Ben Deignan has spent the last 5 years in Atlanta crafting a soulful pop/rock sound that’s all his own, and in addition to writing, recording, and touring nationally, Ben is frequently in London, working at Kensaltown Studios with their Grammy-winning songwriters and expanding his career into the UK. Constantly busy writing songs, recording, and playing shows, Ben continues to develop his music in new directions.
With nearly 4 Million views of his music videos on YouTube, he’s also developed a worldwide fan base throughout the US, UK, Europe, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and South America. On the recording side, Ben released a mixtape with the lead track “Money” garnering a flurry of industry attention which has Ben working with some the best songwriters and producers in Pop, Hip-Hop & R&B, including Organized Noize (OutKast, Cee-Lo, TLC), Frequency (Snoop Dogg), Soundtrakk and Prolyfic (Lupe Fiasco, Drake, Jazmine Sullivan), and songwriter Cassius D. Kalb (Grammy-winning co-writer of Bruno Mars’ #1 single “Just the Way You Are”) ahead of his debut release in 2012.
We caught up with Ben before his Single and Video Release show at Vinyl this Saturday, Feb. 2nd!
We hear you are releasing a couple of new songs and videos: “Intimate” and “Addiction:. Can you tell us about the “Intimate” song and video?
The tone of “Intimate” is a bit cheeky, so the video is too. The song is obviously about embracing the single life, but it’s a very “tongue and cheek” approach. For me, I guess it’s about going through a phase when your not capable of letting anyone get too close, emotionally anyway. The video is meant to be playful and I spend most of it poking fun at myself. So if it seems over-the-top, that’s exactly the point.
What is the most interesting or funniest moment you have had as an artist so far?
One time in Huntsville, AL, the comedian Ron White jumped up on stage with us and sang the Beatle’s, “Come Together”. Probably leans more toward funniest, but for some reason that memory popped up when I read this question and I find that interesting.
Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Not really. I feel like having a ritual might actually give me anxiety. I definitely think about the show the whole day and try to fantasize about performing, but that’s just because I’m excited.
If you could describe your music in one word, what would it be?
Visceral. I cheated on this question by the way.
How do you connect with a crowd?
If I’m genuinely having a good time, I think the crowd is too. If I’m not, it’s tough to fake. I feel like they can sense it.
If you could assemble your dream team band, who would be in it?
The Roots. My bass player will probably read this too, so Chris Price on bass. But if he doesn’t, everyone in The Roots.
What is the best way to write music?
I love going into the studio with nothing and ending the day with something. Creating music as spontaneous as possible is a blast.
Check out Ben’s new video for “Addiction”.
See Ben Deignan at Vinyl, Saturday, Feb. 2nd
