Bo Square is the experimental breakbeat project of multi-instrumental musician and producer Mike Powell.
To formulate his unique and original compositions, Powell draws from his fascination with music as both a collector and performer, which has been nurtured over 20 years.
While primarily skilled as a guitarist, Powell plays bass, keyboards, theremin, shortwave radio, sitar and sings. Powell uses his eclectic tastes and traditional dexterity to draw inspiration from all forms of music.
Influenced by the audio collages of hip-hop in the late 80s, especially the music of Public Enemy, De La Soul, and Tribe Called Quest, Powell began to actively meld these styles into his own background as a traditional musician. His unique signatures combined experimental forms of rock, funk, jazz, dub, and 20th century classical music.
While focusing
his own techniques, Powell was introduced to electronic music maverick Jack
Dangers, master-producer of the legendary Meat Beat Manifesto. As an active
member of the band, Powell performed on MBM's albums "Subliminal Sandwich"
and "Actual Sounds and Voices" and played with the band worldwide.
These memorable tours saw the band sharing the stage with acts such as The Orb,
Porno for Pyros, DJ Spooky, Autechre, The Sun Ra Arkestra, Nine Inch Nails,
Marilyn Manson The Chemical Brothers, and Underworld. Powell was proud to find
himself performing alongside pioneers such as Alex Paterson of the Orb, Marshall
Allen and Tyrone Hill of the Sun Ra Arkestra, and Bennie Maulpin and Patrick
Gleason from Herbie Hancock's formidable 70's group.
Since his involvement with Meat Beat Manifesto, Powell has collaborated with Dangers and multimedia magician Ben Stokes as part of the independent record label Tino Corp. Since the label's formation in 1998, the label has produced five volumes of the Tino's Breaks series, as well as other solo projects by all three members. Powell's first full-length album under the name Bo Square was released on the label in late summer of 2001.
Mike Powell currently resides in San Francisco, California, and is a professional guitar and bass instructor as well.