Though buffaBLOG's focus might be (mostly) on Buffalo, the blog itself has already brought in readers from across the blue-green planet. As much of a brain-melting life-drainer as the Internet can be, it does connect us, and it can introduce us to some wonderful music that otherwise may never have made it here from over the seas and far away.
Emerging musicians from all ends of the earth (plus or minus Antarctica) have reached out to buffaBLOG, sharing their songs, their souls, and expanding the way we think about the arts. The following acts are well worth dipping your ears into:
Ilias is an Algerian/Australian musician based in Sydney, Australia. His ghostly, indefinable debut album, Somewhere in Time, is the result of ten years of songwriting. "I wrote maybe 100 musical pieces, some songs, some sketches, some instrumentals," says Ilias, "But I was always haunted by a certain group of songs... I decided I needed to produce these songs, to break the spell and move on, in a sense."
Putting in place rigorous standards for the recording process, Ilias explains, "I felt that something so ambitious needed a set of rules, and producing, writing, and playing everything myself was one of them." Refusing to use pitch correction or fade outs and relying heavily on a modular, improvisation-tinged approach, Ilias further ensured Somewhere in Time displayed an organic, authentic style of songwriting.
Citing as diverse artists as D'Angelo, Brian Wilson, and Burt Bacharach for influences, Ilias has nonetheless developed an ethereal, hypnotic jazz-inflected dream-pop sound that is very much his own. He can be visited here.
I Said Yes are an alternative folk-pop act composed of members from throughout the UK, proud to be hated by Noel Gallagher of Oasis. Despite Gallagher's qualms, I Said Yes have been lauded by BBC London and XLM, and have performed alongside such renowned musicians as Florence + the Machine and Johnny Flynn.
In an interview with the BBC, the band described their formation, stating, "For three of us, it all started with recording really lo-fi covers of punk-pop songs in our sitting room, and then after an afternoon's busking a couple of years later we became a five-piece."
Clearly impacted by the New Folk movement that spawned Noah and the Whale, Mumford and Sons, and others, I Said Yes bring freshness and instrumental variation to a popular subgenre. Their colorful first EP can be heard here.
Closer to home, Bazile is a space folk solo artist from Houston, Texas. His latest effort, The Sojourn of Professor Narducci, is an odd and endearing exploration into the unknown. It also benefits from sound engineering and co-production courtesy of Alabama Shakes keyboardist Ben Tanner.
Creating his own genre fusions, Bazile pursues "gospel punk" on "Hi-Fi" and refers to his song "Save the Manatee" as a "lyrically eccentric love mystery." His satirical jabs, sonic switches, and bursts of emotion are as surprising as they are surreal.
Part Beck, part Ben Folds, part Sufjan Stevens, Bazile is always inventive. The Sojourn of Professor Narducci is now streaming on Soundcloud and its single "Employment" can be downloaded for free.
