As far as projects formed out of a pun made in a text message conversation go, it’s safe to say Bo & Airo is one of the best around. In 2015, Bo Triplex (namesake and bandleader of Bo Triplex And His Beautiful Band) and Will Rose (who raps and drums in Airo Kwil) decided that serendipitous wordplay, combined with their overlapping influences and a desire to create music unlike anything they had in their various other projects, was reason enough to push forward with Bo & Airo.
Though shows have been sparse to this point, the duo has an EP on the way and they’re planning to play out regularly this summer. Before things heat up, Bo & Airo will play a show at Company Brewing tonight, where they’ll publicly premiere a music video for the project’s debut single, “Sirens.”
The Cheston Van Huss-directed video was shot at High Dive, where Rose and Triplex host a hip-hop open jam called Boom Bap And Taps the first and third Monday of each month. “Beyond that regular event, the bar has an aesthetic we cherish and it represents a community that has been very good to us,” Rose says.
Confined in the Riverwest mainstay’s tiny bathroom and even smaller stage, both the song and video grant a gritty, brash introduction to two figures most Milwaukee music fans know from other efforts, who have joined forces to do something altogether unfamiliar-yet-ultimately enjoyable. Before Bo & Airo headline a show that also features Klassik, Fox Face, and DJ Dripsweat, watch “Sirens” now.