Bonzai

1072 fans
“I've always felt like an outsider. My music is just me embracing my weirdness?”
- Bonzai
 
Inspired by club sounds, rave attitude and R&B vocals, Bonzai is an eclectic artist. You might hear notes that chime with the crisp production of SOPHIE or Rustie but equally you will get classic indie hooks and layered harmonies straight out of the Destiny’s Child playbook. In reality, Bonzai’s music is joyous and emotive club music to move your whole body to.

Listening in, it’s no surprise that the 20-year-old Irish native cites the elaborate, expressive music of MIA, Santigold and FKA Twigs as influences, and when she speaks of what she loves about her favourite female artists (“They’re fun and creative and not doing it for anyone but themselves”) she could so easily be describing himself.

Bonzai's ear for production was flexed early thanks to her drummer father and she attributes her obsession with female vocals to her mother who played Sade, Erykah Badu and “a lot of gospel music” in the house. It wasn’t until later that she felt inclined to manipulate the kind of R&B vocals she grew up hearing in her own music, but she says it was her formative years that gave her a grounding in the “different ways emotion can play out on a record. I think all the hours on Soundcloud played a part”.
 
It’s was also her early years growing up in Wicklow, Ireland that she first noticed feeling like an outsider as one of few mixed race people in her area (her mum is African American and her father White Irish). "When I look back I can see that maybe the kids weren’t used to it because there weren't many black people around” she says. “Like, they would just do stupid shit that I didn’t think about until later. It was only when I came to London that I realised what it’s like to live with black people in a community. You can hear the shift in my music as I used all those experiences”.

While in Ireland, she honed her performance skills thanks to weekend busking in her local town centre. “Every weekend we would go and busk all day in different spots. At Temple Bar, we’d go there at night from like 9 until whenever, and there you’d find me, singing covers of like Aretha Franklin, Florence and the Machine.” (Her Aretha was the biggest money maker).

This uncompromising spirit of making her voice heard is a theme in her career to date. After leaving Dublin at 17 she found work first in bars and restaurants and then finally as a backing singer for singer/songwriter Nao. It led to her make her first EP ‘Royah’ in 2015, which was a slow creep into the music industry, but one that didn’t go unrecognised by DJs like Annie Mac who picked it up and supported it on the airwaves. Her follow up EPs ‘Sleepy Hungry’ and ‘Lunacy’ released over the next year were critically acclaimed across the board, featuring as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record In The World (again) and earning her support everywhere from Pitchfork to Vogue to Pigeons and Planes.

All the while during her gentle climb through the underground ranks, Bonzai has been fronting Mura Masa’s show (as lead vocalist/rapper/hype man) and it was only when she sold out her own 1,000-capacity homecoming show in Dublin that she realised she wasn’t going to have time for both ventures.

Having dedicated herself to Bonzai there is no stopping her. 2017 might well be her year.

Top tracks

09
Where Are U Now
Bonzai
Sleepy Hungry
03:52
Writer: Cassia O'Reilly - Alexander George Edward Crossan / Composers: Cassia O'Reilly - Alexander George Edward Crossan

