Dedicated to my sister Poonie - Incandescently beautiful music from Mali, Kenya and the Congo with an emphasis on kora and guitar
Inspired by the people I met and the sounds I heard at the Rift Valley Festival in Kenya last year & sailing in the Quirimbas Islands off the coast of Mozambique...
"The wind had dropped and the huge, patched sail slowly unfurled as the crew heaved on the old hemp ropes and raised the single boom to the top of the creaking mast. We sat in the sail's shade and headed out to deeper water and the distant sand of our next island.
The first dolphin was a distance away but soon others were curious and came, glistening smooth and sleek, to jump across our bow. After a couple of hours following the line of the coast we dropped anchor and fell into the sea to glide over the coral heads and dip down to greet the clown fish tickling their bellies in the fingers of soft anemones. We ate, and drank bottled sodas and set sail once more. The creak of the dow and the gentle sound she made as she cut through the clear, sparkling water, the delicate rustle of the sail and the low murmur of lazy voices cast a spell on the hot magic of the afternoon.
Later, standing on the shore, with the wading birds, and the plovers and egrets and herons and the yellow billed stalks gathering in the shallow water between us and the open sea, with the sky turning pink and the sun setting over the wide mouth of the river, I look back on the day and find my eyes full of tears and my heart full of calm."
At the heart of the deep underground music scene from the wild raves of the 80s to Ibiza, Burning Man and beyond, Ben fell in love with dance music tripping the light fantastic at the Embassy Club in the 70s. Collected a vast roomful of dub disco and soul tunes that suddenly came into their own in the mid 80s when the first raves exploded into our consciousness. Luckily managed to score a great party flat in Ifield Rd Chelsea and occasionally had a few mates over for a dance (if you were there you know what I'm talking about). Realized in a rare moment of clarity that a larger venue might be needed. Started hosting GIVE! at The Fortress in Kings Cross and Woy-Oy on the MV Cam Leopard at Chelsea Bridge in the late 80s, Kimberley in the early 90s and House of Honey in the Naughties. HoH is the Mothership for Harvest @ Eridge park, GIVE! @ Stanford Hall and a veritable cornucopia of London Events & Party Nights.
He’s played at countless great festivals, clubs & parties all over the planet including: GIVE!, Kimberley, Secret Garden Party, Wilderness, Burning Man (USA), Glastonbury, Bestival, Woy-Oy, Harvest, Shindig, Thunderpussy, Golden Delicious, The Whitehouse, Ravenous, Paramount, Koshka, Fly, Aura (Ibiza), The Backyard (Thailand), Tender, Lotus, Cultural Virus, Megatripolis, Pendragon, Sunset Ashram (Ibiza), Seductive Alchemy, The ICA, Rustlers Valley (South Africa), Save the Rhino (Kenya), TIP (Goa), Rift Valley Festival (Kenya), Wajaya Beach (Sri Lanka) and Sunrise (UK)
Ben the BeeDedicated to my sister Poonie - Incandescently beautiful music from Mali, Kenya and the Congo with an emphasis on kora and guitar
Inspired by the people I met and the sounds I heard at the Rift Valley Festival in Kenya last year & sailing in the Quirimbas Islands off the coast of Mozambique...
"The wind had dropped and the huge, patched sail slowly unfurled as the crew heaved on the old hemp ropes and raised the single boom to the top of the creaking mast. We sat in the sail's shade and headed out to deeper water and the distant sand of our next island.
The first dolphin was a distance away but soon others were curious and came, glistening smooth and sleek, to jump across our bow. After a couple of hours following the line of the coast we dropped anchor and fell into the sea to glide over the coral heads and dip down to greet the clown fish tickling their bellies in the fingers of soft anemones. We ate, and drank bottled sodas and set sail once more. The creak of the dow and the gentle sound she made as she cut through the clear, sparkling water, the delicate rustle of the sail and the low murmur of lazy voices cast a spell on the hot magic of the afternoon.
Later, standing on the shore, with the wading birds, and the plovers and egrets and herons and the yellow billed stalks gathering in the shallow water between us and the open sea, with the sky turning pink and the sun setting over the wide mouth of the river, I look back on the day and find my eyes full of tears and my heart full of calm."