Poppy H
Wilderness Channel
Jollies
For as long as recorded sound has existed, artists and listeners alike have been debating, quantifying and, occasionally, downright refuting the importance of the gear used in the creation of music. It’s an age-old conversation, and one that so far not only shows few signs of resolution, but also rarely seems to factor in the issue of accessibility. In a time when the majority of people are struggling to make ends meet, it’s important to ask just how much we need and what we can do without.
Enter Poppy H, a UK-based ambient / experimental artist whose deeply utilitarian approach to music production and strict dedication to using only what’s already available lends him the air of a modern folk legend. Creating entire worlds while using nothing but a smartphone and GarageBand, he rejects the ever-forward push of consumerism—and the music sphere’s obsession with fancy equipment—reminding us that everything we need is likely already at our (literal) fingertips.
With “no studio gear or live recording set-up in sight” (a description pulled straight from his Bandcamp page), Poppy H commits to these strictly self-imposed limitations on Wilderness Channel, a work that’s brimming with spur-of-the-moment immediacy. (Considering that it was made with something that we all carry around in our pockets all day long, that immediacy makes sense, and also helps to explain the UK producer’s prolific work rate during the past few years.) On “footlands handlands,” the song’s dreamily weightless IDM patter evokes the understated beauty of a quiet moment of human tenderness, the kind that might be witnessed on an early morning commute. Given the portability of its creator’s set-up, it’s not a stretch to imagine the track was created on precisely such a bus ride, or possibly even while Poppy H was on a quick break at work. Another standout is “last year’s passcode,” which brings to mind the early works of Casino Versus Japan, its woozily nostalgic electronica playing out like something produced in a hypnagogic state of half-consciousness while curled up in bed after a long day.
Wilderness Channel is a testament to making the most out of our modern trappings, from the smartphones that leave us more disconnected from one another than ever before to the poorly paying jobs that take up so much of our lives. Poppy H reclaims those things as opportunities for limitless creative expression, and stands ready to capture moments of inspiration wherever and whenever they might strike.
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