Bizono: New York Diaries

One thing for which I am ever grateful about YouTube (and I will never take for granted) is the related video function on the right side of whatever I’m watching. My newest stumble is the band Bizono, at this point I would really like to tell you all more about these gentleman, but sadly my internet sleuthing just hasn’t turned up very much. Obviously these guys have been around for some time (maybe not as one cohesive band) as their musicianship just screams: seasoned. If any of you readers know anything about these cats, please drop a line and let the rest of us know.

The album on which I am writing is titled “New York Diaries,” and is a soul-stirring collection of songs inspired by the author; Dorothy Parker.  The first time I heard the song “Men I’m Not Married To,” I really didn’t know what to make of it. Here were these gentlemen playing gritty musical lines and vocals  over very Broadway-musical sounding instrumentals and melodies. It was extremely catchy, to be sure – but at the same time, I just didn’t know what I was hearing.

Over the course of the next few days, I found myself humming the melody and creeping back to YouTube to hear the song again (by this time I had also been incessantly singing the song and driving my wife nuts). So I decided to find out more about these folks, which basically ended with me clicking on their website and listening to the rest of the album.

Each one of their songs is as captivating as the last; I just haven’t been able to turn it off which is pretty awful considering their link to download the album doesn’t seem to work anymore. The album is slow for the most part, it’s the kind of music you want to hear in a bar with seven of your closest friends very nearby. With its soulful guitars sometimes arpeggiated, sometimes playing heartbreaking leads, its not the kind of music you talk over. The vocalist; Hajo Winkler has a very aggressive voice, almost the kind of tone you would expect from a performer at an old-circuit poetry slam. At the same time though, he exercises incredible control over his tone and pitch making it fit perfectly into the soundscape. The drumming is very tasteful and shows up exactly when needed and hangs back when it is not. Some track also feature synthetics – such as the song: “Within My Skin.” The songs, overall, can get very orchestral at times.

I would like to think that Bizono won’t be just another fold in the overcrowded bed of music on the internet. But my inability to download the tracks or find any information on this act leads me to fear the worst. In the meantime, though, do yourself a favor and hop over to www.bizono.com to have a listen.