Work samples

  • "Not About You"- Ari and the Buffalo Kings, Porch Concert
    With an opening melody inspired by the church bells of Greenmount Ave., "Not About You"is a declaration that, while songs may be written because of a heartbreak, songwriters don't owe that heartbreak nothing! So much more than the vindication of wounded egos, songwriting is an expression of identity, a synthesis and 'making sense' of our experiences and unique time & space. Performed by Ari and the Buffalo Kings on Ari's porch in Abell, May 2020.
  • UNMIXED STUDIO DEMO "At Home with Silvio" ft. Daisy Castro
    An unmixed, studio demo of "At Home with Silvio" by Ari and the Buffalo Kings, featuring violinist Daisy Castro. Dedicated to the great Cuban artist & teacher, Silvio Rodríguez. This demo is in preparation of the release of our debut studio album! Recorded by Wolfstream Media. Scratch vocals recorded by Ari Pluznik in his bedroom. Artwork by Satarah Fisher.

Share:

Facebook Twitter Share

About Ari

Baltimore City
Ari and the Buffalo Kings is the singer-songwriter project of Baltimore artist Ari Pluznik, joined by flautist Danielle Williams, guitarist/bassist Gino Hannah, and percussionist Jim Hannah, featuring a variety of special guests,  including accomplished violinist Daisy Castro and trumpeter Zach Silberschlag. With honest, introspective, and often humorous lyrics, Ari and the Buffalo Kings play original music inspired by Spanish guitar, classical flute, folksy three-part… more
Jump to a project:

Songs from the Heart-Mind: Live Performances 2020

Ari and the Buffalo Kings is a project near and dear to my heart. In fact, I call our music "songs from the heart-mind." It's an expression of my time and place, my history, my personality, and the collective musical hearts and minds of all the wonderful musicians who join me on this journey.

A lot of my songs are questions. A lot of my songs are expressions of raw emotion. A lot of my songs are me trying to figure out this life, this beautiful and turbulent life, and how best to live it.  My music stands for empathy, connection, the cultivation of compassion, and the fearless experience of one's own life, with all its beauty and tragedy. I make musical and lyrical connections across the places and heart-spaces that have made up my days on this Earth. These songs are a personal synthesis of cultures, philosophies, and worldviews: from the fantastical and all-too-real imagery of life in the Mozambican countryside, where I lived for two years serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer, to the rich storytelling, ethics, and humor of my Jewish heritage and the felt experience of vast spaciousness and open-heartedness of  mindfulness practice. 

Looking at the world today, all I want to do, all I feel I SHOULD do, is promote and cultivate compassion and connection in my community, in Baltimore and beyond. This is the heart of my life as an artist and human being. In other words, this music is my way of contributing light to the world. 

 Ari and the Buffalo Kings debut studio album is currently in production, with an expected release in summer of 2021!

- Ari

  • "Mr. Atom Bomb" - Ari and the Buffalo Kings, Porch Concert for C.M. Ball 2020
    Say healing's a process, I say it's an explosive one!! Live performance of "Mr. Atom Bomb" for the 2020 C.M. Ball, a home-grown Baltimore arts & music festival.
  • Baltimore Art Walk - Ari and the Buffalo Kings Highlight Reel
    A highlight reel of our sidewalk serenades as part of Baltimore's Highlandtown Art Walk, presented by the SouthEast CDC! Featuring our original songs, "Wombs and Alien Spirits", "Moses Complex", and "Questions I'd Ask". All three songs will be featured on our upcoming debut studio album!
  • "Wombs and Alien Spirit" - Ari and the Buffalo Kings, Porch Concert
    Ari and the Buffalo Kings perform "Wombs and Alien Spirits", inspired by Mt. Namuli and the folk beliefs of the Lomwé, Chuabo, and Mwinika people of Zambézia, Mozambique.
  • "Questions I'd Ask" - Ari and the Buffalo Kings, two-piece
    A flute, guitar, ukulele, and voice rendition of "Questions I'd Ask". When we sit with ourselves, and are at our most quiet, things become clearer, and we touch deeper the mysteries of life. A full-band, orchestrated version will be available on our upcoming debut album!
  • "Not About You"- Ari and the Buffalo Kings, Porch Concert
    With an opening melody inspired by the church bells of Greenmount Ave., "Not About You"is a declaration that, while songs may be written because of a heartbreak, songwriters don't owe that heartbreak nothing! So much more than the vindication of wounded egos, songwriting is an expression of identity, a synthesis and 'making sense' of our experiences and unique time & space. Performed by Ari and the Buffalo Kings on Ari's porch in Abell, May 2020.
    •

    • Cross-Cultural Collaborations

    In addition to writing and performing our original music, we love to collaborate cross-culturally on a variety of interesting projects! It's an honor and a privelidge to make connections with folks around the world and engage in creative cultural exchange,  representing our identities and cultures and expressing ourselves in new, collaborative ways .

