The Great South Tuning Fork
are delighted to announce Ben Ottewell's return to New Zealand for one show
only at Auckland's most prized Americana and blues devoted venue.
Having released his third
solo album
A Man
Apart in 2017 Ben
Ottewell continues to delight his kiwi fans with a visit
to New Zealand this November!
After performing at The Tuning Fork nearly 4 years ago, Ottewell returned last
July with good friend Buddy,
lead singer of LA based indie band of the same name. He enthralled the crowd
with his signature gravelly vocal tones embedded in a tradition of Americana
and folk nuances.
This year marks the 20th Anniversary of his band's Mercury Prizewinning album
Bring
It On, which shot Gomezinto the spotlight back in 1998. Since the band's last record in 2011, Ben has
released three solo albums and toured extensively through the US, UK and
Australia. At the age of 42, he continues to play live solo shows around the
globe gaining solid fan bases everywhere including here in NZ!
The
Tuning Forkand 95bFM's Border Radio present:
BEN OTTEWELL
The Tuning Fork - Nov 14th
2018
GP on sale: 9AM Thursday, 30th Aug
A Man Apart delves into such relevant subjects as love
and relationships, fame and politics. The album’s title track focuses on
populist politicians exploiting people’s hopes and fears, with Bones touching
on the realisation of not being worthy of someone, and opener Own It, sees Ben
reflect on his time growing up in public in Gomez. New single
Watcher is the
perfect introduction to the album and despite its pensive meaning, is a melodic
Americana led track that builds into a memorable bluesy and soulful chorus.
Demonstrating Ben's potent and ongoing
love-affair with Americana - and flecked with trace elements of what you might
loosely call Derbyshire folk - A
Man Apart is the first solo album he has made without some kind of
Gomez project lurking in the background. The album is a record that crosses
musical genres such as Americana, blues and folk backed by Ben's unmistakable
gutsy and gravelly voice. Co-written with childhood friend and former Tunng member, Sam Genders, the
album was recorded in Los Angeles and Sheffield and engineered and produced in
the latter by Martin
Smith (Richard Hawley).
Throwing off the “security
blanket” that is/was Gomez - and untroubled by the question of whether the
songs he was writing should be earmarked for himself or his former band - Ben
knuckled down. The two guitarleles (think ukulele with six strings) he bought
for his nine-year-old twin boys proved a good investment - though not for Joe
and Ry. “
They just hung
them on the wall,”, laughs the singer, “
but I picked one up and wrote [title song] A Man Apart
on it.”
BEN
OTTEWELL
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