PREMIERE | Tiny the Dream, "Many Selves"
The new cool club chic of Tiny the Dream, aka Suzanne Bonifacio; photographed by Jeanette Chwan.
Multi-disciplinary artists have the transformative power to traverse and transcend being confined to any solitary medium or style. They have the inherent ability to invent and re-invent themselves, showcase the merits of new media, new perspectives, challenging the manners in which art and their creators are pigeonholed in the pursuit of greater truths and conceptual revelations. They lean into the states of flux and growth that are indicative of the human experience, in the same way our cells reproduce in states of constant regeneration and change. This too is also true of the intrinsic nature of the arts in its constant state of evolution, perpetual motion that like language is moving, shifting and developing at a rate faster than can ever be calculated. These are the polymaths that break the molds of what was before, challenging their own skillsets and the status quo to craft the breakthroughs that cause the ripple effects of influence that are felt in the ensuing eras that follow.
Introducing Tiny the Dream, the latest incarnation from Buffalo, NY artist Suzanne Bonifacio that bridges heart beat pulsing beats and evocative atmospheres. Presenting the debut of “Many Selves”, Bonifacio explores the multiplicities of being that re-imagines that infinite roles and realities of everything an individual can be. The moody EDM imbued ambience of the track takes on a subterranean feeling, like adventuring into a clandestine cavern, turned discreet makeshift club by a band of stylish partygoers occupying an abandoned subway station or an ancient repurposed water utility. The serious tone implies pensive and diligent dance step motions, with chopped vocal stem utterances that contribute to an otherworldly sense of awe and elevated headspaces. Tiny the Dream is a re-imagining of the self, the transformation of the artist on their own terms, on account of their own perceptions, thoughts, feelings, visions and more that manifests a rhythmic meditation on the myriad possibilities of personal and creative re-invention. Decidedly different from the emotive chamber guitar pop of Bonifacio’s single “Condense” from last year; Tiny the Dream takes kinetic forms of aesthetic fusions and syntheses to the far out places beyond the constraints of linguistic expressions.
Behold the visuals from Jeanette Chwan, Frenchpressley and Jack Quon that fittingly transport the audience to the new electro world of Tiny the Dream. Complete with a dancing costumed polar bear, enter into a club of the future filmed like a European art house installation event. From murky colors of reds, blues and greens; Tiny the Dream embraces the whole of the rhythms that take over the body and spirit like a supernatural rave to rage on all night and into the early entrances of the breaking day. "Many Selves" is seen and heard as a celebration of liberating the self and spirit, a statement of allowing yourself to be all of the facets and components of being that vibrantly exist and grow within your person. Tiny the Dream accentuates the amalgam of all these facets, providing them with a place to dance and rock according to the self-pronounced progressions of their own brilliant design and vivacity of unlimited visions.
Suzanne Bonifacio shared the following reflections on the concepts and creation of Tiny the Dream, the track “Many Selves" and more:
It began to take shape when I was living with some friends in the middle of that rough 2020-2021 winter during the thick of the pandemic. I was experiencing some pretty intense anxiety about my past projects and sort of just wanted to fall in love with production again, not really use my voice in a lyrical way, and just see what happened. I’ve only made a couple songs with no lyrics over the past decade and often put it down for periods of time as I wanted to feel the feeling of no timeline. I was kind of tired of hearing my own voice at the time and every time I sat down to try to write at the piano, I would just start crying so I couldn’t get through anything I started. Later that year I was listening to someone talk about how we are essentially multiple people as we are in flux at every single moment.
Entering into the electric visions of Tiny the Dream; photographed by Jeanette Chwan.
This is something I’ve thought about a bit prior as I studied various philosophies of self during my Metaphysics capstone in college. But it rang true in a new way this time. It sort of just became "Many Selves" since I spent so much time wrestling with my musical identity and what I was, thinking so much about a past that no longer existed. I realized I’ve spent some time trying to fit into a mold even within my own flux. I thought this new beginning would make sense as Tiny the Dream, not only in a sense of the changing self-identity but also accepting others’ identities, that we can accept that people change into completely new people. That idea kinda started changing the way I perceive myself and the world around me in small ways. I am also exploring collaboration again and working with some incredible people that have been bringing what they have to offer to the table. Those collaborative songs are completely different from my electronic songs, but have given me the ability to explore new territory and it’s incredibly rewarding. The name Tiny the Dream came from the thought experiment that if I could keep going, that that was really enough. That faith” becomes tangible immediately when taking that little leap. It’s all about the beginning and that if I could just get started, the mystery would take it from there and maybe we could uncover some things together that have been unexplored.