Music
Press
So what have you done to support alternative energy? Odds are, if anything, you’re being outbatted by Ben Karis-Nix. Karis-Nix (pictured), a former member of Albany rockers the Orange, as well as MySpace friends and Warped Tour phenoms Jupiter Sunrise, is scheduled to be the one and only artist displaying and selling his wind-energy-themed goods at this week’s Community Wind Energy 2008 conference, to be held Monday through Wednesday (April 14-16) at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. Presented by the nonprofit organization Windustry, CWE aims to “bring economic development, agriculture and wind energy together to advance opportunities for locally owned clean energy production.”
How does Karis-Nix, the musician, fit in? He doesn’t, but Karis-Nix, the artist and clothing designer, does: He’ll be exhibiting his Run, We Must apparel line at CWE, debuting a new series of pro-wind-energy designs on hats and tees, in addition to a limited number of screen-printed posters. He previously released an “I Heart Windmills” T-shirt design, from which he’s donated 10 percent of proceeds to Windustry; for CWE, he’ll donate 20 percent of the whole haul. Check out the wearables at runwemust.com.
Of course Karis-Nix, the musician, is still very much at it. His recent multimedia effort, We Are Giants Now, which pairs three mini-disc singles with original silkscreened poster art, is available at wearegiantsnow.com. He’s also working on an audio-visual project called The Reverie of Ruby Star, expected for release this fall, and, he’ll take his band out for a spin at Tess’ Lark Tavern this Monday night (April 14), with Los Angeles band the Hanks sharing the bill. - Metroland
Think of Ben Karis-Nix as an "integrated man". Recently featured on the CW's "One Tree Hill," this dreamy, experimental, indie-popster is releasing mini-disc singles attached to his own silkscreen poster art. He's a clear example and product of our current creative generation where tools and technology are finally catching up to artists' potential uses and ideas (another example: see Ben's newly resurrected video, "Steal Me," directed by Ben KN & recorded with former band, Jupiter Sunrise, debuting Tues. night, January 8th www.youtube.com/benkarisnix).
Ben's latest endeavor is the "We Are Giants Now" EP / Poster Art series - a uniquely presented work which ties many of his interests and talents into a clear vision.
The music portion of the release is three gorgeous home-recorded songs representing different views of love.
"Giants" is a woozy, reverent homage to the kind of love found when building something new with a partner. Its worksong / lovesong nature is infectious and offers more with each listen.
"Joy All the Time" explores fear and longing in love spurned by long distance. Its wistful waltz tempo brings listeners to a place where worry, hope and love collide.
The last song "Magazines" has been around for awhile and has seen a few different arrangements across Ben's previous band situations. This first "official" release of the song sees it embracing a drastically different architecture. Driven by a skittery dance beat and thrumming acoustic guitars, Ben sings a tale of a boy who dreams an escape for he and his magazine-reading lover.
While rooted in pop music, the EP is full of sonic experimentation. The undercarriage of "Giants" is a looped sample of frogs and critters heard in Ben's rural backyard. He composed the electronic beats for the song based around the animals' primal gurgling. When the song's layers begin to peel away during the outro, it is revealed that crickets and cheepers have been sharing the same space as the rest of the musical elements throughout. "Magazines" features a "solo" of sorts which was created by manipulating samples of birdsongs, again from Ben's backyard. It is quite amazing to discover these details and gems hidden within this complex recording.
Though most of the music was performed and recorded by Ben himself, a significant contribution was plied by his wife Olivia whose voice graces each song with brilliant harmonies, counterpoint and texture. That she is the subject and inspiration for these songs is all the more poignant.
Ben's interest in visual art throughout high school, college and life has run concurrently with his musical interest. His style displays a fantastical world of symbolism and wonder that matches the world he weaves with his lyrics. It is only fitting that this recording would be presented to consumers with images attached. Each song has a hand silk-screened poster representation that comes with a 3" CD single of the song affixed to it. All three songs are available separately or the entire series can be purchased as a triptych. Meanwhile, free mp3 downloads of the songs are available to anyone who is interested in listening.
