Sound Republic: Music News

Ben Smith Band

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By Ellie AMB
27 June 2007

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Sometimes Always Never

It's not very often that a debut album has the finesse and passion to really cut through in a cluttered modern music market, but Ben Smith Band is not an ordinary project.

Born in Scotland, Ben Smith spent his childhood in Australia and at 19, headed off to London. In the big city, there were lights for his musical career, both bright and dark. Returning to Australia, he went back to what he loves about music – playing live and arrived in Melbourne in 2002 to begin work on what would become the debut album “Sometimes Always Never”. Discovered by Melbourne label Dust Devil Music, Ben Smith made the first-ever clean sweep at the 2004 Australian Music Week (AMW) where he won both the acoustic category and best song overall in the Maton Song Contest, also taking out the ABC/DIG Radio Showcase Prize. His debut EP “Whiskey Sunset” was released last year to critical acclaim achieving fantastic reviews and airplay through the Nova network for the track “Sane”. But music is not just about the trophy cabinet and the radio, as impressive as these accolades for a newcomer may be. Music, for Ben Smith, is about connecting with people. Likened to artists such as Ray Lamontagne and Damien Rice, connection with his audience is something that's been achieved with Smith's album which is a real record steeped in life experience and development as an artist. "Writing songs and playing music is a life choice," Ben says. "It's all about the journey." The Ben Smith Band is: Ben Smith: Vocals and Guitar Pat Kearney: Bass Guitar Tim O’Connor: Drums

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