Ben Neill Blog

“Composer Ben Neill has brought a new angle to the dubstep scene with his hybrid mutantrumpet, merging the organic with the electronic. The closest comparison we could make would be Bass Clef, for his combination of live brass with dubstep twisted electronics. For this 12″s he’s called in DJ Pinch to remix ‘Afterimage’ from his ‘Night Science’ album, delivering a slick halfstep mover with sludgy subbass and dry percussive twists harnessing his trumpet parps. On the flip Neill provides the halfstepped ‘Seeker’, and the cool El-B style garage swing of ‘Afterimage’ in its original form. For fans of Bass Clef, Appleblim or Jazzsteppa.”

Vague Terrain 15: .microsound

Vague Terrain 15: .microsound

The latest of edition of Vague Terrain is dedicated to celebrating the tenth anniversary of the .microsound community. Guest curated by the American composer Kim Cascone, the issue provides a range of commentary and context on “sub-atomic” musical aesthetics and a window into this globally distributed community of electronic musicians. In Cascone’s own words .microsound is a fertile middle ground between “the ivory tower of sterile academia” and “the seizure-inducing din of the dance club”. For those unacquainted with this zone of musical production, this collection of work provides a perfect introduction.

Featuring text & video contributions by Ben Neill, Charles Turner, Dextro, Joanna Demers, Pere Villez, Thanos Chrysakis, Thomas Bey William Bailey and William L. Ashline.

Feature audio contributions from Mike Rooke, Lubrication, Ronnie Cramer, [ruidobello], Richard Lainhart, sound art, TomDjll, Brett Ian Balogh, Scant Intone, Yota Morimoto, Jorge Castro, Joaquin Gutierrez Hadid, Francesco Rosati, Asferico, Water Falls, Yann Novak, John Hanes, Epoch_Collapse, Jhenner Gayap Benadrilled, Skjølbrot, Markus Jones, Jon Hawken, Adern X Fades 4:38, Julien Ottavi, Vanessa Rossetto, Kim Cascone, Larnie Fox, eddie135, Di.J Crisis, shg, Cheryl E. Leonard, Noe Cuellar, Gary R. Weisberg, Osvaldo Cibils, Kotra, Gintas K, John Kannenberg, Ricky Pannowitz, ocp, TheSAD, Margaret Schedel, Pereshaped, so/on, Eric Miller, Nux Vomica, v4w.enko, UmanoidSomeday, Epoch Collapse, Umanoid and Noe Cuellar.

My article Inevitable Improvisations appears in the new edition of Vague Terrain, an online journal of digital art, culture and technology.

Repetitive Beats by Ant Scott, 2008

The 12″ of the DJ Pinch remix of Afterimage along with my new track Seeker and the album version of Afterimage is out now in the UK, available from If Music.

“The Pinch mix is as one would expect from one of the daddies of the scene. For us it’s all about ‘Seeker’. Erik Truffaz for 2009.”