| “BONZIE’s music has touched on various strains of art pop, post rock, folk, R&B, and jazz, establishing an eclectic wealth of influences. For her latest record [When I Found The Trap Door], BONZIE weaves these influences into delicate and minimalist forms, touching on enchanting chamber pop orchestral arrangements, smokey jazz slow-burns, and contemplative folk confessionals, all written and produced by BONZIE herself.” – Under The Radar Magazine “BONZIE’s latest album, ‘When I Found The Trap Door,’ solidifies her as a unique pop visionary bent on reshaping our perception.” – Ladygunn “A career that has consistently yielded richly melodic and mysterious songs.” – The New York Times “Brilliantly talented.” – NPR All Songs Considered “Talent for moving seamlessly between gentle folk-inspired verses and edgier rock-n-roll riffs.” – Vogue “Feels like the work of a vet well-versed in whispered catharsis.” – SPIN “Navigating her way through each space that appears to entice her in, BONZIE’s rejection of being a one-dimensional artist has left her an innovator in genre fluidity and experimentation.” – EARMILK “Her willingness to experiment without straying too far from the pop music template is admirable and fascinating. She also has an ear for big vocal hooks.” – PopMatters |
| Today, acclaimed pop visionary BONZIE has released her anticipated fourth independent studio album, When I Found The Trap Door, via her self-owned label Beevine Records. PRESS HERE to stream / download. A minimalist, storytelling record that further expands BONZIE’s singular artistry and uncompromising originality, When I Found The Trap Door is fully self-produced and written by BONZIE and is her most impressive and vulnerable work to date. “This record was made by human hands; even the electronic texture perc was triggered by touching a sensory pad,” shares BONZIE on the album. “Self-producing the songs, and then having legendary mixer Michael Brauer mix them, was a dream combination that gave it a unique feel. I kept this record ultra human, minimalist and real, with acoustic reverberations throughout.” In tandem with the release, BONZIE has also shared the official music video for her new single “Hollywood,” a lilting stroll of slow-burning jazz that reflects on competition and comparison in the industry as well as the pressure to conform in life. PRESS HERE to watch the video, which was shot in Hollywood, capturing the essence of the modern-day DIY “pop star,” and was directed by Jasper Soloff (Tinashe, Tate McRae) and edited by Luis Caraza (Ariana Grande, Doja Cat, Charli XCX). “Hollywood” first premiered with Under The Radar Magazine, who hailed the song as “a winding portrait of the falsity and competition in the entertainment business, delivered via a simmering jazz ballad” and noted, “BONZIE’s vocals are glassy and immaculate, encapsulating the effortless beauty of Old Hollywood.” “I spent a good portion of the last three years in Hollywood, living there, and getting to know people,” adds BONZIE on the new single. “I don’t really think this song is fully about Hollywood itself, necessarily, but it’s certainly an observation I had over the time I spent there. I think the dynamics that happen in the industry there occur everywhere. For the drum part, I wanted it to be a caricature of a ‘jazz groove.’ It’s angular and doesn’t exactly ‘fit’ the song and I liked that. I wanted it to represent pressures jazz players often feel to conform to the styles of the ‘masters.’ ” Mixed with the help of multi-GRAMMY winning Michael Brauer (Coldplay, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan) and featuring the live orchestra arrangement of composer Paul Cartwright (Lana Del Rey, Chappell Roan, Sigur Ros), When I Found The Trap Door is a 10-track album including tracks such as “This Is Not Real,” “Lavalamp,” and “The Simplest Choice,” and stands as a testament to BONZIE’s unwavering artistry while marking a significant milestone in her career that began with her debut album at the age of 15. “Hollywood” follows the recent release of single “Do You Know Who I Am,” which takes on the nebulous nature of identity in a sprawling pop fantasia with an orchestral section arranged by Bright Eyes’ Nathaniel Walcott, and the album’s lead single “The Point Of No Return,” a delicate, intricately layered soundscape about letting go of the little things while also holding onto the people most essential. Quickly adding to BONZIE’s millions of global streams, both singles have appeared on key playlists such as Apple Music’s New In Alternative. Taking the reins on When I Found The Trap Door despite the pressures of the industry, BONZIE mined inspiration from an array of eclectic sources, including the psychedelic sci-fi of Satoshi Kon’s Paprika and the elemental folk/blues of guitarist Elizabeth Cotton, before dreaming up each track in her home studio to blur the lines between reality and fantasy with a selection of songs that endlessly follow their own dazzling dream logic. Recorded in part at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio in Chicago and Hollywood’s EastWest Studios, where she worked with a full orchestra helmed by Anthony Parnther (Oppenheimer, Avatar, Black Panther), When I Found The Trap Door captures BONZIE’s commitment to creative autonomy and her emphatic belief that we’re in control of our own destinies.“ I think there are always exceptions to the rules that we’re given, and that we need to stay open and malleable as we navigate life—to seek out the trap doors that will lead us toward a better way of being,” BONZIE adds on the decision to self-produce the album. “We need to keep changing and growing and looking out for those possibilities, because that’s so much of the brilliance and beauty of being alive.” Earning critical praise throughout her career from The New York Times, Vogue, SPIN, i-D Magazine, American Songwriter, Earmilk, and more, as well as NPR, who called her “brilliantly talented,” BONZIE has been making waves for her infinitely shapeshifting artistry. When I Found The Trap Door follows BONZIE’s acclaimed 2021 album Reincarnation – which included the hit lead single “alone,” praised by NPR’s Bob Boilen in All Songs Considered and deemed one of the “Best Songs of 2020” by The New York Times – and her recent standalone singles “Citrus” and “Spiritual Violence.” |
| (credit: Jasper Soloff) When I Found The Trap Door Track List:Do You Know Who I AmThe Point of No ReturnHollywoodlavalampSanctioned Gold BuoyThis Is Not RealThe Simplest ChoiceThin IllusionsThe Only Thing LeftIsn’t It Funny About BONZIEAn artist whose sonic vocabulary encompasses a vast expanse of genres and styles – art-pop, post-rock, freak-folk, jazz, electro, alt-R&B, and more – BONZIE aka Nina Ferraro is a Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, who has reached an extraordinary level of success for an independent musician. A resolutely self-reliant artist who taught herself to play guitar at age nine, BONZIE first arrived on the musical landscape as a teenager with her 2013 debut album Rift Into the Secret of Things and partly attributes the fluidity of her musical expression to her time spent in the more experimental end of Chicago’s jazz scene during her formative years. Endlessly finding new forms of expressing her vast imagination both in the studio and on stage during her acclaimed live shows, BONZIE’s last album, Reincarnation, was co-produced by BONZIE alongside DJ Camper (Jay-Z, Big Sean, John Legend, Teyana Taylor) and continued to redefine the limits of her musicality, alchemizing elements of electro-pop, art-rock, and even gospel music, to create a listening experience not unlike lucid dreaming. |
