Hisham Akira Bharoocha (born March 12, 1976 ^[1] in Niigata, Japan ^[2]) is an American musician and visual artist. Bharoocha lives in Brooklyn, ^[3] performs as Yokubari, ^[4] and is a member of the band Kill Alters; ^[5] he is also a former member of the Providence bands Lightning Bolt and Black Dice. ^[6]

Bharoocha was born in Niigata, Japan, ^[2] to a Japanese mother and Burmese father. ^[7] The family moved to Tokyo and then to Toronto when he was two,^{[ citation needed]} and Bharoocha spent his elementary school years in Los Angeles and San Diego. ^[3] His father died of cancer when he was 10 years old; ^[8] as an adult, memories of the experience inspired the 24-foot mural and sound installation Bharoocha created for the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Brooklyn. ^[9] He attended junior high and high school in Tokyo, ^[10] where he first met Eye and other members of Boredoms. ^[11]

After graduating from high school, Bharoocha attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, Rhode Island, where he studied various art forms such as video and photography. ^[12]

At RISD, Bharoocha met fellow musician Brian Gibson and became vocalist of the band Lightning Bolt after their first show. ^[13] Bharoocha performed with Lightning Bolt from 1995–1996, but the band's trio recording was never released; ^{[14] [13]} the only officially-released Lightning Bolt music with Bharoocha was "Revenge," a track on the Load Records Repopulation Program compilation. ^[15]

In 1996, Bharoocha began drumming for the Clutters, a band that the following year became Black Dice. ^{[14] [13]} After graduating from RISD in 1998, Bharoocha moved to New York City and became actively involved in the music and art scene; the other members of Black Dice also moved to New York, and Bharoocha continued playing with the band until his departure in 2004. ^{[16] [17]} Bharoocha's work with Black Dice included 2002's Beaches & Canyons, ^[16] included in Pitchfork's best of 2000-2004 ^[18] and Tiny Mix Tapes' best albums of the decade, ^[19] as well as Wolf Eyes and Black Dice (2003), ^{[20] [21]} Miles of Smiles (2004), ^[22] and Creature Comforts (2004). ^[23]

Bharoocha released two albums as Soft Circle: 2009's Full Bloom was a solo endeavor, ^[24] and 2010's Shore Obsessed included bandmate Ben Vida. ^{[25] [26]} Bharoocha also played drums for Pixeltan, who released several EPs on DFA records. ^[27]

Bharoocha served as musical director and drummer 4 in the Boredoms' 77 Boadrum performance on July 7, 2007 at the Empire–Fulton Ferry State Park in Brooklyn, New York. ^{[28] [29]} He reprised his roles the following year for 88 Boadrum, a duo of free concerts performed at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles and the Williamsburg waterfront in Brooklyn; each concert began at 8:08pm local time and featured 88 drummers selected by Boredoms and Bharoocha, with Boredoms participating in the west coast performance and Gang Gang Dance conducting in New York. ^{[30] [31]}

In July 2009, Bharoocha released a split 12 inch with High Places on the label PPM. ^[32]

Bharoocha is a member of the band Kill Alters, a trio with Bonnie Baxter and Nicos Kennedy; ^[33] he appears on the band's releases No Self Helps (2017) ^[34] and Armed To The Teeth (2022), ^[35] among others.

In addition to music, Bharoocha is also a visual artist and photographer known for his collage and mural work. ^{[36] [37]} He has had solo exhibitions of his work at D'Amelio Terras gallery in New York, as well as Vleeshal, a state run space in The Netherlands. ^[12] He has been in numerous group exhibitions at galleries such as Deitch Projects, John Connelly Presents and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. ^[38] His work has been published in Artforum, V, i-D, Flaunt, Tokion and more. ^[38]

Bharoocha collaborated with Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, model Erin Wasson, No Age, Opening Ceremony, Maria Cornejo and United Bamboo on a line of sunglasses called Phosphorescence, ^[39] and with Solange on a line of Puma sneakers. ^[40]

• Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived March 1, 2012)
• 77 Boadrum Site Profile Viva Radio, Sep 2007. ( Flash)
• Vice Magazine interview from 2008