Otto Benevolenza, known as 8B, is an italian singer-songwriter, a sound 'n' vocal explorer, an overenthusiastic performer and a mixed-media designer from Milano.
8B is a motivational music maker usually accompanied by a smile, guitar, loop station, noisy stuff, a black hat and a lot of positiveB*.
*positiveB = a "well taken" person in an extremely optimistic and inexplicably positive expression of happiness.
Genre: Soul, Funk, Reggae roots, Experimental music, Electronic music.
The name 8B derives from a fusion of the number 8 (otto) otto- and the letter -B.
The union of these 2 characters generates a contracted form that in an inquiring italian tone expresses interest in the mood of others, Oh! Tò-bì?
History
He grew up influenced by listening to a mix of funk, jazz, oldies, bossa, carribean, pop and electronic music up to his first musical experiences in some cover bands such as Jamiroquai and The Police, but after the break-up of yet another band, in early 2014 he decided to take up the guitar as a self-taught musician in order to express himself freely and give vent to his voice.
He began the first live shows with a wide variety of covers rearranged in an acoustic and possibly upbeat key. The first sketches saw the light of day, where 8B's motivational optimism, warm jokes and colloquially shrill voice revealed his hitherto hidden potential as an entertainer. Various personal episodes, the artistic growth of that period and the desire to prove himself led him to start writing his first lyrics, and enthusiasm was immediately high.
That's how it start the fantastic adventure on the 'island' of Ostello Bello in Milan, where for more than 5 years years he organise Milan's first Open Mic night dedicated exclusively to songwriting and independent productions: @OBopenmic.
Rules are the same as the original UK open mic: 15 minutes to play a maximum of 3 tracks (only original and NO-cover).
8B builds the event, designs graphic identity, conducts, performs, entertains, photographs and acts as SSM.
Through these multiple activities he honed his strong multitasking and problem solving skills and also a certain stage anxiety (yes, they all have it a bit), but above all his intense musical experience on stage.
Over 60 evenings in recent years have promoted singer-songwriter music every month and have been able to inspire, stimulate and support many singer-songwriters, especially from the Milanese and northern Italian scene.
Thanks to the enthusiasm and the strong response of the audience and artists, 8B has come up with a new exclusive Open Mic side project, called "Open Mic Extended Version", in which 3 artists selected by 8B from the best of the previous Open Mic evenings, perform for 30 minutes each and answer 8B's uncomfortable questions, an evening of talk, insights and music in the lounge of Ostello Bello.
From late 2017 to 2019, he co-found the Aye Aye project, an evolution of Dubbation cover band, where he deepened and tightened his connection to roots reggae music, dub influences and international songwriting.
This incredible adventure led to numerous concerts, appearances at festivals throughout northern Italy where they performed classics and non-classics that made the history of roots reggae, dub and rocksteady, Toots and the maytals, Max Romeo, The Gladiators, Midnite, Jacob Miller and many others.
This beautiful collaboration was memorably sealed with the creation and production of three timeless tracks, and incredibly perfected on a Jamaican trip, in studio with the holy monsters of roots reggae. An EP whose singles, starting with the first '100 Skies', will be released by the end of 2022.
He is currently working on his first album, a collection of experiences in music for a first work of unreleased tracks in different language codes.
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8B
website — 8Bmusic.com
email — info@8b8b.it / gmail
8B on digital stores — https://songwhip.com/8b
