When I first started my Sleepy Songs twitter account; someone sent me a message about bzur’s music, and suggested it for my Sleepy Songs by others playlist on Spotify. After I while, I wrote to bzur, which has since then given me great advice on how to promote my music on Spotify.
Well, bzur has done a pretty good job with promotion! Over 80.000 unique listeners every moth!
What’s your real name?
I’d like people discovering it rather than revealing it on an interview.
How did you come up with your artist name?
It was the first random name which came in my mind when I was approaching the KVR forums (https://www.kvraudio.com)… and I kept that one (btw, in italian “bzur” sounds a bit like “hillbilly”).
How long have you been playing the piano?
I’ve been playing the piano for 35 years…I’m 43, born in 1975.
How long have you been making piano music?
Since I was 21, so… 22 years, with a 10 years pause, due to study purposes.
Tell us something about that moment you realized you could make songs yourself!
I think I could tell you about the moment I realized I could make music AGAIN after 10 years pause. It was really a joy finding that my inspiration was still there!!!
Have you made music in other genres before?
I currently spread my productions across various genres… electronic (ambient, synthwave, dance, italo dance, lo-fi beats, chiptune), piano + strings, orchestral…
What are your favorite artists in this “piano genre”?
I can’t say I have a favourite one… instead, I’d like to name a group of not well known but hugely talented ladies and guys which help keeping alive the movement:
– Gian Marco La Serra, with his strong sense for the melody and flowing accompaniment
– Luis Berra, whose skills on composing and improvising on multiple genres are simply amazing
– Michele Nobler, whose fine taste and skills doesn’t cease to surprise me
– Brique a Braq: everything he does is magic 🙂
– Olivia Belli, who has just released her first solo work as a composer, which has been a nice surprise to me: nice touch and taste
– Muriël Bostdorp, a dutch pianist with a delicate sense of melody
– Giuliano Poles, a hugely gifted musician and piano virtuoso from Northern-East Italy, involved in amazing piano solo and orchestral compositions
I’d name also Igor Longhi, Manuel Zito, La Finestra and many, many others… as you can see I’m not a mainstream guy 🙂
Is there one song which you play over and over again as soon as you sit down by a piano? Your own or someone else’s?
I tend not get all wrapped up in a thing, so there’s not such a song.
Anyway, at the moment I’m humming and playing “Little PIece” from “Album for the Young” by Schumann… it’s very easy, but really inspirational for me, as my piano music is based on very few elements.
What song inspires you the most when you’re making music? Can you name just ONE song/composition?
I’m not strictly tied to one composition. My compositional process is a sort of passive collage of the daily musical solicitations, and it’s always difficult to get back to the originally sources.
Tell me something about you latest release.
In volo is a series of 7 short piano pieces inspired by a local natural area around my city; it depicts the imaginary flight around this area, as if the listener was a bird him / herself.
A usual, I kept the pieces short, reducing the redundancy, and trying to convey a simple message a time.
You may find it on bandcamp with some beautiful pictures taken by my friend Ornella, which is a really gifted photographer – indeed, the EP has been inspired by these gorgeous photos.
What’s happening next? New releases etc.
Regarding the piano solo production, I have some parallel unfinished projects… at the moment I’m pushing on other genres as lofi and synthwave, and on some collabs around the globe!
Thank you bzur for this! And thank you for all your help so far!
Please check out these social accounts for more information about bzur!
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And as always. Find the music on Spotify!