The Bik-Jez Corporation

Music from the Bik-Jez Corporation, an ongoing musical collaboration that started way back in 1985 with the purchase of a 4 track Portastudio, an early Kawai monosynth and a Dr Rhythm drum machine. The need to try and recreate those electronic sounds from the bands we were listening had finally been realised with this mighty roster of equipment (or so we thought!) Early recordings were notable for their highly questionable sound quality, dubious playing technique, an over indulgence in the octaving bass line and more than often not, a mains hum that could compete with the bassline in its own right! A steady program of equipment replacement and upgrading saw the sound of TBJC slowly (very slowly) begin to evolve, with a basic form of sequencing supplementing the still chaotic keyboard skills, and effects processing supplied courtesy of a borrowed flanger pedal and a much loved and incredibly noisy spring reverb/delay. A hiatus of some seven years then took place, in which the duo followed different paths. Unbeknownst to each other, electronic composition was still a key part of each others lives, and the reunion that followed in 1995 revealed a parallel path of advancements in musical technology, with digital sampling, polyphonic keyboards and midi sequencing in both hardware and PC platforms a feature of each others respective set-ups. It wasnt long before the wheels were turning once again and with a trading of technologies and knowledge and the absorption of the previous seven years of musical tastes and influences, TBJC started to produce music of a considerably more professional nature, encompassing the two distinct styles, namely the rhythmic and production values of Jez and the melodic and ambient side of Bik. Without a doubt, the soft synth/PC music revolution of recent times has had the biggest effect on the music of TBJC. Although hardware is still well represented in both members respective studios, the ability to have access to those much desired Synths of yesteryear, all be it in virtual form, was a dream come true. Recording of new TBJC material continues, if somewhat erratically!