Patience is a virtue, or so the saying goes, but in this case, Patience is also the name of the latest single from OzzyLino. Released at the end of August, the new single has a soulful vibe and a pop sheen in the classic style, marking the recording return of the popular singer-songwriter after an absence of almost a decade. His last release was in fact the Taking It Easy album in 2007, which had been released under the Jewls Verse moniker.
Despite not releasing anything since then, OzzyLino had in fact never stopped writing. He had confirmed this to me a while back, when I had bumped into him at a local gig. He was very enthusiastic about the several works-in-progress he had in the pipeline then, but was in no hurry to release anything. "I needed to take my time", he said of the 'in-between' period. "I was busy with gigs too, but on the songwriting front I wanted to be sure that the songs I would eventually share with the public really meant something to me".
A household name on the local music scene for many years, OzzyLino unexpectedly found himself in the international limelight thanks to an impromptu intervention on his part during a casual busking session by guitarist Kiddo Kat and percussionist Heidi Joubert on board a train in Germany. The footage for the spontaneous musical collaboration, a stripped-down interpretation of Prince's Kiss, was later posted online and went viral, with the 'Random Passenger' video notching up tens of thousands of views. "As unexpected as it was, that train ride served as a boost to me", OzzyLino added. "After all the hype it caused, I couldn't wait to tell the world what I felt and kept inside for so long". The new single is available here.