Ben Neill is using a schizophrenic trumpet to create art music for the people. Wired Magazine
A creative composer, genius performer, and inventor of the mutantrumpet. Time Out NY
Ben Neill masterfully blurs the lines between electronic dance music and jazz sounds. Billboard
Ben Neill is the mad scientist of dancefloor jazz…an inventive and stimulating voyage. CMJ Monthly
9 out of 10 rating…Ben Neill is a mad scientist, and he has discovered the formula that breaks musical barriers. Mixmag
Calling Ben Neill a trumpeter is like calling Mr. Spock a frequent flyer…as vibrant as the galaxies beyond, both adventurous and artful. Boston Phoenix
Neill works with harmonies based on numerical relationships that produce spiritually powerful resonances. The result is trippy, otherworldly, seamlessly groovy. Interview Magazine
Ben Neill is a musical powerhouse, a serious and individual talent. Time Out London
Ben has roots in the usual sources, notably Miles Davis and Jon Hassell, but he’s staked out his own terrain in the sonic landscape, mixing fractured jungle loops under his free-form improvisations. His music is like a digital river, with a different fractalized scene around every corner, the constant being Ben Neill greeting you on your way. John Diliberto, Echoes
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Songs for Persephone CD with Mimi Goese out now on Ramseur Records!
FREE CONCERT at Lincoln Center by Mimi Goese and Ben Neill Thursday 11/17
Mimi Goese and Ben Neill: Songs for Persephone with Marlan Barry, cello/bass and Theo Metz, drums
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 8:30
Target Free Thursdays
David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center
Celebrating the release of the album, Songs for Persephone, this drop-dead beautiful collaboration between vocalist Mimi Goese and musician Ben Neill combines Goese’s emotionally charged vocals and lyrics with Neill’s uniquely hi-tech musical instrumentation. Inspired by the expressive possibilities of new technology as well as the natural beauty of New York’s Hudson Valley and the Hudson River School of painting, Goese and Neill used a fragment of a different 19th century romantic piece as the basis for each their songs. Reflecting the increasing influence of classical music in the work of contemporary artists such as Sufjan Stevens, the Decemberists, and the National, Goese and Neill reference Mahler, Berlioz, Bruckner, and others of the Romantic era to create a new form of lyricism that is distinctly contemporary, but colored with the dynamics and a patina of the older music filtered through digital processing. The end result is a heady musical blend of sounds that ranges from the chilled-out electronica of Air and Miike Snow to the symphonic grandeur of Sigur Ros, M83, and Mew. Goese’s lyrics bring an emotional power that reflects her fascination with nature and contemplative thought, themes that exemplify the 19th century romantic sensibility. Songs for Persephone creates an ideal vehicle for Goese’s powerfully evocative vocal and performance style, as well as for Neill’s performance on his self-designed instrument, the mutantrumpet.
The songs on the album are taken from the duo’s music theater piece Persephone, premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave Festival 2010.
Ben Neill at Judson Church Oct. 14
Ben Neill will present an ambient set at the famed Judson Church as part of the Auditorium series organized by Gamelatron founder Taylor Kuffner.
Ben Neill’s new CD Night Science is out now on Thirsty Ear Recordings. The new music combines dubstep beats and basslines with the sonic explorations of the newly redesigned mutantrumpet.
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new mutantrumpet
Ben has designed a new version of his unique electro-acoustic instrument, the mutantrumpet. Working with engineers and designers in New York and Amsterdam, Neill has greatly updated the electronic capabilities of his instrument. The mutantrumpet has been evolving since the mid-1980’s when Neill originally worked with synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog to design its first electronic interface. In 1992 Neill made the instrument fully computer interactive through a residency at the Steim studios in Amsterdam, a research and development lab for new instruments. The new mutantrumpet uses technologies from Steim as well as a new ergonomic design which now includes 8 continuous MIDI controllers and 8 momentary MIDI controllers in addition to the acoustic note and volume control from the instrument’s natural sound. The instrument connects directly to the computer via USB.