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Topic ClosedAustralian Prog Artist Ben Craven

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glassonyonpr View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Australian Prog Artist Ben Craven
    Posted: March 22 2016 at 09:56
For Immediate Release

Australian Prog Artist Ben Craven To Release Third Album “Last Chance To Hear” Featuring Guest Contributions By William Shatner and Billy Sherwood

“Seriously well-distilled and blended” - Van Dyke Parks

Brisbane, Australia – Australian cinematic progressive-rock singer-songwriter Ben Craven is releasing his highly anticipated third album “Last Chance To Hear”. The new release features guest contributions by YES legend Billy Sherwood and iconic actor William Shatner (yes, Capt. Kirk himself!!!). A new single titled “The Remarkable Man” is available for immediate download when pre-ordering the album. It's an imaginary theme song from a spy thriller movie franchise.

Says Ben, “ 'Last Chance To Hear' is loosely inspired by the end of the music industry as we knew it. There’s never been a time when so much new music was being made by so many people and being listened to by so few people. The concept of paying for new music is now alien to a lot of the audience. Digital downloads have made physical media virtually obsolete. Streaming services mean that anybody making new music is now competing with the whole history of recorded music. And the album format is in danger of becoming extinct. There's never been a time full of more 'opportunity' than now. So I made an album about it.

The new album is a logical progression from my previous album, 'Great & Terrible Potions'. The arrangements are more confident and more purposeful. But probably the biggest difference is that there are fewer vocals on this new one. 'Last Chance To Hear' is more about having the confidence, and presumably the competence, to let the music do the talking.”

The obvious question is how did Ben recruit such iconic artists as William Shatner and Billy Sherwood to guest on his new album? Ben explains, “I was not my first choice to perform the vocals on 'Spy In The Sky Part 3'. I pored over the melody and the lyrics to get them just right. But when I finally ran through the completed lyrics in my head, I could only imagine a speaking voice.

Immediately I thought 'William Shatner!' and loved the idea. Then reality kicked back in and I got on with the job of singing my own vocals. Except the idea never went away. It kept nagging and eating away at me, like all good ideas do. And here I was willing to give up my own vocal performance on the most dramatic piece of music on the album! So I had to stop ignoring it.

I reached out to Billy Sherwood who as you know produced William Shatner's last album, the excellent 'Ponder The Mystery'. Billy would have been my first and only choice to record the session. I asked him if he thought the concept of having Shatner appear one of my songs would even be possible. Amazingly, everyone agreed, and Billy is the one who actually made it happen.

Deep down I felt a lingering terror that the music might collapse under the weight of a William Shatner vocal performance. But I suspect Shatner realized the opposite. He played the lead vocalist role perfectly, as boldly and grandly as the music aspired to be. It is an awesome combination and he brought the track up to a new level altogether. I love it.”

Hailing from Brisbane, Australia, immersed as a toddler in the era of big prog rock, Craven taught himself guitar and keyboards and joined a series of bands. None of them made it and none of them remotely played the kind of music that had been burned into his mainframe as a kid. Nonetheless, the songs he wrote accumulated steadily. In 2005, Craven dispensed entirely with the band approach and recorded his debut album, “Two False Idols” under the name of Tunisia. The result was a work of incredible maturity, with influences ranging from Pink Floyd and Brian Wilson to the likes of Bernard Herrmann and John Barry.

Says Ben, “My usual suspect influences are Pink Floyd, Mike Oldfield, Yes and King Crimson. But just as important are composers like Bernard Herrmann, John Barry, Henry Mancini and John Williams. I seem to blend progressive music with film soundtrack elements. I'm also a Brian Wilson tragic.”

As Craven worked his first album it became painfully obvious that the music business was in the midst of a sea change, and most of the old guard didn't seem to realize they were the cause. Very quickly he took an anti-DRM stance and released the live acoustic EP “Under Deconstruction” as a high-quality free download.

Craven stepped up a gear for his sophomore album, “Great & Terrible Potions”. Delivering on the cinematic promise of “Two False Idols”, “Potions'” went widescreen as Craven blurred the boundaries between conventional songs and orchestral soundtracks. Augmented by a stunning cover designed by legendary artist Roger Dean (Yes, Uriah Heep, Asia), “Potions” was dense, complicated and unashamedly pretentious – everything a good prog rock album should be! Or, to put it another way, Craven sounded exactly like someone reveling in the creative freedom that came only from not worrying about what others wanted, and delivering what he felt instead.

And now, much to the excitement of Prog fans worldwide, Ben is releasing his latest masterpiece “Last Chance To Hear”!

Here's what the press raved about Ben Craven's previous release:

Heavy-duty prog rock monster” - Anil Prasad, Innerviews

Cracking virtuoso performance by an absurdly talented individual” - Classic Rock Society

Craven’s one-man-band production is a prog opus for the 21st century” - Musoscribe

All the drama, thunder, strum and drang you could want the spiritual grand child of Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson to bring” - Midwest Record

Craven’s tremendous ability to combine memorable hooks with complex progressive rock and cinematic orchestral music is astounding” - Sea Of Tranquility

Press play and this album does the rest” - Muzikreviews

In support of “Last Chance To Hear” Ben is putting together a one-man show for the album launch event in April, and hopes to develop it for further performances.

In closing Ben has this to impart to his fans and listeners, “This is a desperate time for music. The landscape is littered with album reissues, remixes, repackages and compilations. Record companies are trying to squeeze out every last cent while they still can. Some artists only put out new albums so they can tour. Others have decided that nobody wants to hear their new music so they don't bother making any. There’s so much noise out there now that it’s virtually impossible for anyone to stand out without the marketing might of a big record label. I want people to know that there are still those of us flying under the radar, the obsessives, who make music because it keeps us alive. With no realistic expectations of financial success, it's the anticipation of the next song, the one we haven't finished yet, that keeps us going!”

For more information: http://bencraven.com/

The Remarkable Man” video: https://youtu.be/eEWnhjJVTUg

To purchase Ben Craven's “Last Chance To Hear”: https://bencraven.bandcamp.com/album/last-chance-to-hear

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158 (USA), glasso[email protected]
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EddieRUKiddingVarese View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 22 2016 at 18:16
Big sound type production, will give it another listen
"Everyone is born with genius, but most people only keep it a few minutes"
and I need the knits, the double knits!
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Tom Ozric View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 22 2016 at 18:32
Great And Terrible Potions is one of my treasured LP's from a modern Aussie artist with exceptional talents. And to have Sherwood's input and Shatner's prescence, this has got to be another winner. Hope it gets pressed to vinyl, like all great things !!
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 22 2016 at 18:32
Very looking forward to this! Ben Craven is a great talent, and a genuinely nice guy as well. His previous album `Great and Terrible Potions' was terrific, a lovely mix of symphonic prog with song-songwriting and warm production. A very addictive LP and easy to replay anytime!

Oh, and here's the cover art for the new one, which I swear instantly reminds me of the Ozric Tentacles!

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 22 2016 at 18:38
^ Yep - very Ozric-y
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