Short Reviews [Lonny Ziblat - 2019 - "Dream Hunting"]

I first came across Lonny some years ago with his project Modest Midget, with whom he released two albums, 2010’s ‘The Great Prophecy of a Small Man’ and 2014’s ‘Crysis’. Born in Buenos Aires, raised in Israel and now residing in The Netherlands, he composes and arranges music for different ensembles, orchestra's and choirs, but I think this is his first CD (and digital, and vinyl) release since ‘Crysis’. Recorded over a five-year period it allows Lonny to prove he is a full instrumentalist while also bringing in friends when the need arises, most notably singer Magdalena Golebiowska whose vocals on “Days of Peace” are simply superb. This is an album out of time, one that is refusing to stick within any particular genre, and certainly not from the 21st century. If I was to pick a time and genre then I would have to say early Seventies and heavily inspired by the Canterbury Scene, but even that doesn’t really provide the full picture. While Robert Wyatt may have a part to play in this, it is the combination of that with acoustic singer songwriter and great songs which makes this something quite special indeed. Lonny’s voice isn’t always perfect, but it is honest and the listener is brought into his world. This album feels very personal indeed, Lonny is singing just to me. He mixes between a full band sound and one that is quite sparse in terms of arrangement, but it somehow always feels full and rich. There is room for electric guitars, but for the most part the songs are based around his acoustic and his vocals with other elements added for additional colour. Lonny is another artist who seems to be destined to stay under the radar of many music lovers, which is a real shame as I have really enjoyed everything I have heard of his to date, and I know that if others were prepared to make a small amount of effort they would feel exactly the same way. Search this album out through Bandcamp and give it a play, then purchase it in your favourite medium. His arrangements are simply superb: just listen to the double bass on “Outta Sight” which provides wonderful warmth before leading into the manic poppiness of “Barby Q”. Simple clean fun.