Ben Wyvis - A Cross-Continental Classic
- peter martin
- May 9, 2023
- 6 min read
Ben Wyvis - A Cross-Continental Classic
A Light Is Forever by Ben Wyvis was released in 2021
Despite the nature of the band, I discovered Ben Wyvis through the dreaded internet. A collection of memes were made displaying the bands work as both of the duo were members of the Black Country, New Road Discord server. Fake live recordings of the bands new material would really just play the tracks of Ben Wyvis and despite how triggering it felt, the music was pretty fucking good. Upon listening to the project, I discovered it was the work of Alton Stevenson and Sam Eccleston who live in two completely different continents. The term 'distance brings fondness' comes to mind as the ability to make a project of this quality while being thousands of miles away must be a challenge of mastery but also a challenge of friendship, Ben Wyvis agreed to talk about this and much more to me.
Ben Wyvis is a folk duo, how did you guys come together and what is it like working together?
All our correspondence has been online, I think it must have been music discourse servers, I think the Black Midi one though Alton may know better than I.
Well funny enough we started with the enjoyment of each other's music. I found Sam on a music forum and we bonded over our tastes and works
Definitely remember discussing a collab after listening to Alton's project 'Theodore Clarence’
How has creating music shaped your relationship with one another?
Although we're good thousands of miles away Ben Wyvis is collaborate on nearly every aspect, our ideas mix together into everything associated with the band – whether that's songwriting, mixes and artwork. We don't always share the same view on a direction, but it would be far too boring if we always did.
Music definitely brings people close together and the same is true when it comes to collaboration.
Sam and I try to make each other explore new directions when it comes to the idea of making music and exploring genres.
Creating music while being across the pond from each other is admirable in itself, but of this quality is really something! Was folk always the goal for this project?
Our tastes definitely clicked over lots of the new folk stuff coming out (The Book Club is an artist we both really love) and the stripped-back instrumentation of folk allowed us to write songs that would work to be sent back and forth through the cloud. After the writing though, we could edit and layer as much of a soundscape as we desired. Long-distance collaborative symphonic prog didn't seem as realistic. I've got quite a lot of songs that will suit a raw sound but we've got plans to go in completely the opposite direction too
As someone who primarily does Ambient and Electronic music, I kinda wanted to push myself to try something I always admired but could never pull off by myself, which was Folk music. When I heard Sam’s demo for what would become one of our most beloved tracks, Fading Hue, I really thought it would be a great project to work on. Sam is very much the backbone of the band, but I always wanted to kind of add some more ambience and texture to the records and with this project, the genre of folk really helped us try to make a new sound for ourselves.
Real photos of the members of Ben Wyvis
You sort of leaned into it there but my next question is about the hybridity of your music, Ben Wyvis is folk on a technical but throughout your discography, there are many moments of ambience especially the Overture. How would you yourselves classify the genre of Ben Wyvis?
Atmospheric Death Metal with twee pop inclinations.
I feel Genre as a concept is fluid, especially with our project where we try to make whatever sounds good to us, but I guess I can describe our music as Folk music for people who enjoy listening to weird guitar stuff.
I think there are so many influences there's not really a succinct name for the place Ben Wyvis sits in the middle of all of them.
Could we see a proper Ben Wyvis Cannibal Corpse death metal rage project?
If someone pays us enough money, we’ll do any genre you want.
If they respond to my insistent dm's we'd have a split ep but alas
The EP ranges from tracks like Cleobis and Biton which have atmospheric thick instrumentals to The Fool which is a lot Thinner but beautifully paints a narrative of nostalgia, was this always the ambition to have this contrast from a songwriting and production view?
In my process of writing those songs, I didn't touch a microphone before they were finished, it was only through their production I leaned to a denser sound for some and let others be quieter. The EP always had an abstract but overarching narrative in my head. Each song is about a progression of a story instead of being held back to repeat a chorus every minute or so, and a progression of sound, with many taking the whole length to crescendo for a final verse. Some songs had to be loud. Especially the last track, For the Moment, at least the start of it. We also wanted the production to fit the themes of the songs, because some of the lyrics are reflective of the sound’s you are hearing; that's why tracks like the fool, for example, wouldn’t work necessarily with a lush and massive orchestral arrangement like a track like Cleobis and Biton or Fading Hue would.
Most of it was intentional from the get-go but some of it kind of came as a spur-of-the-moment type of thing (at least on my end), which I see as a beautiful thing.
Light is Forever has been out for some time now, has much changed in the band past that point?
Although we haven’t released any new music yet, we’ve definitely tried to broaden our sound and also try to lean towards newer directions for our latest works.
I want each EP to have a unique quality about them, so Sam and I have been working on ideas that are different, but not too distinct, from our previous work to just really explore our sound.
Although I've had a slow but steady writing process over this time, I've been held back by being able to record and just having the time. I'm a busy man! Believe it or not, it's a lot easier to make a track like Cleobis and Biton sound good with about 100 layers (with probably 4 dedicated to hard-panned tin whistles) than one guitar and one voice. Unfortunately, I don't have the hedge fund necessary for a state-of-the-art studio – with a better acoustic I'll be able to get out these demos I've written and played live onto a recording I don't despise.
The EP feels like a trip to the great outdoors, there are also nods to the British countryside at points, was nature of any influence on the music?
Nature is intrinsic to every facet of our being here at Big Ben Wyvis Inc
Absolutely, I love field recordings and I love going to parks and reserves to really just take in this beautiful world we live in, so Sam and I really tried to connect that love to our music. Even in the name of our band, Ben Wyvis.
I can't count the amount of times I've asked alton if we could source some photos that were just that bit more 'natury'. I really like the play with the idea of nature vs industry though.
As you’ve previously mentioned, the group formed through the Music Forums. This is how I became aware of the project and I have seen a multitude of support and acclaim from the internet, has this boosted the band?
Although nowadays I don't really go through online discourse like I used to, I think the online support suits how Ben Wyvis would never have existed without the internet.
The internet is still the best form of connecting with your audience and having an intrigue around your name. I try to get people excited using my love for exploring new music and sounds to relate to themselves. But like Sam said Ben Wyvis wouldn’t exist without the internet, so we can kinda thank it for that.
Final question, drink of choice.
It would be on Ben Wyvis's theme to say something like the clear water of some Scottish tarn or the mountain dew, but I'm going to have to go for a classy innocent smoothie (i don't know if you have that in America)
That's a very tough question, most folk musicians would probably say water or a very simple Whiskey. But my choice is probably Apple Juice. As a kid my favourite thing was going to the orchards and grabbing apples and then taking those apples home and making a multitude of things with them, so apple juice kinda just connects me to my childhood, connects me to the world around us and finally, just tastes really good haha. Smoothies do hit hard too.
All Of Ben Wyvis's Socials can be found here
Dedicated to The Members of Black Country, New Road Discord Server
