Bullion

Nathan Jenkins, the Londoner best known as Bullion, has been among the more adventurous avant-pop producers, with a catalog ranging from sampladelic hip-hop to playful Balearic house. First attracting attention with 2007′s Pet Sounds: In the Key of Dee, his crazy-quilt suite of Beach Boys and J Dilla samples, he issued singles and EPs on respected labels like One-Handed Music, Young Turks, R&S, and Honest Jon's. With releases such as 2012′s Love Me Oh Please Love Me and the 2016 full-length Loop the Loop, both on his own Deek Recordings, he established a sophisticated art-pop sound, blending organic and synthetic instrumentation. He scored a left-field dance hit with 2017′s nautical-themed Blue Pedro, then returned with the woozy synth pop of releases like the 2020 EP We Had a Good Time and the 2024 full-length Affection, which featured guest performances by Carly Rae Jepsen and Panda Bear. Bullion’s Beach Boys/J Dilla mash-up mixtape Pet Sounds: In the Key of Dee appeared in 2007, and the producer signed to One-Handed Music and released further abstract hip-hop recordings such as 2008′s Get Familiar and 2009′s Young Heartache. Additionally, he remixed tracks by an impressive array of artists, including Tricky, Tame Impala, and Model 500. In 2011, he released the 20-minute “non-LP” You Drive Me to Plastic and the EP Magic Was Ruler, both on Young Turks. Jenkins launched Deek Recordings in 2012 with Love Me Oh Please Love Me, a departure from his earlier sampled-based material that featured his own vocals and a mixture of electronic and acoustic instruments. Other 2012 releases by Bullion appeared on R&S (Say Arr Ee) and Honest Jon's (Petrol Laughs, with Elmore Judd). Deek subsequently released records by other projects Jenkins participated in, such as Nautic (with Laura Groves and Tic Zogson) and Blludd Relations (with Jesse Hackett). Bullion returned in 2015 with the left-field electro EP Rooster, as well as the single “Keep Up” with Baltimore-based MC Rye Rye. In February 2016, Jenkins released Loop the Loop, his first proper album, through Deek. A brightly colored exploration of off-center pop with Bill Nelson and Thomas Dolby among the cited influences, it featured background vocalist Sampha and saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings on the title song, as well as the involvement of Groves and several additional instrumentalists throughout. The Trilogy Tapes released Bullion’s 2017 mixtape All Abawd! and Blue Pedro EP; its joyous title track, essentially a house cover of the theme to the classic British children’s television program Blue Peter, quickly became one of the producer’s most popular songs. Jenkins remixed songs by Rae Morris, Boothroyd, and others, and played harmonica on David Byrne’s 2018 album American Utopia. Bullion’s We Had a Good Time EP, a mixture of laid-back house and trippy pop, appeared in early 2020. Jenkins produced Westerman’s full-length Your Hero Is Not Dead, which was released the following June. Heaven Is Over, a more concise, accessible synth pop EP, was issued by Jagjaguwar in September. In January of 2024, Bullion began releasing songs in advance of his upcoming full-length Affection. The album would be his first work with the Ghostly International label and featured Carly Rae Jepsen on the song “Rare,” Panda Bear on the second single “A City’s Never,” and elsewhere on the album an appearance from Charlotte Adigéry. Affection was released in April of 2024. ~ Andy Kellman & Paul Simpson