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BEN
CHRISTOPHERS
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Wolverhampton
singer/songwriter influenced by David Sylvian, Talk Talk and The Cocteau
Twins. |
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Appeared
August 2000
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NEW TALENT Living life forever in the plural, Ben Christophers is a singularly impressive talent. Hailing from Albrighton, just outside Wolverhampton, Christophers’ debut album, My Beautiful Demon (V2) is an exquisite yet moody affair. Full of strange shapes and musical angles, its apparent sparseness gives the collection a bleak feel. "Some people have said that it is bleak," says the singer-songwriter. "I think it has those moments, but there is an underlying optimism to it - it’s not bleak in a darkest sense. It’s actually quite a romantic album. It can be quite eerie and unsettling, but there are other elements that almost make it euphoric. I like that balance between dark and the light." One of the guiding lights behind the album’s unique sound has been producer David Kosten, aka Faultline. "One of the reasons I wanted to work with Kosten is that he’s such an innovative musician himself and doesn’t really follow any particular rules. He’s very avant-garde in his approach to recording. A lot of the things we did on the record were just general mistakes, and rather than try to correct 'em, we looked at these moments where strings would rattle on a fret or something, and just leave them in. We didn’t want to make a record that was stagnant, we wanted to give it a human edge." With a voice that, at times, sounds almost like David McAlmont, Christophers influences include such acclaimed ‘80s stars as Talk Talk, Cocteau Twins, Kate Bush and Japan’s David Sylvian, whose later outputs all drifted towards improvisation and jazz. "I’m very much a big fan of Sylvian. I’ve been very much influenced by him, and in particular The Secrets of the Beehive, which for me is one of the greatest albums. It’s acoustic, rather lo-fi and fairly electronic, and with great songs underneath. It works so beautifully and that’s what I wanted to create with my record." Surpringly, despite the complexities of the album, Christophers performs solo. "So far what I’ve been doing is going on stage with an eight track tape machine, a piano and guitar. It’s song, guitar and vocal driven, although I have drum loops and a few effects that come in. It’s quite ambient. I mix the sounds in and out, and it sounds very full. It’s the sort of sound you can create in a small room and in a big place." Having spent the last few years working towards his album, Christophers is perfectly aware of the influence of his parents. "My mum and dad are potters and I spent my childhood at the wheel getting sprayed with clay and learning the throw pots. It was a very creative environment. My mum was a painter as well, and she used to roll out huge rolls of paper in the garden and paint for hours. It was a very creative upbringing and music was a natural progression for me as we had lots of music in the house too." Dave Freak, go2Birmingham, August 1999 |
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