Wuzy Bambussy is the alter ego of producer, songwriter & multi-instrumentalist Nikolai Jones. Based in the beating heart of Englands’ West Country, Jones and his rag tag host of accomplices fire up an eclectic, beatific soundtrack of world sound, folk, funk, indie & electronica. As of March 2023 Bambussy will be releasing a single a month for 10 consecutive months, the culmination of sessions with Bristolian chanteuse Kat Harrison. A supreme collection of dreamy, jazzy alt pop & indie beats. Accompanied by lush orchestral strings & warm brass motifs. All perfectly anchored by Harrisons’ sultry mezzo-soprano and the chiming guitars of longtime compadre Iggy Deverall. New single ‘2 Miles High’ was released on the 16th March 2023. Follow up single ‘Flux’ out 18th April 2023.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Wuzy Bambussy, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Hey Kamil, thanks for having me!
My first formative experience with music was my Nan, at the age of 7 she bought me a kids drum set from, ahem a well known catalogue retailer. After 2 weeks of bashing the business out of it my dad smashed it up with an axe and burned it. I was more impressed with the wanton destruction but his actions were futile, I had the bug. At the age of 13 and after a year or 2 saving from trudging a paper round I bought my first drum kit.
Are there any musicians who inspire you? What qualities do you admire about them?
For their art? Of course. I’m inspired daily by musicians across the board. For personality traits I respect those that are humble & kind in whatever they do. At the best of times musicians are self absorbed precious creatures, but when you live with your head in the clouds watch out for the seagulls’ beak. Yeah..that well known Chinese proverb.
Your latest track is '2 Miles High'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
So, with some songs you can have them for years, hanging about, refusing to have the decency to get dressed and go to work. 2 Miles High was the opposite. It was an untroubled birth. I hadn’t been working with Kat long and it was one that was specifically written for her, the choruses are deliberately left sparse in order to let her voice and intimacy shine.
Kat & I recorded 10 songs entirely remotely during lockdowns. We met online so I hadn’t met her yet when recording this song. In fact we’ve still only met twice. Once for a photo shoot and another when we mastered these 10 tunes.
Which skills have you gained that help you perform effectively as a musician?
Not sure it’s really a skill set but I’m developing armour plated skin? The endless rejection is something that realistically would break most people. I have to put on a completely different head when switching from creative child into the hard nosed one man PR army that has to go out into the world and fight for this work the inner child has designed. I’d really rather not do the latter but there is no choice.
What are your favourite musical genres, and are there any you dislike?
I’ve always just been a fan of the song. A good tune will translate over into most genres. I think we get far too caught up in pigeonholing, that the fear of not being able to categorise something just would bring our whole fragile construct crashing down! I’ve always admired music that crosses boundaries, that’s what music is supposed to do, reach out and make you fall in love. For me 70s roots reggae, 60s British folk. Funk from across the globe. If I’m talking favourite producers I can’t look any further than Quantic. I think I’d die for Will Holland, a true master.
Are there people who help you with the production of the songs?
I mean, there really should be! But no, like most things with me it’s dive on in, mixed with a large dollop of trial and error, I just keep revisiting, tweaking, tweaking some more, listening on different systems, then when I can’t hear anything wrong with a song I look to get it mastered sharpish before the self doubt kicks in again.
What are your long term goals?
To keep those around me happy, or at least tolerant of my obsessive music related mania. To write as much music as I can in whatever time remains for me. To always look to create with new artists, to keep the intake of 6.5% hazy bad bois to an acceptable social level. To walk my hound come fair or foul, to inspire any future generations of numbnuts foolhardy enough to let music be their thorny path.
What is it about music that makes you feel passionate?
It’s just always been there, from the first unsheathing of a vinyl to the last digi download, I’d be dead inside without it.
I love how it can change a mood or an entire existence with a single line of lyric. No other art form has that unifying ability of cramming us together for a shared experience. 2 Miles High - if you check the lyrics, it’s a love song to music and gigs. At the time of writing I was seeing posts about musician and industry friends not being able to do what they do and it was heartbreaking.
How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?
Immeasurably. It changed everything.
It changed how music is interacted with, how it’s created, how it’s promoted, this week alone Bambussy has been aired on radio in Brazil, in Argentina, in Peru ffs! That’s wild, that doesn’t happen without the internet, I wouldn’t even consider mailing a cd to a radio station in Peru, yet here we are, one email fired off and Peru is getting down.
What are your plans for the future?
We’re releasing a single every month for the rest of 2023, it’s an insane amount of work but you gotta love a challenge. Next single ‘Flux’ is out on April 18th.
Right now I’m gonna have a coffee and crack the hell on son. It’s been a pleasure! Bambussy out.