Ben Wilkins “Ben Wilkins”
Ontario-born Ben Wilkins was already a well-rounded musician, having studied classical music at Montreal’s McGill University and spent his post grad studies in Shanghai, China, when he began working with musical producers Pascal Shefteshy and Pierre Marchand (Sarah McLachlan, Rufus Wainwright) to put together his debut album. The warm classical pop sound permeates most of this album, but the disjointed “Opening” has a mix of indie jazz percussive effects, piano and classical strings contrasting Ben’s clean vocals. It sounds like he has thrown everything but the kitchen sink into the mix to let us know he’s avant garde.
But what comes next is nothing short of a revelation. “Soup for One” is a perfect amalgam of Ben Folds and George Michael, with a simple piano chord that grows into a lushly orchestrated melody. The arrangement and vocals here are pitch perfect and draw you into his world. “Through to You” leans more to the sound of Ben Folds or Adrian Whitehead, with slick harmonies and clean horns. Read my full review at The Rock and Roll Report. But trust me on this, several songs have found a permanent home on my ipod – a stunning debut!
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I gave this a listen, and just knew I’d heard that voice and the same piano stylings before. After a bit more digging, this is the “Ben Wilkins” from The Ease Down. When I figured that out, I just bought it “sight unseen.” If you haven’t heard The Ease Down “Shapeshifter” disc, it’s worth picking up too.
I heard over a year ago that there was a new Ease Down disc in the works, and I kept checking up looking for it, but it looks like that was shelved for this? Dunno, but either way, this is a welcome arrival.
Thanks for the heads-up
Cheers,
Randy