Ben Featherstone — Prisoner to the Wind (Dec. 20th, 2019)
•⊆⊇• Ben Featherstone právě vydal své debutové album „Prisoner to the Wind“, album, které vznikalo asi deset let. Ben nám vypráví více o nahrávce a písních na albu, spolu s tím, co ho inspirovalo k tomu, aby začal hrát hudbu a jak potka Russella Crowe v baru…
•⊆⊇• The album has been mostly recorded in a 400 year old abandoned chapel on a disused cemetary in the middle of no where on mostly a 1950’s reel to reel, beautiful Neumann microphones and classic Neve Pre amps — All powered by a caravan battery and a type writer. These songs have been crafted for a decade, they have travelled round the world, through jungles and over thousands of miles through deserts. They serve as a diary, a window and a mirror.
Location: Brighton, United Kingdom
Genre: Contemporary Folk
Album release: Dec. 20th, 2019
Record Label: Featherstone Creative
Duration: 55:54
Tracks:
01 Prisoner to the Wind 3:40
02 Ageless Lady (feat. Sophie Ryan) 4:31
03 Octopus Song 3:38
04 Chasing Stars (feat. Sophie Ryan) 3:12
05 Miss You 3:43
06 Emma Lee 3:59
07 Cold White Snow (feat. Sophie Ryan) 4:32
08 Fat Mojo Moon 4:30
09 Red Light 4:55
10 FANTASMOGLORIA 4:49
11 Excuses 4:52
12 St. Catherine’s Hil 5:53
13 Redfern 3:40
Review by Jason Ritchie, Score: ★★★★
•⊆⊇• Ben Featherstone has been working on this album over the past decade, mostly recorded in a 400 year old abandoned chapel on a disused cemetary in the middle of nowhere on mostly a 1950′s reel to reel, Neumann microphones and classic Neve Pre amps — all powered by a caravan battery and a type writer.
•⊆⊇• It really is a musical labour of love, which features some guest musicians including Robert Webb (Cliff Richard, composer), who lays down the jaw dropping Hammond organ solo on ‘Fantasmogloria’, cellist Bryony James (Celine Dion, Adele) and bassist Dan Hawkins (Katy Melua, Rod Stewart).
•⊆⊇• The album was mastered at Abbey Road Studios London by the Andy Walter (U2, Roger Waters, film scores).
•⊆⊇• ‘Ageless Lady’, is simply wonderful which despite its sad lyric, features uplifting music and Ben’s vocals that at times remind me of Ray LaMontagne. The cello and piano lead into an operatic climax, which is sung in four different languages. ‘Cold White Snow’ is another vocal marvel, written after he met Nick Cave and it has that melancholic air you associate with Cave’s music. His singing really does sound as though he is singing live to you thanks to the painstaking effort that has gone into the recording.
•⊆⊇• ‘Miss You’ recalls Jackie Leven, featuring a gentle guitar and Celtic drums providing a folk backbeat. ‘Chasing Stars’ is a beautiful tale of missing a loved one, with the emotive lyric “I wish you were here, will you come for me, I can’t wrap my arms around a memory”. For those who love a meaningful lyric there are many dotted throughout this album.
•⊆⊇• Special mention to ‘Fantasmogloria’, a song that veers from the gently acoustic through to a rip roaring Hammond solo from Robert Webb, before ending back on a gentle acoustic lilt.
•⊆⊇• If he never makes another album (and I for one sincerely hope he does), given the time, emotion and effort put into ‘Prisoner To The Wind’, Ben Featherstone can be proud that he has produced an album to be savoured and returned to time and time again.
•⊆⊇• http://getreadytorock.me.uk/
Website: https://www.benfeatherstone.com/
Interview / Jason Ritchie: http://getreadytorock.me.uk/blog/2019/08/interview-ben-featherstone/
PRESS:
• The session musicians involved have collectively performed with David Bowie, John Martyn, Nick Drake, The London Symphony Orchestra, Public Image, Rod Stewart, Katy Melua, Adele and many more legends.
• “I counted four or five different genres, reading between the lines of his lyrics you can tell this is a man who has experienced a rich tapestry of life, love and loss” — The Guardian
• “His gentle voice, at times reminiscent to these ears of I Am A Bird Now era Antony & The Johnsons, 10~years~in~the making, Prisoner To The Wind promises to be special.” — Folk Radio
• “The days of the record shop are over, but the days of albums are not. While streaming incubi such as Spotify swarm around single songs, the idea of an artist creating a piece of work that lasts for over an hour instead of less than five minutes is thankfully alive. Recently in the early autumn, I woke at dawn and decided to drive through the Sussex Downs and weave my car between the graves of my parents in Lancing and Sompting as the sun came up. I did this listening to Featherstone's album and I cannot think of better music to have consoled and cheered me during that reflective journey. Recommended listening.” — Monty Munford, South By South West journalist panellist and writer for The Economist, BBC and Forbes