While planning for my upcoming blog posts I thought it might be a good idea to feature some new and rather unknown artists now and then. Hey! This is about music – and if there’s someone real good who deserves to get more attention… let’s do it.
You may remember that when I reviewed the Peter Doherty gig months before I mentioned the opener to be worthwhile getting their own article. Here it is.
The Bony King of Nowhere – that’s what they are called. Actually, “they” means “he”. Because it’s Bram Vanparys from Ghent in Belgium plus supporting musicians.
It’s been some time now but the most striking thing I remember about The Bony King of Nowhere is… sounds (and marketing, but that’s another thing). It captured me right from the beginning… and Bram’s voice is deeply emotional and haunting at the same time. Love it. Sometimes, there’s a reminiscence of Radiohead minus electronics. So it’s even no wonder he took his project’s name from a subtitle of a Radiohead song.
At the Pukkelpop site [link broken, 2016-03-10] I found out about Bram’s preference of Daniel Lanois and Ennio Morricone… I don’t know if you’re familiar with Lanois’ brilliant solo works that have this specific atmosphere you can also find in his work as a producer (Luscious Jackson, U2, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Willy Nelson etc.). Acoustic electronics. Soundscapes. Music to listen to, to feel – and to watch. Audible videos with no pictures. This is what the music of The Bony King of Nowhere has without copying Lanois or anyone. It’s a unique movie soundtrack that doesn’t need any pictures.
Right now, The Bony King of Nowhere is doing some gigs in New York City (see MySpace). By the end of November they are back in The Netherlands and Belgium. Don’t miss them.
Unfortunately, there is one aspect about this The Bony King of Nowhere which I simply don’t understand. Why for heaven’s sake are you kind of hiding yourself, Bram? Is it bad marketing by Helicopter or Petrol Music? Really, there are loads of people who might love to know your music. Who even might want to buy your music (and that includes my wife and me). But, you know… marketing.
Let’s start in Luxembourg at Doherty’s gig. I saw you on stage. It was great. I asked myself – who is this? Later on, I was like “I’m going to buy a CD right after the concert”. Sadly it took your full gig but finally, right after the last song you introduced your band and who you are. The way you did it wasn’t easy to understand and I had to listen quite accurately. Me and Barbara looked at each other rather clueless – what? “Bory King”? “Bony Pin”? Well, we’ll see after the concert.
Right after Peter Doherty left the stage we headed out. Took us some time but we found your merch booth. Kind of. Can’t believe it. A poster – but no merch. No people selling anything. You didn’t come out. Yet, we knew your name for sure. Because there was a poster.
Now, dear reader, please try to find The Bony King of Nowhere‘s only album “Alas my love” anywhere online to buy. iTunes? Of course. But in the Belgium store only. Amazon? Sold out in Germany. Ok. Amazon.co.uk? Nope. Ah, let’s see… what about Amazon.fr? Nothing! 7digital? Zero. Indiestore.com? Nonono. I gave up. The Helicopter label responsible for international marketing doesn’t even have a website – at least their email address is at a standard provider in Belgium.
Hey… hold on… YES. Got it. On their MySpace site there is a link to Petrol Music running the marketing services for the Benelux countries. Find The Bony King of Nowhere in the menu under “Bands”. Apart from a download of the cover picture and a link to iTunes there actually is a link to Belgium online retailer. Link says “Koop online” (translates to “buy online”). Here you are rewarded with the option to buy the CD. Hard work indeed.
It must take your visitors one click to get there. Apart from the fact that it’s hidden under the company’s name, the visitor has to click Petrol Music > Menue: Bands > The Bony King of Nowhere > “Koop online”. That’s four clicks plus riddling and translating.
Please, Bram – do something about marketing and availability. There’s oceans of audio content out there that’s not worth listening, let alone buying. So make yours available. Me and more than a few other people really would appreciate it.
… and while you’re at it, Bram, don’t forget to tell the people who you are. Over and over again. The Bony King of Nowhere. Keep it in mind, peeps. 😉
