Ben Stewart
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Music
Press
The construction of a man
Written and produced by Brisbane’s Ben Stewart, Social Architecture is a collection of wonderfully performed songs. Styles are numerous on this multi faceted album whereby the acoustic guitar and Stewart’s dramatic voice are central to each song. In fact, the album is fully brought to consciousness via the versatile nature of Stewart’s singing. He stutters, he grooves, he croons and performs each track with appropriate interpretation. Should the song be of a folk nature then Stewart’s voice appropriately softens, at times perhaps bringing to mind Cat Stevens. Songs are of a quicker pace and higher intensity make Stewart take on those attributes as well. With the variety of styles used you could claim the album lacks a cohesive nature, but this is accomplished through the personal themes and further highlighted by the central acoustic guitar. If you want a variety of acoustic music constructed with heart by one man then listen here.
DAVID FANNON - Rave Magazine - Brisbane
Ever on the job, local singer-songwriter/producer Ben Stewart has expanded on the stripped-back solo indulgences of his 2006 debut album In The Absence Of Fear with his second album in two years, Social Architecture. While its predecessor was purely a one-man show, Social Architecture sees the diversely-talented Stewart swinging favours from local friends and incorporating a broader aural lattice via Dick Desert & The Shotgun Country Club’s Caustic Kev on harmonica, The Boat People’s James O’Brien on bass, Emma Dean on string arrangements, and a whole gaggle more.
This contributes to a further fleshed-out sound that captures the scope of Stewart’s wider vision on tracks such as ‘What More Could I do’, ‘In The Arms Of A Woman’, ‘Slow Motion’, and ‘My Phantom Pushed The Button’. Such expansion points to more good things for this local talent, one whose options appear far from few.
Nonetheless, Stewart himself steals the show in solo mode on secret track ‘Help Me Find My Way’. An a cappella beauty that won Stewart the 2006 Q Song Award in the Gospel Category, this emotive album closer is perhaps the best witness to the fact that, without blowing his own horn, Stewart’s vocals reach the envied heights of one Jeff Buckley.
(Justin Grey)
- Time Off - Brisbane
Discography
Angry Birds (LP)
In the Absence of Fear (LP)
Social Architecture (LP)
Photos
Bio
Ben Stewart is experimenting on you. He’s probing you to find the alien in your head. Ah, it may be cunningly disguised as human, it may even THINK its are human. But the way it sometimes bursts with fits of despair, passion, happiness or fury; the way it shrinks away like a frail shy bird; it’s definitely an alien
Using puzzling words and colourful melodies, Ben’s music is sometimes beautiful, sometimes violent, sometimes furious, sometimes fragile and sometimes darkly funny. He draws influence not only from other music (David Bowie, Radiohead, the Dresden Dolls, Nirvana and Bob Dylan), but also books (Hugo, Rushdie, Marquez and Ginsberg), musicals, theatre, cinema, newspapers and the faces of the alien-filled people walking the streets. Ben searches for the gray areas of life, between personal artistic vision and popular sensibility looking for ways to describe the alien in himself and in all of us.
“Angry Birds” (2009) is Ben’s 3rd collection of self-produced songs; along with “Social Architecture” (2007), “In the Absence of Fear” (2006) and the live DVD “Microsymphonix” (2008). Off the back of these, he’s garnered awards (Q-Song 2006) and national supports for many artists including Pete Murray, the Whitlams, Diesel, Emma Dean, Moving Pictures, Bertie Blackman, Iota, Old Man River, The Basics, Jon Stevens and Rene Geyer.
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