Speaking to Australia’s treasured musician Ben Lee, we learn that two exciting developments are in motion. First off, Lee has revealed he is once again set to perform on Australian shores in late June and early July, lining up to play an intimate set at The Basement on Saturday June 28. Secondly, Lee’s run of shows are to promote his forthcoming albumLove Is The Great Rebellion– his tenth solo studio release.
Over time, Lee’s albums have grown to encompass a far more personal and spiritual scope, culminating with last year’s Ayahuasca: Welcome To The Work – an unexpectedly experimental, frequently instrumental and meditative release, which examined the journey toward the within. While his upcoming record still explores spiritual concepts, which Lee describes as his “passion”, it will represent a return to his more familiar pop stylings.
“I always think my recordings sound like something else, but I think this one sounds like the sort of record that fans of my music would like me to make,” he says. “It’s about spirituality, it’s introspective, but it’s also upbeat. It’s the sort of songs that I’m best known for – a step in that direction, anyway.”
Lee foreshadowed the return to more recognisable territory in an open letter he posted on Facebook. Was signposting the album a way to pique the interest of fans he may have alienated with the last album?
“I knew from the outset that the [Ayahuasca] album wasn’t for the mainstream, which is why I went down the crowdfunding path. There are pros and cons to that approach, though. I’ve always been inspired by artists who keep following their own inspiration, but there can be a problem with that, being that the audience doesn’t know where you’re going next. Which is why I was more like, ‘Let me throw you a bone with this album.’”
According to Lee, the new release is near completion. “I’ll finish it in two weeks,” he says. “I’m hoping pretty quickly to deliver some form of music – some songs. I like the idea of a quick turnaround. Who knows? In practical terms these things can take months, though.”
When it comes to the ideas behind his albums, Lee has said that his writing stems from whatever he is passionate about. This time, his writing revolves around the premise and use of will. “I suppose the main concept is to do with willpower,” he says. “Obviously I’m interested in spirituality and psychology, both of which talk a lot about the necessity to surrender and go with the flow. What’s not spoken about so much is the courage required to do that, and what’s required to go about creating the internal change.”
Lee is inspired not only by the courage required to change, but also his personal journey towards “authenticity”, which is not an easy prospect in a consumerist society.
“In that regard we are all in the same boat – we’re all equally inauthentic,” he laughs. “We have to be to function in this world. We have to be inauthentic beings. From that starting point, namely that to some degree we are all living a lie, we can develop skills and a mind frame that will move us towards authenticity. Every day I try to see when I’m being inauthentic. I keep a journal. A lot of it has to do with intention. Who of us can really ever know what authenticity is? So long as we are moving in a direction where we are trying to find out – that’s something.”
Ben Lee will be playing at The Basement on Saturday June 28, tickets available online.
