Christopher Bohn

In days of old, King Saul would beckon for David to play his harp and ease the troubled spirit within him. If Saul were alive today, he could simply download A Conspiracy of Sleep by Christopher Bohn. Christopher sings with a voice as rich as the soil in the Mississippi Delta, with lyrics that beg your hopes to dash your fears. I hope you all own a copy. ? Support Local Music! - Tara Endicott, Cultural Arts Director, Burlap and Bean

Here’s how you tell a story: So, this guy with a beard and a guitar from Philadelphia goes out and starts singing to those who would listen. In doing so he starts to establish himself as a folk singer and a purveyor of “roots music.”
Christopher Bohn (that guy mentioned above) goes to some coffeehouses and other haunts of the thinking folk in Pennsylvania and catches a few more ears with tunes such as “Victoria Amen.” That tune and others from Conspiracy of Sleep are good listening tunes. “Run Rabbit Run” is an interesting effort, to say the least. Listen closely, because that’s what Bohn hopes the audience members will do.
I enjoy artists who use good poetry to explain about themselves. Here’s what Bohn offers, on a Web site:
The god of dirt
came up to me many times and said
so many wise and delectable things, I lay
on the grass listening
to his dog voice,
crow voice,
frog voice; now,
he said, and now,
and never once mentioned forever,
-from “One or Two Things” Mary Oliver
I once read a review of a rock album that asked, “Does the world need another rock band?” I answered “yes.”
I ask now, “Does the world need another folk singer?” I answer, “Always.” - Indie Update

Philadelphia-based Christopher Bohn recently released a six-track EP, “A Conspiracy of Sleep”, a debut prelude to his full-length studio release due later this year. Bohn’s intricate acoustic guitar playing drive the songs, though every track has a multi-layered tonal palette . I like the more-elemental love song, Victoria, Amen. Strong fingerpicking, a little slide guitar, and his strong, intimate voice make it a compelling listen. These are not simple songs; his tales are told with sophisticated vocal/choral effects, and complex arrangements. His musical “signature” may be that his songs lack singable choruses. This is what Bohn calls “Modern” folk, though sometimes I think the arrangements are “larger” than they need to be. “Wolf Cub” is a more uptempo, high energy track, with bluesy guitar rifts, and a strong, clear, rhythmic guitar.

The mysterious and haunting, Parsifal, again demonstrates Bohn’s ability to drive a song with his expert guitar playing. Using minor chords, both fingerpicked and lead guitar, subtle background sound effects, and Bohn’s strong tenor, he tells the narrative of Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival (Percival) and his quest for the Holy Grail. This is storytelling at it’s best, my favorite song on the EP. - Call It Folk