Born and bred in New Orleans, Bionica is the melting pot of good music. Their influences are apparent in their music and continue tobreak boundaries to create unclassified genres. In these times where breaking the mold musically sometimes seems herculean to many, Bionica stands out of the crowd with ease and intelligence. The sound eludes category at every turn, yet still unflinchingly strikes at the core of those who hear it.

With their debut release of Take Your City, Bionica grabs the listener on every emotional aspect all while hinting the listener with their intellectual sensibilities. From the odd time signatures of “Commodore” and “Island Movement Systems” to the instrumental track of “Bionic Bloom”, Bionica pushes the envelope of what’s next in music and what’s expected from future musicians. Bionica also shows us their lyrical savviness through quoting Sylvia Plath’s work in “Colossus” to the their political introspect on “Take Your City”.

Features:
James Westfall – Synth, BG Vocals
Rex Gregory – Keyboard, BG Vocals
Sasha Masakowski – Vocals
Nathan Lambertson – Bass
Nick Solnick – Drums

“…a virtuosic approach to electronic instruments…The result is a series of layered, digital soundscapes dominated by extended instrumental breaks featuring chirping and warbling synth solos…” – OFFBEAT

With their first EP release, local indie rock quintet Bionica has offered a glimpse into the endless possibilities the future holds for local musicians to defy stale genres and continue to produce fresh, thoughtful music, inspired by an array of backgrounds, genres, and side projects. Their overall sound itself has a bit of futurism to it-dual programming keyboardists (James Westfall and Rex Gregory) create a spacey, ethereal world often with just the simplest of two- or three-note melodies, combined with the strong presence of a solid electric bass (Nathan Lambertson) and drums/percussion (Nick Solnick), and topped off with the sweet vocal delicacies of Sasha Masakowski. This futurism is perhaps best exemplified in the wild keyboard solo in “Colossus” and the programming driven bridge in “Bionic Bloom” – an old voiceover of a woman describing the future of aviation over wheeling licks and crazed modulations. The whole album is well-mixed and mastered, often producing a psychedelic sensation of sounds swirling around your head from one ear to another – heard particularly well in the opening chords of the title track and in various solos throughout the EP – especially when using any old pair of headphones. Though only five songs long, all but the albums title track are over five minutes in length, for an end product of five fullbodied  and deeply developed tracks that show a full range of emotion, talent, and dexterity in composition and performance. Also finly tuned are their poetic lyrics and use of vocals as another element of the overall sound – instead of strings of words haplessly sung or forced over the rest of the band-including a well-executed blend of male and female vocals in “Commodore.” All five members are graduates of the Jazz Studies Department at the University of New Orleans as well as local jazz community vets, and their range of expertise and outside influence is both apparent and masterful in this debut release. – Where Ya’t