News

Ben Ottewell To Release Solo Album

• 15th Dec 2010

Ben Ottewell one of several singer/songwriters in the successful Mercury Prize winning British rock band Gomez, will finally release his first solo album, “Shapes and Shadows” via Eat Sleep Records on 7th February 2011. The nine tracks on “Shapes and Shadows” were recorded at The Chalet in Los Angeles, California, the session following tour commitments in late 2009, and was co-produced by Ottewell and Will Golden and mixed by Tom Biller (Liars, Warpaint, Karen O & the Kids).

Over 5 years in the making, “Shapes and Shadows” is a collection of solo compositions pieced together and written in and around Gomez tours, recording sessions and breaks. They are born out of Ottewell’s desire to create something with a strong sense of simplicity and purity, to get away from the full band, electric sound of Gomez. As he says, “I’ve been wanting to do something outside of Gomez for a while but I took my time to ensure that the material had a voice of its’ own. It’s a hell of a lot of fun to do something else, though scary as hell at first!”

Drawing on influences from other solo acts like Nick Drake, John Martyn and even early Paul Simon, as well as Led Zeppelin, The Red House Painters and the blues (specifically the “Alive” album by John Lee Hooker), Ottewell sat down with childhood friend Sam Genders (previously of Tunng) to collaborate on the album. As Ben explains, “Sam and I grew up together in a little village called Bonsall in Derbyshire and have been friends since childhood. I love his songwriting … the stuff he did with Tunng and The Accidental, particularly lyrically. We’ve been wanting to do this sort of thing for a while now.” The co-writers have a deep understanding of each other’s roots and “having grown up together, there is a strong theme of looking back or recollecting.”

Ben Ottewell has been a member of the acclaimed British rock band Gomez for more than a decade, a band that have stayed as the original line-up the entire time as well (a rarity indeed), and is the voice of some of their most beloved tunes, including “Tijuana Lady,” “Revolutionary Kind,” and “How We Operate.” During his tenure in Gomez, Ottewell has shared in great success over the last decade, including the Mercury Music Prize winning “Bring It On”. The band has also earned their biggest commercial and critical success yet with their last two releases, “How We Operate” and “A New Tide”, lauded by the likes of the BBC and Mojo.

A UK headline solo tour is to be announced soon, to fall around the album’s release.

Track-listing:
1. Shapes and Shadows
2. Lightbulbs
3. All Brand New
4. Blackbird
5. Chicago
6. No Obstacles 


7. Chose
8. Step Right Back
9. Take This Beach