms and Hisham Bharoocha, the concert's director. Boredoms themselves appeared in Los Angeles, with Gang Gang Dance conducted the Brooklyn concerts. The concert was composed by Japanese noise band the Boredoms, with Hisham as the project's artistic director.
In July 2009 Hisham released a split 12 inch with High Places on the label PPM.
In 2009 Ben Vida- formerly of Town & Country and currently of Singer & Birdshow, joined Soft Circle. A new album entitled "Shore Obsessed" was released November 6, 2010.
Hisham is currently collaborating with Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, model Erin Wasson, No Age, Opening Ceremony, Maria Cornejo, & United Bamboo on a line of sunglasses called Phosphorescence. http://www.nbcnewyork.com/blogs/the-thread/THREAD-Epic-Fashion-Music-Sunglasses-Collabo-84045457.html
External links
- http://hishamb.net/
- 77 Boadrum Site Profile Viva Radio, Sep 2007. (FlashAdobe FlashAdobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
) - Vice Magazine Interview