“Understanding the order of time is important to anyone hoping to manifest a dream,” says Valerie June. “There is a time to push, and a time to gently tend the garden.”

Since the release of her 2013 breakout Pushin’ Against A Stone, June has been patiently at work in the garden of song, nurturing seedlings with love and care into the lush bloom that is her stunning new album, The Order Of Time. Some songs grew from seeds planted more than a decade ago, others blossomed overnight when she least expected them to, but every track bears the influence of time. See, time has been on June’s mind a lot lately. It’s the only constant in life, even though it’s constantly changing. It’s the healer of all wounds, the killer of all men. It’s at once infinite and finite, ever flowing with twists and turns and brutal, churning rapids that give way to serene stretches of placid tranquility. Fight against the current and it will knock you flat on your ass. Learn to read it, to speak its language, and it will carry you exactly where you’re meant to be.

Having studied piano since the age of 5, playing the traditional classical repertoire, Ben stopped playing aged 15. Teenage life and listening to heavy metal (AC/DC, Van Halen) was far more interesting. It was only a few years later after hearing Bruce Hornsby's 'The Way It Is' on the radio that Ben started playing and writing music again. 

Whilst completing a law degree in Bristol, UK, Ben took up piano study with gifted jazz pianist Dave Buxton (Andy Sheppard). It was Dave's creative and innovative approach to music and composition that inspired Ben to continue writing music, instead of just copying others. 

Having fallen in love with Holland, Ben was accepted to study composition and arranging at the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music, where he studied with renowned jazz composer Bob Brookmeyer (Bill Evans, Stan Getz). 

Although arranging for Big Band was a great learning experience, the songwriting didn't stop and during his study Ben won in UK magazine Sound on Sound the Best Demo award for 3 of his songs. 

The review stated : "This is a tape on which any of the songs could be a hit for an established artist"

After his study, Ben spent some time working as a freelance musician, producer and engineer and continued to write, record and mix his own songs. Having made friends with some of the best musicians in Holland, Ben learned a lot about the recording process, and the end results had a quality seldom encountered with such self-produced records.

For further inspiration and in order to gain a better insight into how to write better songs Ben travelled to songwriting city Nashville, USA, where he hooked up with songwriter Rob Crosby (Martina McBride, Ilse de Lange) who shared his thoughts on the craft of writing songs. Ben also met many record company executives and publishers who all expressed pleasant surprise at the quality of the his songs - although most felt that Ben's voice wasn't quite there yet if he was to compete with the best that Nashville had to offer - a point that Ben took to heart. 

In the years that followed, Ben worked hard on improving his singing voice and played in just about every pub and club that would have him. He released a few singles (under his own label) which were all well received by both press and radio. As part of the promotion Ben could often be heard playing his songs on local and national radio - always live on air - something that many artists prefer not to do ! 

In summing up his songs one newspaper review stated that Ben had 'managed to write songs that made you feel good, even when the subject matter dealt with life's more serious topics such as heartache and loss' - a sentiment that echoes Ben's positive outlook on life and one that is really necessary in the hard world of the music business ! 

In 2011 Ben took part in the now world famous 'Voice of Holland' TV Show & was one of the few candidates to have all 4 chairs turn round. Taking part in the show greatly increased his profile in The Netherlands, and around that time he made some great sounding (and looking) live video's during the "Tracking Room Sessions" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YwKFO0DY1s&feature=share&list=PLEBB36D650D627C07

Currently Ben can be found singing songs for various commercials, and he continues to write, sing and play whenever he can. 


'A talented singer-songwriter' - The New Yorker

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