Melbourne lad Ben Wright Smith is back gracing our ears with his latest single No One. 2015 will be a busy year as Ben begin his “No One” tour around Australia. In 2014, his EP In Parallel was released, with the combination of folk, rock, psychedelic and acoustic tracks gaining him a lot of attention nationally and internationally.
Melbourne crooner Ben Wright Smith continues his brilliant form In Parallel on No One.
2014 saw Ben take out the title of the Australian Council Nashville Songwriting Residency grant, which funded his three month trip to Nashville where he played gigs and worked with producer Mark Moffatt. Being involved in producing music from a young age, Ben recorded a rap album when he was 12 with a bass guitar, Casio keyboard, sample drum beats off the internet and his own lyrics. Definitely doesn’t sound like your typical twelive! His teenage years were spent going to punk and ska gigs around Melbourne, as well as teaching himself how to play punk music on his guitar. This then progressed to writing more lyrics, getting his hands on an old lap steel guitar from a local pawn shop, and once again teaching himself more guitar.
Ben’s latest single No One was recorded at The Aviary in Melbourne, and was a bit of a friendly collaboration. Ben’s mate Oscar Bawson helped with the recording and Ali Barter, another friend, contributed to the vocals on the track. Most of the instruments were recorded live, with the drums and bass done in one take, resulting in the single taking about a week to record.
No One is a mix of indie, folk and rock n roll. It has such an up beat and catchy sound mixed with a chilled out and mellow vibe. It has a bit of a Boy and Bear sound to it, sporting Ben’s unique and non-threatening vocals paired with twangy guitar sounds and jaunty drum beats. No One has already proved itself to have a good showing; on the day of its release it was named one of the top five Australian singles of the week and a week after release was featured on the triple J Hit List. If this is any indication of what the rest of the album will be like, then it is definitely not one to be missed.
So, what does the rest of the year look like for Ben? His Australian tour kicks off on April 24th and will keep him pretty occupied until May 16th. 2015 will also see Ben record the rest of the new songs he’s written, so fingers crossed this means his upcoming album will be released later in the year!
You can catch him on the road on the following dates:
Friday 24th April – Some Velvet Morning, Clifton Hill, VIC
Sunday 26th April – Birdhouse, Wagga Wagga, NSW
Thursday 30th April – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney, NSW
Friday 1st May – The Cambridge (Warehouse), Newcastle, NSW
Monday 4th May – The Rails, Byron Bay, NSW
Thursday 7th May – The Bearded Lady w/ Hannah Rosa, Brisbane, QLD
Friday 8th May – Spotted Cow, Toowoomba, QLD
Saturday 9th May – Sol Bar, Maroochydore, QLD
Sunday 10th May – The Triffid (curated by Sarah Howells), Brisbane, QLD
Saturday 16th May – Hugs & Kisses, Melbourne, VIC
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