Currently, Ben is in the studio working on a multi-media project that integrates recent songwriting with animated vignettes intended for recorded release, film festivals, and immersive audio/visual live performances. Clearly we have reached an age of immense possibility and can only hope that technology will help artists to create to the apex of their abilities. The "We Are Giants Now" EP is evidence that there is much much more to come from Ben Karis-Nix. Keep your eyes, ears and heart peeled. - Matthew Loiacono, Weekly Wahhh
"Ben's performance, up close and unplugged, was the best thing I’ve ever witnessed live." - Tom Anderson - Tom Anderson, MySpace founder
"It's incumbent on you to go out and destroy the music business... the music business is collapsing pretty well [and] that's not a bad thing. There's a lot of entrenched things that weren't really beneficial to artists or listeners. It sounds like you're doing some of that job in terms of destroying the music business in a good way." - Michael Eck, speaking to Ben in reference to his forthcoming digital release, "We Are Giants Now." This release offers music for free and for digital download to encourage peer-to-peer file sharing while merchandising those songs with silkscreen poster art direct from Ben's website. - Michael Eck, WAMC
Discography
"We Are Giants Now" EP, Collar City Records, Spring 2008
"We Are Giants Now," 3 songs & poster art, Winter 2008
Older discography with former project, "Jupiter Sunrise," includes "Under A Killer Blue Sky" (Undecided Records/Victory Records) as well as MySpace Comp. Vol 1 featuring Ben's song, "Arthur Nix."
Photos
Bio
Sounds like: vocal cadence of Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), rootsy Wilco sensibilities, and Postal Service electronic/indie pop production.
Bio: Songwriter and multimedia artist Ben Karis-Nix has fortified his reflections on life, love, and the natural world across many miles and media. This year Ben KN is on the road once again performing with new sounds - an ensemble of stringed instruments backed by beats, blips, and spacey synths - all emanating from an entourage of his musician pals and a heap of electronic beat-generating gizmos.
Latest Release: In 2008, Ben released his first solo EP, We Are Giants Now via Collar City Records. A skilled mix of the organic and the digital, We Are Giants Now explores the artist's yearnings for seclusion in nature juxtaposed with the prolonged courtship of his wife, Olivia (whose voice is also featured on the record). With a sonic palate that includes programmed beats, subtle synths, various stringed instruments, and orchestrations of insect and bird sounds, Ben's solo debut represents a surprisingly fresh and musically gratifying new direction for Ben.
Television and Radio: Ben's recordings, performances, and songwriting have earned him features on the CW show "One Tree Hill," MTV’s "Road Rules" and "Real World, "NPR's "Weekend Edition," and MySpace Compilation Vol. 1. In NY, MA, VT and NH Ben's music has been featured on independent stations WEQX and WDST, as well as public radio's WAMC, WEXT, and numerous college stations.
Touring: Over the course of his career Ben has toured or shared the stage with Elliot Smith, Hello Goodbye, Coheed and Cambria, the Roots, Onelinedrawing (Jonah Matrenga), Ludo, and many other artists of note. Hand picked by MySpace founder Tom Anderson, Ben performed for the entirety of Van's Warped Tour in 2005 as the MySpace "house band" with his previous project, Jupiter Sunrise. As a solo artist, Ben has performed throughout 2008 and 2009 as a favorite among numerous colleges and art & music fests as he continues to support his solo EP and show his printed artwork and clothing designs (www.runwemust.com).
New Music & Media: Ben is also earning a reputation as a talented animator/director. His most recent video for Ludo's "Save Our City" (Island Def Jam / Redbird Records) was a featured video of the day on American Online in Fall of 2009. Keep a lookout for the first staged releases of Ben's trans-media endeavor, The Reverie of Ruby Star, a series of animated featurettes, music, and graphic art pieces currently in progress.
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