Benn Jordan
Benn Jordan is an electronica musician operating under many pseudonyms. Since 1999 his most widely distributed and eclectic music has been released under the name of The Flashbulb, whose songs helped define the breakcore genre. Other names Benn operates under are Q-Bit, Flexe, Dr. Lefty, Acidwolf, DJ ASCII, Lucid32, and rnd16.
Biography
Benn Jordan was born in Georgia in 1978, but moved to Chicago to live with his grandparents at a young age. Benn is also an active guitar player; he was teaching classical guitar in Chicago since he learned how to drive while he took part in the acid house scene of the early nineties (1990 -1994) between the ages of 12 and 15! He also often records his melodies through MIDI-synced guitars.
Musical style
As The Flashbulb, Jordan typically releases expertly crafted drill 'n bass music. His style differs strongly between albums, but they all have a cohesive bond tied around spastic drum programming, acid-influenced melodies, and a wide array of live instrumentation from various instruments Jordan has acquired.
His 2003 release, Resent and the April Sunshine Shed, features his typical drill n bass style with a heavy eastern influence. Tracks such as Delhi Ill feature Indian vocals, various other tracks feature Jordan's own sitar playing, and many tracks use rhythms and melodies based on Indian styles. On 2004's Red Extensions of Me, Jordan changes his formula a bit and layers tracks with mind-bending drum programming at tempos exceeding 200 bpm with heavy use of distorted guitars. 2005's Kirlian Selections is the best example of Jordan's diversity; it contains 28 tracks ranging from orchestral compositions and subdued ambience to maximalist tracks where every frequency is loaded with distorted guitars and relentless drums.
Under other aliases, Benn Jordan's work varies quite a bit. His Acidwolf alias features retro acid music that uses old drum machines such as the TR-808 and relies heavily on the melodies of the TB-303. His DJ ASCII alias showcases his maximalist end; tracks generally feature dance tunes shredded and mangled beyond recognition or nothing but porn noise chopped and distorted with DSP. His Flexe alias showcases his laid-back side; he turns the BPM down from his Flashbulb work and uses simpler drum programming with smooth, crisp acid melodies to let his tracks glide along. His Qbit alias is a more analogue derivative of his Acidwolf alias. He shows off his ambient side with lucid32, and he showcases much of his more fundamental, classical, and personal pieces under his own name, Benn Jordan.
Discography
(all as The Flashbulb unless otherwise indicated)
LPs
- M³ (2000, Metatone)
- M³ Lime (2000, Metatone) (This released was pressed as 2xCD but was unreleased due to the collapse of Metatone)
- These Open Fields (2001, Alphabasic) (re-released in 2002 with different cover art and a bonus track)
- Girls Suck But You Don't (2003, Accel Muzhik)
- Resent and the April Sunshine Shed (2003, Alphabasic)
- Red Extensions of Me (2004, Sublight)
- Programmable Love Songs Volume 1 - 2004 (as Flexe)
- Kirlian Selections (2005, Sublight)
- Réunion (2005, Sublight)
EPs/etc.
- Ephedrine EP (1999, Metatone)
- 2 Remixes for Bogdan Raczynski (w/Nautilis 2001, Rephlex)
- FLY! EP (2001, independently released MP3 album)
- Drain Mode = ON (2001, Suburban Trash)
- Lawn Funeral EP (2004, Alphabasic)
- Binedump EP (2005, Suburban Trash/Bonnerwachs)