BONZIE

BONZIE
BONZIE at Wicker Park Fest in Chicago
Background information
Birth name Nina Ferraro
Born (1995-04-03) April 3, 1995
Racine, Wisconsin
Genres Alternative
Indie rock
Instruments Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Keyboard, Bass
Years active 2009 - Present
Labels Beevine Records, Independent
Website www.bonzie.net

BONZIE (born Nina Ferraro) is an American singer/songwriter and musician based in Chicago, Illinois.[1] She has been compared to a "young Chan Marshall,"[2] and described as a "wunderkind" by Spin magazine.[3] BONZIE has performed nationwide, including a show at SXSW described by the New York Times as "riveting".[4]

History

In the year 2010 at age 15, BONZIE released her debut EP, The Promise, as Nina Ferraro, and began using the stage name[5] BONZIE shortly thereafter. In a 2013 interview with the Chicago Tribune, she explained her decision. "There was something about it that felt egotistical to me, and music was never that sort of pursuit. BONZIE feels a lot better to go under, not only because it's a pseudonym, but also because it doesn't subscribe to a language. There isn't a conventional definition of BONZIE, and it's more something where I can become its meaning."[6]

BONZIE wrote and co-produced her first full-length album, Rift Into The Secret Of Things, which was released in August 2013 at age 17.[7][8] It was preceded by the single "Data Blockers," which premiered on Spin.com,[9] It was followed by a second single "Felix," which features The Milk Carton Kids' Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale.[10] The album's title was inspired by a passage from Henry David Thoreau's Walden.[11]

In 2016, BONZIE released a double single, "As The Surface Rose" via Under The Radar, who said it "conjures an emotive vacuum where BONZIE's voice and piano keys hover and haunt."[12]

The New York Times featured the music video for "As The Surface Rose" shortly after its release, where chief music critic Jon Pareles writes, "This song is an ambitious interlude, a statement of commitment... A guy in a skinny tie pursues her, rowing into a storm. He has a film camera, she wears a glittery dress. There are no bubbles as she breathes underwater, but she tells her story. "You won't let go," she sings."[13]

This was soon followed by another double single, entitled "How Do You Find Yourself, Love?," a 7" vinyl that premiered on BrooklynVegan.[14] It is described as a companion piece to "As The Surface Rose."

The live-to-track, "How Do You Find Yourself, Love?," was recorded by Steve Albini, and includes instrumental B-side "Back to an Insurmountable wall", which was produced and performed by BONZIE, and recorded by Tortoise member John McEntire. "As The Surface Rose" was backed by a lyric-free B-side,"Half Full."[15]

She has opened for Iron & Wine[6] and toured with Cayucas.[1][2][16]

BONZIE released the second full-length album called Zone on Nine in May 2017. The album was fully written and produced by Ferraro herself, and co-produced with Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty, Conor Oberst) and Ali Chant (Perfume Genius, Youth Lagoon).[12]

The album was released to critical acclaim, namely two front-page articles in The Chicago Tribune[17] by the top music critic Greg Kot who called Zone on Nine "Stunning". Kot also wrote "BONZIE has shown a consistent refusal to be pinned down to a genre or simplified descriptions of the kind of music she makes."

Other reviews for Zone on Nine included VICE[18] who wrote "Her intricately layered music taps into personal connections — the relationship you have with yourself, the connection between the body and the mind... [it has a] gorgeous sonic palette that's hard to pinpoint but instantly alluring".

Paste Magazine[19] wrote about the album ""The way certain notes bend on the Chicago songwriter's latest tune only draw you in closer as you wonder 'What's that sound?'".

Zone on Nine was nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Album.[20]

A music video for the song "Crescent" shortly followed, featuring BONZIE nude in bodypaint depicting an AI investigating the mind.[21]

Discography

  • Zone on Nine, Album, 2017
  • "Combback," single, 2017
  • "Fading Out," single, 2017
  • "How Do You Find Yourself, Love?," double single, 2016
  • "As The Surface Rose," double single, 2016
  • Rift Into The Secret Of Things, Album, 2013
  • "Felix," single, 2013
  • "Data Blockers," single, 2013
  • The Promise, EP, 2010 (as Nina Ferraro)
  • "Let It Go," single, 2009 (as Nina Ferraro)

References

  1. 1 2 Taylor, John (July 1, 2013). "Discovery: Bonzie". interviewmagazine.com. Interview. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  2. 1 2 Fragassi, Selena (August 15, 2013). "Meet Bonzie, the 18-Year-Old Indie Songwriter Already Being Compared To Cat Power". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "Hear Bonzie's Furious Six-Minute Confessional 'Data Blockers'". February 28, 2013. Spin. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  4. ↑ Pareles, Jon (March 14, 2014). "SXSW 2014: The Music Plays On After a Somber Scene". nytimes.com (blogs). New York Times. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  5. ↑ Garrison, Matt. "Bonzie Rift Into The Secret Of Things". July 24, 2013. The Aquarian. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  6. 1 2 Downing, Andy. "Local Q&A: Bonzie". July 13, 2013. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  7. ↑ Brown, Jacob. "Praise for Singer Nina Ferraro's Debut Rift into the Secret of Things". August 16, 2013. Vogue. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  8. ↑ "MPM at 3PM: Bonzie". April 2013. Magnet. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  9. ↑ Chattman, John. "A-Sides with Jon Chattman: Listen to Courtney Jaye and Bonzie Now; Thank Me Later". April 4, 2013. Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  10. ↑ Orr, Dacey. "Song Premiere: Bonzie feat. The Milk Carton Kids". June 5, 2013. Paste Magazine. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  11. ↑ "New Release Tuesday 8/13/13". August 13, 2013. Jigsaw Magazine. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  12. 1 2 Steinberg, Charles (December 5, 2016). "Premiere: BONZIE: "As the Surface Rose" and "Half Full" Double Single Sophomore Album Zone on Nine Due Out in Early 2017". Under The Radar 2. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  13. ↑ Pareles, Jon. "Katy Perry Dances Till the World Ends and M.I.A. Starts a New Wave". Feb 10, 2017. The New York Times. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  14. ↑ Sacher, Andrew (December 13, 2016). "Stream BONZIE's Steve Albini-recorded single "How Do You Find Yourself, Love?"". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  15. ↑ Tinkham, Chris. "Premiere: Bonzie — "How Do You Find Yourself, Love?" MP3 Stream Chicago's Nina Ferraro recorded new track with Steve Albini". Nov 20, 2013. Under the Radar. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  16. ↑ Hopper, Jessica. "At age 18, Bonzie takes off the kid gloves". September 19, 2013. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  17. ↑ Kot, Greg (May 19, 2017). "Bonzie's unbridled ambition works like a charm on 'Zone on Nine'". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  18. ↑ Kaplan, Ilana (April 4, 2017). "introducing the first single from bonzie's second album, an introspective dream track". VICE. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  19. ↑ McNett, Jared (April 21, 2017). "Exclusive: Hear Bonzie's Alluring Folk Tune". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  20. ↑ "The Recording Academy". Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  21. ↑ "BONZIE - "Crescent" (video) (premiere) 6/02/17". June 2, 2017. PopMatters. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
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