In this interview spotlight, I chat with Ben Eunson about his latest release, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I was born in Melbourne, Australia, but have been based in New York City for nearly 10 years now. Being in New York City has taken me on a journey through many different styles, from playing experimental music in the clubs of lower Manhattan, to playing with John Legend, Lalah Hathaway, and a variety of other artists. My involvement with such a broad range of musical styles has certainly influenced my own perspective on music. At it’s core, my music contains elements of improvisation derived from Jazz, but also bears elements of all the music I’ve been involved with – rock, indie rock, blues, R&B and more. I guess it’s a fusion of sorts, though I wouldn’t necessarily call it “fusion” music in the typical sense. To put a label on it, I’d call it “instrumental guitar music”.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
After trying out a couple of other instruments as a child, I began playing guitar at age 10 after hearing guitarists like Andy Summers and George Benson through my parents’ record collection. I started gigging professionally at age 15, and at that point there was truly no going back. All of a sudden I was getting called for paid gigs, and was beginning to feel completely at home developing my playing in front of audiences at local venues. Since then, the guitar really has taken me all around the world, and while being musician certainly is hard work, the joy of music itself still keeps me motivated.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
My first release was an EP called “Autumn” in 2015. It’s very much in the straight-ahead jazz vein, and was artistically a statement that I felt I needed to make at that moment in time. My upcoming album “ACE”, and the first single “Growing Pains” are intended to take the listener through many of the musical worlds that I have inhabited since my EP was released in 2015. With my upcoming album, I hope to give people a better overall sense of who I am musically, and to provide a strong statement of who I am as a guitarist at this moment in time.
Do you face any challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? On the flip side, how has technology helped you (if it has)?
I’m sure that each generation of musicians faces a new set of challenges. Being an indie musician today presents it’s own challenges, but also has the potential to be incredibly rewarding. Having complete control over a final recorded product bearing my name is very important to me, and perhaps I wouldn’t have that same freedom under different circumstances. However, I feel that the topics of recording budgets, royalties and exactly how to get your music to the world still need to be discussed more. I also feel that social media is a medium of our time that is just as, if not more powerful than FM radio was in the 70s, or MTV was in the 80s. But this time around, the power is directly in your hands and used wisely can reach a lot of people worldwide.
Where can we follow you online and hear more music?
The best places to follow my music would be Spotify, Instagram, and YouTube and Bandcamp.
Anything else before we sign off?
Check out my single “Growing Pains” on Spotify, from my upcoming album “ACE”, to be released later this year on Brooklyn label Ocean Road Sounds.
