Blind Boy De Vita — Ship Docking

New look, new sound, new stories: Blind Boy De Vita has journeyed through many changes the last few months. The result is the album «La Zattera» (Italian for raft) composed of two EPs. The first one bears the name «Ship Docking»

The EP and album title as symbols stand for traveling, but especially in the case of Blind Boy De Vita: Arriving. Usually during the past winters, he longed to get away. Last year for the first time it was not possible due to well-known circumstances. Like many people in the world, the Italian-Swiss artist was stuck in his own country. Nevertheless he made use of the situation. After an intense phase of self-confrontation, he conjured up stories as well as reflections that had accumulated and further developed Blind Boy De Vita while working on the album «Zattera».

The prologue of this new record is the EP «Ship Docking»: On these four tracks Blind Boy De Vita addresses stories from his closest family circle. He sings about obscure healers or conveys insights on topics such as perseverance and bipolarity. The music is experimental, psychedelic and funky. It is influenced by the blues, African and folk music. Recorded in his bedroom studio, the musician composed and produced it all by himself. Only the mix was entrusted upon his close friend Richard Edwards who has also worked for The Kinks, Brian May and Steve Howe.

Blind Boy De Vita’s new sound is characterized by putting greater emphasis on vocal arrangements and harmonies. He has broadened the sound palate by including more electric instruments whereas the first album was mostly acoustic. There are however once again numerous musical experiments such as a contact microphone placed on the throat to record a beat, virtuoso fingerpicking parts, falsetto vocals and the use of varying «exotic» instruments from dobro guitar to the calabash drum. 

And then there is a new look! In contrast to previous times Blind Boy De Vita appears even more colorful, fun-loving and authentic. This splash of life and color is evident in the magnificent social media and press images. These images were taken in the musician's homeland: the south of Italy. «La vita è bella» Blind Boy De Vita often likes to say in such moments – and heralds the first part of his dilogy «Zattera» with the EP «Ship Docking».