Y. Bhekhirst

Who is Y. Bhekhirst?

Y. Bhekhirst is an outsider musician based in New Hyde Park, New York. Although not much is known about him, his sole known record, Hot in the Airport, released in 1986 and re-released in 1994 on New Hyde Park-based label HDG Records, is prized by some outsider music collectors for its decidedly dadaistic, shambling songs. Both releases of Hot in the Airport were cassette-only, and this, along with a 7" vinyl single containing songs from the cassette, is in fact the label's only release to date.

For the most part, Hot in the Airport is full of meandering lyrics on mundane subjects such as cars, rain and love, sung in a thick accent. Musically speaking, Bhekhirst's method is to sing a verse two, four or six times, then stop abruptly. This is typically backed up by one or two guitars, bass, and drums, with each of the stringed instruments playing a different melodic fragment, over and over again, creating a texture made up of several strange, angular, asynchronous patterns.. When these patterns are combined with the semi-random drumming and the atypical vocals, the effect is unique.