Ben Maclean Releases Double Singles "Elixir" & "Dragonfruit"
Toronto artist, Ben Maclean, just released his new double singles “Elixir” and “Dragonfruit”, and we’re here to give you the inside scoop behind the process and inspiration for them.
Ben, you just had a new single come out - “Elixir”. Tell us a little bit about the concept behind this single.
Well, first, I would mention that it's part of a double single. Both of these songs are interconnected. They're like sort of brother and sister to me. Musically, the concept for them is something that I've been getting into more. I'm just having more of a melting pot of all the genres and influences on me that have influenced me throughout my life both consciously and unconsciously. So for example, I feel like in both of these songs, I've been able to access and express parts of me that I haven't before. My dad is African and from West Africa. And so, growing up, I would listen to lots of highlife music and Afrobeat. I always really, really loved that. I could always really feel it in my body and I tried to really get that feeling and that influence into both of these songs and all the music I do. So for example, some of the rhythms and some of the ways I like music, it's really guitar based. So there'll be two or three guitars doing multilayers or doing polyrhythms and intertwining and creating interesting colours and rhythms together. I tried to take that influence in these songs, as well as indie music. There's a lot of Canadian indie bands I really love, like Born Ruffians, Said the Whale, Tokyo Police Club, I used to listen to a lot when I was younger. I used to be in an indie band in high school. And then mixing all that with modern r&b production and colour palette and the content of the lyrics and the songs. It's a lot about my personal struggles and feelings and emotions and relationships and things like that. So I kind of just tried to blend this all into one coherent sound. I'd say that's the concept behind it. A melting pot of things that make me who I am as a person and an artist.
It sounds like you're pulling from a lot of different styles. If you had to narrow down some of your main influences as an artist, who would they be?
I would say Daniel Caesar is a big one. Steve Lacey, Peacocks Guitar Band - an African highlife group. I say those are some pretty big ones right now. Like the alternative r&b stuff and then the African highlife group. As of right now as an artist, I think Daniel Caesar, Steve Lacey, that kind of vibe.
So your father played a big role in your musical influences. Did you grow up in a musical family?
Yeah, very much. My dad is a drummer. He plays a lot of African drums, plays for dance companies and all sorts of things like that. My mom also works at the Canadian Opera Company. She's a director for there. My dad would take me on tour with the dance groups and just like touring around Ontario at schools and stuff, so I was around that music a lot. And also, my mom took me to a lot of operas and classical music. There's always music in the house and I was always around it. Also, my brother's a bass player. He played on “Elixir” as well. So yeah. It's always been around me.
How did you first get into music on your own? Was it a choice you made on your own? Or were you put into music lessons by your parents?
It was definitely a choice I made on my own. I took piano lessons when I was really little and my dad made me do some drumming stuff, but I never really was into it. Maybe it was like rebellion or something. But I just loved sports and I wanted to be in the NBA. And then I got a bit older and you know, just like when you're around different people, your peers matter more and I think I started to listen to different music. I think that The Beatles were the first band that made me want to start playing music. My brother had a girlfriend at the time who left a ukulele at my house and I just picked it up and started learning Beatles songs. That's when I was like 12. Yeah, 10 years ago. And ever since then, it's all I wanted to do.
Where are you right now musically? Are you in school?
I just finished Humber College for Jazz Studies.
How did you like the program?
It was good. It was great. It was really nice to just only have to think about music all the time. And I met lots of people there who I collaborate with. It was fun because I was really only into jazz for quite a while. For like five or six years. Mostly when I was in school, the first three years and a couple years before that. So it was really good for the time and I learned a lot from it. Now I'm in a different phase and a different journey.
That's the challenge I think a lot of artists face when they're done high school. The choice of either pursuing their art in a post secondary program or just going straight into the work field. And obviously, you chose to continue your education. So what's the biggest thing you think you've gained from making that choice?
I wouldn’t say it's one or the other. One good thing I'll say about that program is the teachers want you to work too. There’d be some times they’re like, oh I got to be late for class or miss class because I have a gig or whatever. So it wasn't really like one or the other. It was both feeding into each other I would say. That was a really good thing about it. But obviously the first year or two, it was mostly just focusing on the school stuff. So it's sort of like honing a lot of the skills and just sharpening the knife, so when more opportunities came by, you’d be more ready, basically.
I imagine you met a lot of people through school and I see with everything that you're doing, it's a huge collaborative process. From the music to the production to the visuals. Is it important to you to collaborate with artists in the city on everything that you do?
Yeah, definitely. I really appreciate and value other people's ideas. You can't do everything on your own and like, I believe in my vision, but sometimes I can see how it's good to have other people's perspectives to contribute to it. It just makes it lighter and grander and more expansive. It's not just you. With more collaboration, there are more people's experiences, more people's stories in it, and I think that's beautiful. I can make something that resonates with people more.
Before COVID hit you were pretty involved with the Toronto music scene and you were performing quite often. What do you miss most about performing live?
Nothing can really beat that. I think most artists will say that's the best part about all of this - when you can perform your music for people and just feel the energy all together, because it's not just like I'm here performing for you. It's a group experience and that's, I think, what music is really. What makes it so potent is when we're all feeling it together, so nothing can can replace that. For me, I definitely really miss that feeling, that community.
How have you found creating and still releasing things during the pandemic? How’s that process been for you and what does it look like?
It's honestly been pretty great because I just have so much more time. I've had so much time to listen to so much more music, which is a huge part of my process - getting inspiration from other music and taking in music, and then having a lot more time to write and reflect and try stuff out. I've taken this time to learn how to produce and stuff like that. So now I can make my own stuff as a start. I've had a lot of time to learn about myself and learn about a lot of new music, and sort of dive deeper. I feel like I've found more of a unique direction for myself and that's all happened during this whole time.
Do you think your style, or you as an artist, has changed because of everything going on?
I guess I would just say that the way that I responded to this situation, I tried to just learn as much and grow as much as I could during this time. The result of this was, I feel like I have changed and learned a lot because that's something that I set out to do. I'm gonna try and take this time to make myself better.
Now that you have more time, you've been listening to a lot more stuff. What have you been listening to recently?
Steve Lacey dropped a new album, so I've been listening to that a lot. Man, and a lot of different stuff. Honestly, it kinda depends on the day, but I’m trying to discover a lot of new highlife music and Afrobeat music. Just trying to dig around and find new stuff that inspires me and also going back to stuff that I haven't listened to for a while. But honestly, like so many different things. But yeah. The most recent thing is definitely Steve Lacey's new album, which I really love.
So both “Elixir” and your second single “Dragon Fruit” have now come out. What can we expect from you after this?
I'm pretty excited for the new year. I think there's going to be a lot of stuff. There's going to be like a collaborative EP with another great Toronto artist/producer Dom Dias. He works a lot with Just John who I also work with a lot. We're just trying to bring the level up with every project we do. So there's gonna be a lot more collaborations. Also, you'll see me on some other artists’ stuff as a guitarist songwriter, producer. And I’ll definitely just release more. Probably some music videos, all this stuff, but yeah. I don't want to give away too much, but it's gonna be a lot of stuff that I'm excited for.