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  • Discography
Albums
1246336 Records DK
18-03-2020
Distorted Adventures
01
Baby Modular
Bonzai
Distorted Adventures
06:29
Writer: Victor Michée / Composers: Victor Michée
02
Round'n Round
Bonzai
Distorted Adventures
07:17
Writer: Victor Michée / Composers: Victor Michée
03
Enter Brocéliande
Bonzai
Distorted Adventures
05:15
Writer: Victor Michée / Composers: Victor Michée
04
RageInDaGarage
Bonzai
Distorted Adventures
04:34
Writer: Victor Michée / Composers: Victor Michée
05
Shaman's Lullaby
Bonzai
Distorted Adventures
06:33
Writer: Victor Michée / Composers: Victor Michée
06
Coléoptère Agile
Bonzai
Distorted Adventures
05:59
Writer: Victor Michée / Composers: Victor Michée
07
BoomMyHead
Bonzai
Distorted Adventures
05:25
Writer: Victor Michée / Composers: Victor Michée
Access the complete album info (8 songs)
EPs
1246336 Records DK
06-05-2019
Vitamine T
01
Citronnacide
Bonzai
Vitamine T
07:43
Writer: Victor Michée / Composers: Victor Michée
02
Dark Room
Bonzai
Vitamine T
07:50
Writer: Victor Michée / Composers: Victor Michée
03
Stomp
Bonzai
Vitamine T
06:30
Writer: Victor Michée / Composers: Victor Michée
04
Gaïa
Bonzai
Vitamine T
06:29
Writer: Victor Michée / Composers: Victor Michée
Ashtown Lane
28-10-2016
Lunacy - EP
01
I Did
Bonzai
Lunacy - EP
03:09
Writer: Cassia O'Reilly - John Calvert / Composers: John Cassia O'Reilly - John Calvert
02
Bodhrán
Bonzai
Lunacy - EP
02:49
Writer: Cassia O'Reilly - Thomas Calvert / Composers: Cassia O'Reilly - Thomas Calvert
03
2B
Bonzai
Lunacy - EP
02:53
Writer: Cassia O'Reilly - Thomas Calvert / Composers: Cassia O'Reilly - Thomas Calvert
04
Bonzai
Bonzai
Lunacy - EP
01:41
Writer: Cassia O'Reilly - Alexander Crossan / Composers: Cassia O'Reilly - Alexander Crossan
05
Cruel
Bonzai
Lunacy - EP
03:24
Writer: Cassia O'Reilly - John Calvert - Rebecca Jones / Composers: Cassia O'Reilly - John Calvert - Rebecca Jones
Anchor Point
23-03-2016
Sleepy Hungry
01
Daniel Gets It Wrong
Bonzai
Sleepy Hungry
02:01
Writer: Cassia O'Reilly - John Calvert / Composers: Cassia O'Reilly - John Calvert
02
No Rest
Bonzai
Sleepy Hungry
02:54
Writer: Cassia O'Reilly - John Calvert / Composers: Cassia O'Reilly - John Calvert
03
Ravemeister
Bonzai
Sleepy Hungry
00:26
Writer: Cassia O'Reilly - John Calvert / Composers: Cassia O'Reilly - John Calvert
04
Stepping
Bonzai
Sleepy Hungry
02:29
Writer: Cassia O'Reilly - John Calvert / Composers: Cassia O'Reilly - John Calvert
05
Kassi
Bonzai
Sleepy Hungry
02:59
Writer: Cassia O'Reilly - John Calvert / Composers: Cassia O'Reilly - John Calvert
06
Faze
Bonzai
Sleepy Hungry
03:38
Writer: Cassia O'Reilly - James Luke Wood / Composers: Cassia O'Reilly - James Luke Wood
07
Lights On
Bonzai
Sleepy Hungry
02:43
Writer: Cassia O'Reilly - Alexander George Edward Crossan / Composers: Cassia O'Reilly - Alexander George Edward Crossan
Access the complete album info (9 songs)
2015 Anchor Point
30-11-2015
Royah
01
Doses
Bonzai
Royah
03:02
Writer: Casia O'Reilly / Composers: John Calvert
02
Nikka
Bonzai
Royah
03:18
Writer: Casia O'Reilly / Composers: John Calvert
03
Skhokho
Bonzai
Royah
02:40
Writer: Casia O'Reilly / Composers: Alexander George Edward Crossan
04
Noise
Bonzai
Royah
03:47
Writer: Casia O'Reilly / Composers: John Calvert
Singles
℗ 2025 FifthFifthteen Recordings
15-06-2025
Lofi Rap Song 5
01
Lofi Rap Song 5
Bonzai
Lofi Rap Song 5
01:18
Writer: Jerry Cobos / Composers: Jerry Cobos
℗ 2025 FifthFifthteen Recordings
17-05-2025
Kiwi&Guava
01
Kiwi&Guava
Bonzai
Kiwi&Guava
03:27
Writer: Jerry Cobos / Composers: Jerry Cobos
℗ 2024 Swagg Factory
22-10-2024
Off-White
01
Off-White
Big Smoke
Off-White
02:30
Composers: Big Smoke
℗ 2024 bonzai
30-09-2024
flowers (in her hair)
01
flowers (in her hair)
Bonzai
flowers (in her hair)
06:09
Writer: Reece Lunney / Composers: Lewis Hernon - Thomas Savage - Carter Ferguson - Reece Lunney
02
flowers (prelude)
Bonzai
flowers (in her hair)
02:14
Writer: Reece Lunney / Composers: Carter Ferguson - Thomas Savage - Lewis Hernon - Reece Lunney
03
flowers
Bonzai
flowers (in her hair)
03:55
Writer: Reece Lunney / Composers: Reece Lunney - Lewis Hernon - Thomas Savage - Carter Ferguson
℗ 2024 FifthFifthteen Recordings
25-09-2024
7RedBullsDeep
01
7RedBullsDeep
Bonzai
7RedBullsDeep
01:58
Writer: Jerry Cobos / Composers: Jerry Cobos
2492169 Records DK
30-04-2021
Flight
01
Flight
ASKR
Flight
03:07
Writer: Rachel Asaker / Composers: Rachel Asaker
MyLabel
29-01-2021
21.11
01
21.11
Bonzai
21.11
03:33
Writer: Ян Ерохин / Composers: Ян Ерохин
2020 Night Shift
15-11-2020
La Belle Rose
01
Aquarelle
Night Shift
La Belle Rose
02:44
Composers: Victor Crasson - Victor Michée - Cyril Stephan
02
Dans les vapes
Night Shift
La Belle Rose
03:40
Composers: Victor Crasson - Victor Michée - Cyril Stephan
03
Papillon
Night Shift
La Belle Rose
04:22
Composers: Victor Crasson - Victor Michée - Cyril Stephan
1246336 Records DK
31-07-2020
Melting (feat. Newage.)
01
Melting (feat. Newage.)
Bonzai
Melting (feat. Newage.)
06:53
Writer: Victor Michée - Victor Crasson / Composers: Victor Michée - Victor Crasson
1246336 Records DK
10-07-2020
Kross
01
Kross
Bonzai
Kross
07:34
Writer: Victor Michée / Composers: Victor Michée