    Included in this portfolio is a modern rendition of Hanukkah folk music by Ari and the Schlags, an original composition by Danielle Williams in the style of an Argentinian Zamba that she learned as part of Teach to Learn's musician's fellowship, and a single from Ari Pluznik's 2018 keystone Peace Corps project: "Somos Todos Iguais", a Mozambican-American cross-cultural album that features Mozambican rapper, Hipólite. Also included is footage of Banda Revelação, the community band Ari Pluznik studied and performed with while serving in the Peace Corps in Pebane, Mozambique, and a recording of Stay All Night at the Chalfonte in Cape May, NJ performing "Yo te quiero", with Ari and the Buffalo Kings as the rhythm section!
    • "Hannukah Medley" - Ari & the Schlags
      Recorded for Friends of Patterson Park's 2020 Pagoda Lighting Ceremony, Ari Pluznik performs alongside accomplished classical musicians Zach and Nathaniel Silberschlag an original Hannukah medley of Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah and Ocho Kandelikas, in English, Yiddish, and Ladino (Judeo-Spanish).
    • "Delfines: Argentinian Zamba" by Danielle Williams
      Danielle Williams & Ari Pluznik, alongside Rodolfo Escalona, perform an original composition by Danielle Williams in the style of an Argentinian Zamba, as part of Danielle's Teach To Learn musician's fellowship.
    • "Somos Todos Iguais" - Hipólite ft. Ari Pluznik & Revolver
      Mozambique meets the USA in a transatlantic, cross-cultural meeting of musical minds. American musicians Ari Pluznik, Erik Schwarzenberg, and Peace Corps friends provide the aural backdrop to HipóLite's musical storytelling in Portuguese, English, and Changana, the local language of Maputo province, Mozambique. This single, along with the album of the same name, is the result of a two year long friendship between Peace Corps Volunteer Ari Pluznik, Maputo native Hipólito Sandes, and Baltimore-based musician Erik Schwarzenberg (Revolver). Together, the three musicians incubated these tunes transatlantically, writing and recording in both Mozambique and Baltimore, Maryland. The full album may be found on Bandcamp, Spotify, and iTunes, under the name "Somos Todos Iguais" by Hipólito, and was made possible by the Peace Corps Partnership Program grant.
    • Banda Revelação de Pebane, Mozambique
      Footage from early 2018 of Banda Revelação of Pebane, Mozambique performing an original song in their mother tongue, Mwinika! Ari served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Pebane from 2016-2018 and had the honor of collaborating with these community musicians as their principal bass player. Together, they made much music and performed at community events, making it all the way to playing on stage at the regionally famous Zalala Music Festival in Quelimane, Mozambique!
    • Yo Te Quiero - Stay All Night at the Chalfonte in Cape May, NJ
      Stay All Night, a yearly conglomeration of Baltimore and Cape May musicians, pay homage to Latin Tango with Yo Te Quiero, featuring Zen Xaria on voice, Daisy Castro on violin, and Zach Silberschlag on Trumpet, accompanied by Gino Hannah on guitar, Ari Pluznik on electric upright bass, and Jim Hannah on percussion.
    •

    • Quarantine Project: Art on the Wall (pop single)

    Spring 2020, in the throes of quarantine, Ari Pluznik recorded, mixed, shot, and edited his first bedroom pop single & music video entirely on an iPhone,  starring his sweet yet reluctant kitty, Soju. 

    Thank you to all the artists whose beautiful art is on Ari's wall! With illustration by Anand Macherla, skeleton whale by Daisy Castro (album cover for psych-folk duo, Clavicles), photo of Ari and Mom by Memi Pluznik, Alpha Cat by Sam Goodrich, Tidal Shifts inspired crying elf by Zen Xaria, and a lovely Keith Haring postcard from an exhibition in Soul. Italian Alps photo by Ari Pluznik, and the postcards were a beloved gift! 

    • Art on the Wall - Ari Pluznik, quarantine bedroom pop
      "Art on the Wall" by Ari Pluznik, recorded and produced entirely on an iPhone.
    •

    Commissioned Artwork: Ari and the Buffalo Kings

    In preparation for the release of our debut studio album, we have commissioned four artists to create their own Buffalo King heads to be featured on the album cover and subsequent creations! Still in development, we have two Buffalo Kings that are ready to share <3
    • Buffalo King by Zen Xaria
      Buffalo King by Zen Xaria
      Buffalo King by Zen Xaria, Digital Illustration, 2020
    • Buffalo King by Satarah Fisher
      Buffalo King by Satarah Fisher
      Buffalo King by Satarah Fisher, Digital Illustration, 2020
    •