Hisham Bharoocha | |
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| Born | (1976-03-12)March 12, 1976 (age 49) Niigata, Japan |
| Origin | Providence, Rhode Island |
| Genres | Noise rock,experimental rock |
| Occupations | |
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Member of |
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| Formerly of |
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| Website | hishamakirabharoocha |
Hisham Akira Bharoocha (born March 12, 1976[1] inNiigata, Japan[2]) is an American musician and visual artist. Bharoocha lives inBrooklyn,[3] performs as Yokubari,[4] and is a member of the band Kill Alters;[5] he is also a former member of theProvidence bandsLightning Bolt andBlack Dice.[6]
Bharoocha was born in Niigata, Japan,[2] to a Japanese mother andBurmese IndianGujarati father.[7][8] The family moved toTokyo and then toToronto when he was two,[citation needed] and Bharoocha spent his elementary school years inLos Angeles andSan Diego.[3] His father died of cancer when he was 10 years old;[9] as an adult, memories of the experience inspired the 24-foot mural and sound installation Bharoocha created for theMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Brooklyn.[10] He attended junior high and high school in Tokyo,[11] where he first metEye and other members ofBoredoms.[12]
After graduating from high school, Bharoocha attended theRhode Island School of Design (RISD) inProvidence, Rhode Island, where he studied various art forms such as video and photography.[13]
At RISD, Bharoocha met fellow musicianBrian Gibson and became vocalist of the bandLightning Bolt after their first show.[14] Bharoocha performed with Lightning Bolt from 1995–1996, but the band's trio recording was never released;[15][14] the only officially-released Lightning Bolt music with Bharoocha was "Revenge," a track on the Load RecordsRepopulation Program compilation.[16]
In 1996, Bharoocha began drumming for the Clutters, a band that the following year becameBlack Dice.[15][14] After graduating from RISD in 1998, Bharoocha moved to New York City and became actively involved in the music and art scene; the other members of Black Dice also moved to New York, and Bharoocha continued playing with the band until his departure in 2004.[17][18] Bharoocha's work with Black Dice included 2002'sBeaches & Canyons,[17] included inPitchfork's best of 2000-2004[19] andTiny Mix Tapes' best albums of the decade,[20] as well asWolf Eyes and Black Dice (2003),[21][22]Miles of Smiles (2004),[23] andCreature Comforts (2004).[24]
Bharoocha released two albums asSoft Circle: 2009'sFull Bloom was a solo endeavor,[25] and 2010'sShore Obsessed included bandmate Ben Vida.[26][27] Bharoocha also played drums forPixeltan, who released several EPs on DFA records.[28]
Bharoocha served as musical director and drummer 4 in theBoredoms'77 Boadrum performance on July 7, 2007 at theEmpire–Fulton Ferry State Park inBrooklyn,New York.[29][30] He reprised his roles the following year for88 Boadrum, a duo of free concerts performed at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles and the Williamsburg waterfront in Brooklyn; each concert began at 8:08pm local time and featured 88 drummers selected by Boredoms and Bharoocha, with Boredoms participating in the west coast performance andGang Gang Dance conducting in New York.[31][32]
In July 2009, Bharoocha released a split 12 inch with High Places on the label PPM.[33]
Bharoocha is a member of the band Kill Alters, a trio with Bonnie Baxter and Nicos Kennedy;[34] he appears on the band's releasesNo Self Helps (2017)[35] andArmed To The Teeth (2022),[36] among others.
In addition to music, Bharoocha is also a visual artist and photographer known for his collage and mural work.[37][38] He has had solo exhibitions of his work at D'Amelio Terras gallery in New York, as well asVleeshal, a state run space in The Netherlands.[13] He has been in numerous group exhibitions at galleries such asDeitch Projects, John Connelly Presents andYerba Buena Center for the Arts.[39] His work has been published inArtforum,V,i-D, Flaunt,Tokion and more.[39]
Bharoocha collaborated with Sonic Youth'sKim Gordon, modelErin Wasson,No Age, Opening Ceremony,Maria Cornejo and United Bamboo on a line of sunglasses called Phosphorescence,[40] and withSolange on a line ofPuma sneakers.[41]
