Interview: The Bul Bey x Corey Bernhard
December 18, 2020
Photos by Stanley Collins
In the music creation process, the relationship between producer and artist is critical. Oftentimes, they pick up where each other leave off, offering new perspective when vision may be out of focus. In Hip-Hop, this is especially the case. Historically, the DJ has served as the producer and sonic brain trust, pouring over records looking for the perfect break(s). It’s what J Dilla did for Slum Village, what The RZA did for the Wu Tang Clan, all in the name of elevating the music.
Philadelphia-based duo, Corey Bernhard and The Bul Bey follow in this tradition. Bernhard, a founding member of the Philadelphia-based collective, Killiam Shakespeare, spent years working with the likes of Bilal, Vivian Green, and others, as a pianist and producer, extending a lineage of musicians and producers that stretches from James Poyser to J Dilla and everything in between.
With crafty wordplay and nimble flows, The Bul Bey recalls the spirit of the city and rappers before him. He’s charismatic and cunning, embodying the true ethos of what it means to be an MC. Just listen to his album, Shaking Hands and Kissing Babies, there isn’t a beat he can’t handle, elevating anything he’s on.
Together, they make an incredible duo, picking up where one leaves off, moving the collective sound forward. At their core, The Bul Bey and Corey Bernhard are storytellers, and artists of the highest order. I got the chance to talk with them about their new project S.W.T.S., creating throughout COVID-19, their influences and more. Here’s our conversation:
Stanley: I’ve heard some artists talk about how difficult these past few months have been — not touring or performing, and some describing down periods where they just don't feel like creating. How have you all been these past few months? Has this been the case for you all?
The Bul Bey: I have definitely hit walls of depression. I've learned how much exploring the world and my space is important to me. Having that taken away this year has been tough. But there's been new discoveries that have been great! I hope this project reflects some of those discoveries.
Corey: We're living in absurd times; enduring a global pandemic with a group of unabashed white supremacists controlling the government. So yeah that can drain anyone's energy. For me music has been a "port in the storm" my whole life so my natural instinct is still to create music. One of the cool things about collaborating with someone like Bul is that if I'm not inspired, he might have an idea that will get me going. We also started this project before Pandemic, and kind of got busy and fell off for a little, and then when everything paused in the spring it was a perfect opportunity to get back in and finish the music with fresh ears. Not being able to play shows or go hear my friends perform has been rough though.
For me music has been a "port in the storm" my whole life so my natural instinct is still to create music. — Corey Bernhard
Stanley: I’m curious about your respective influences. Who are some of the people/artists you’ve looked to for inspiration, in your respective crafts?
Corey: Thelonious Monk is the coldest dude ever to me...and Bob Dylan and Miles Davis. I grew up playing piano so of course I was learning Bach, Chopin, Bartok, and a bunch of classical composers and transcribing everyone from Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Oscar Peterson, Charlie Parker. I love the way Glenn Gould and Sviatoslav Richter approach the piano. And then a lot of the music my dad would play in the house growing up was also some of the craziest production ever, from Motown stuff, to the Beatles to Bob Marley.
As far as more current music, making beats and producing, hearing J Dilla really got me started down that road - him and Dr. Dre produced a huge chunk of what I listened to growing up. And A Tribe Called Quest, with "The Ummah". Later, I started getting heavy into Wu Tang and Biggie's music. I loved the music that "The Soulquarians" put out, so being a keyboard player and producer moving to Philly it's crazy to me that I know James Poyser. He always cracks on my beard tho...I also played in Bilal's band for several years and he really helped me let go of the guard rails when it comes to making music.
As far as current stuff going on I'm always inspired by what Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar put out. Same with Kanye West, Rihanna, and Thundercat. My friend Simon Martinez has been putting out some crazy sounds. I've also been listening to more 20th century composers like Duke Ellington, Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg. Gustav Mahler too but I think he was late 1800s.
Visual art is also super inspiring to me, any time I have an off day on tour I try and check out an art museum, like the Picasso Museum in Barcelona or the Hammer Museum in LA which is free! They have a bunch of Gustave Moreau paintings. One time I was staying at a hotel nearby and I went there like 3 days in a row. My mother is a ceramicist too, I think seeing her get up early and work everyday for hours in her studio had a big effect on my approach. I think she listened to more stuff like Ella Fitzgerald.
The Bul Bey: It’s real easy to say Stevie Wonder, Black Thought, Jay-Z, etc. But honestly I'm directly inspired by my creatives peers in the city. Philadelphia is filled with the of the best creative thinkers I've ever seen or heard of. Its nuts! Its a constant push when you have to stand next to such greatness. My city is filled with amazingly talented people.
Stanley: You’ve both collaborated before in a different context — but this is you all’s first offering with just each other. What do you believe you bring out of each other?
The Bul Bey: Man, Corey challenges me. He doesn't like simple things. He doesn't like formulaic. Creating this project with him has truly kept me on my toes. At any given moment he would take what we constructed and flip it on its head. It was a wild ride but totally worth it.
Corey: I hope I can help Bul create music where he feels comfortable experimenting and making music without any pressure or expectations. For me I know working with Bul forces me to go beyond just making a beat. For example on Blueface his flow is so crazy that it was like, "this can't just be you rapping over this beat anymore...I'm gonna do a string arrangement and get a live string ensemble on this song." And as someone who appreciates the art of rapping, it's always inspiring working on music with Bul because he's so f’n good at it...
…the project is a meditative experience that you can get lost in - The Bul Bey
Stanley: I got a chance to stop by [Corey’s] studio, which is filled with plenty of analog gear, keyboards, an acoustic piano, synthesizers and so on. Could you talk about some of the gear you used on the project? Sonically, what were you trying to achieve?
Corey: Sonically, this was really an uncharted exploration. There's actually not a lot of analog synths on this project. There is some Minimoog bass on a couple songs. I used an ASR 10 on some songs which gives a nice texture, but only for certain aspects as opposed to doing the whole beat on the ASR like Jake One might (one of the coldest ever). A lot was filled out with live instrumentation; I played piano on a few songs, Simon Martinez, Dai Miyazaki, and Russ Gelman added guitar on a couple, Tone Whitfield played live bass on Hii Sociiety and we recorded live strings on two songs. And Jill Ryan (from the band Great Time) sang on two tracks, her voice is so textured that it's an instrument in itself. And I played talkbox on one song.
Stanley: What do you hope listeners walk away with from this project?
The Bul Bey: Its so easy to listen to this project and take it in as a Hip Hop project. But its way more than that. I've been saying the music behaves like a Jazz album. I think what I'm trying to say is that the project is a meditative experience that you can get lost in. I hope listeners get lost in it and find something that they love.
Corey: Good question...ultimately I don't think we made this project with listeners too heavily on our minds. Hopefully they'll appreciate it's honesty. It really felt like we were just doing what we wanted to do...but if people mess with it and enjoy it, that's great, and we owe them a debt of gratitude!
You can listen to S.W.T.S. on Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify, or Tidal
