Boduf Songs

Mat Sweet, operating from Southampton, England under the Boduf Songs name, crafts sparse and eerie compositions rooted in British folk conventions and augmented by understated sonic details that heighten their atmospheric quality. Solo or alongside associates, he issued an array of recordings on his Bluebaby imprint that ranged from heavy rock to abstract electronic works. During 2004 he assembled the initial Boduf Songs recordings using minimal gear that comprised a toy piano, field recordings, his computer, and acoustic guitar. Kranky responded by issuing the material exactly as submitted the next year under the Boduf Songs title. Sweet followed in 2006 with Lion Devours the Sun, sharpening the austere, unsettling, and occasionally mordant character of the project. He captured 2008’s How Shadows Chase the Balance during nighttime hours using solely a microphone. Issued in 2010, This Alone Above All Else in Spite of Everything adopted a broader sonic scope and appeared in both digital and vinyl formats. Boduf Songs resurfaced two years afterward with the Internal Memo EP, a caustic portrait of competitive existence shaped by the writings of Franz Kafka and Thomas Ligotti. On 2013’s Burnt Up on Re-Entry, Sweet amplified the weightier and more exploratory qualities already present in This Alone through increased electronic textures alongside scorched-earth guitars. In 2015 Boduf Songs delivered Stench of Exist via Flenser, adopting a leaner approach that wove together threads from every prior release.