My name is Ming, singer/songwriter and topliner. My third Ming's Pretty Heroes studio album was released march '14 and is called Roots and Bones. Previous albums are Karma and Ok Mr. Mix. Since about a year I started working more and more as a songwriter. I found a new love for the craft. Behind the scenes I write children's songs, have written voor dutch entertainer/singer Gerard Joling and for other more serieus pop artists. As songwriter and artist/singer I've been moving towards the dance scene, taking a special interest in Deep House and EDM.

Covers, poetry and my own English and Dutch tracks. Thanks for the love!


Contact:
Bookings s.v.p. via https://deschrijverscentrale.nl/auteurs/12451
For more info (upload link, ISRC codes e.t.c.) mail me at vanderveldebenne@gmail.com


The poet Hanz Mirck in an issue of Bookblad Magazine: ‘This poet knows how to capture your attention, on paper as well as on stage.’

The poet and author Rob Chrispijn: ‘Benne writes sentences that stick, clean, dark and intense. This way a poem lasts!’

The poet Philip Hoorne on the website Poetry rapport: ‘There’s a genius hiding in Benne van der Velde, those are the Good Tidings of today. Amen.’

Creative Resume Benne van der Velde:  
 
 	after dominating the Dutch slam poetry scene in the early and mid 2000s (with wins in 7 cities and a place in the Nationals of 2012) and performances at the Lowlands-, Uitmarkt- and Parade festivals a/o, Benne successfully made the transition from the stage to paper by getting his first publishing deal in 2005. Since then, 4 publishing houses (kleine Uil, Douane, Nadorst and Stanza) released volumes of his poetry. For a 5th (Passage) he co-edited  an anthology of satirical verses with fellow poets Daniel Dee and Alexis de Roode. 

As a member of the artist movement ‘Het Ongeboren Idee’ he helped to organize (and was part of/presented) cultural lo-fi festivals, exhibitions, making a movie, monthly poetry stages in his hometown of Vlaardingen, Rotterdam and Nijmegen + a talent show for bands. 

In 2002 and 2003 he studied ‘writing for performance’ at the vocational university of the Arts in the city of Utrecht (HKU) and as a result saw 3 of his theater plays being performed on stage. He also gave numerous poetry and rap workshops at schools and other institutions. There were a lot of collabs too, for example voice over work for a Rock Opera and the R.J.S.O (The Rotterdam Youth Symphony Orchestra). 

Benne has been an editor for several literary magazines (Krakatau, Renaissance and Op Ruwe Planken), at one time he and his wife owned a secondhand bookstore, he’s been the official poet laureate for his hometown of Vlaardingen and released his first and only Dutch rap-EP in 2011. In 2012 he rhymed his way into the finals of Art Rocks. An EP with songs in English followed in 2021. This year he translated and recorded 6 Dutch classics in English. Some of his short sci-fi and fantasy stories have recently found their way to medium related magazines and anthology’s. 

According to the poet himself rewriting his poetry, lyrics and prose in English somehow feels like the next logical step in his career, a way to open up to the world at large. Which is both exhilarating and terrifying. 

In everyday (some claim real) life he worked as an industrial tank cleaner, in pest control, on a garbage truck, at a chemical waste disposal facility, driving forklifts, on a Ferry and as a bartender. At the time of submitting this resume he works at a greenhouse for a living. He’s been off the herb since 2008, has a wife, a cat and a dog, mild anxiety issues and likes to read every sci-fi and fantasy classic he can find.

Besmettelijke Teksten is een poëtische podcast. 
Tegenwoordig is het ook een radio-show, waarvan de afleveringen zijn terug te luisteren op Spotify & Mixcloud. 

Over de podcast-reeks:

Ik ben Iris Penning, de Stadsdichter van Eindhoven, en ik heb mezelf in kunstquarantaine gezet. 

In Besmettelijke Teksten deel ik nieuw werk, zowel muziek als poëzie, en ga ik het gesprek aan met inspirerende Eindhovense taalkunstenaars.

Fred Ernst is following