Sutton Coldfield Festival of Arts

• Venue: Main Stage

Emerging Sutton Coldfield star Ben Drummond performs on the Main Stage at 13:30, July 12th.  He has just launched his much-anticipated debut EP in March with a performance at Jools Holland’s nightclub The Jamhouse in  Birmingham.

The self-taught artist, originally from Wednesfield but based in Sutton for the last three years, began playing bass at 12 and has been performing live since the tender age of 15.

His eclectic material resembles that of fast-rising Wulfrunian Scott Matthews - for a good reason.
Scott, whose acclaimed album Passing Stranger included the Ivor Novello Award-winning song Elusive, worked with Ben in the indie-rock band Positive Firefly before the pair, separately, had a sort of acoustic epiphany.

The duo had also worked together doing music for Wolverhampton’s Zip Theatre, and had performed in women’s prisons.

Ben, 28, said: “We did really well as Positive Firefly - we were only together for a year but we played venues like the [Wolverhampton] Civic Hall supporting Biffy Clyro. It was quite different from what Scott’s doing now and from what I’m doing.

“We both changed direction just through experimenting, really.

“Everyone used to say that me and him had very close singing voices to each other, almost like brothers, although I must admit his voice is better than mine!

“At the time, with Zip and with Positive Firefly, we were in each other’s pockets and it did get a bit much, making music and talking music all the time. But we definitely approached music in a similar sort of way.”
The group split at the end of 2004, Scott starting work on his album - later picked up by Island Records - and Ben doing bass sessions with Midlands hip-hop act Cantaloop and moving to Spain where he was knocked for, er, seis by the eclectic, genre-hopping approach of Barcelona collective Ojos de Brujo.

“I saw them at a music festival in the south Pyrenees, playing on a stage on a lake in a natural amphitheatre created by a canyon. They were mixing traditional Spanish flamenco and hip-hop. It was exciting and passionate, especially after half a bottle of rum!”

Ben is now proving himself to be a deft fusionist of a singer-songwriter, specialising in a range of instruments including double bass, sitar, harmonica, percussion and drums.

Ben’s style is full of eastern influences and ranges from alternative folk, jazz and funk to a more experimental fusion of flamenco, blues and Latin flavours.

His group features Dan Townsend (guitar), Roopa Panesar (sitar), Matt Thomas (drums), Dan Clark (bass), Kate O’Reilly (saxophone, flute and clarinet) and Paul Rahme (piano) - but he will be performing solo at the Festival.

The debut EP, with songs recorded live at Birmingham Conservatoire and some done in the studio with producer Joe Harbinson, is a highly accomplished offering which has sold well, building dramatically on the 600 pre-orders it had via the internet. Major publishers have shown an interest.

It seems slightly mysterious, how untutored Ben has earned the respect of the Conservatoire crew.
“I suppose I have a natural aptitude for music,” he said.

“A lot of jazz musicians say “how are you doing that?” and that got me in with that group of people, if you like.”

The future continues to look promising for Ben, who recently appeared live in session on BBC Radio WM, and has been confirmed to play his second Shambala Festival this summer.

Ben, who is on the Main Stage from 1.30pm to 2pm, then at The Gate Inn, alongside Hot Monocles, Gemma Shaw and James & Edwards in the evening, can also be heard at www.myspace.com/bendrummondmusic
For more information visit www.bendrummond.co.uk