Artist of the Week
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Artist: Ben Ramsden
Artform: Composer What do you do and what are your main focuses? I compose pieces at a crossroads where genres can work together, creating a larger, more inclusive middle. I am equally interested in both classical and popular music, and this is evident in my musical style. I write both large-scale orchestral works, and also singer/songwriter material. Where have you studied? I studied Composition for 4 years at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance which were the most formative years of my life. My main tutor was an absolute angel human, Errollyn Wallen. She’s turned into one of my good friends and she has truly believed in my potential from day one. I wrote the vast majority of the piece, To Care, in her lighthouse in Scotland. She also pushed me to be genre bending, so I have a little EP I recorded as well called Approaching Thunder. |
Tell us about 'To Care'.
To Care is for string orchestra and electronics, dealing with the nature of mental health. I decided that I wanted to write a piece based upon my own personal life and experiences, whilst creating a work with universal appeal. By doing this, I both get to write music that acts as a piece of therapy for myself, allowing me to tell my story to an audience whilst giving little away, but also in light of the studies that over 70% of professional musicians deal with some form of mental illness. I want to let people know they are not alone in their strife, that the world that has been built for us is not proficiently defending us, and that change is possible.
I used the past 5 years of my life as a narrative for this piece, creating the music in a linear fashion around this framework. It is split into four movements:
To Care is for string orchestra and electronics, dealing with the nature of mental health. I decided that I wanted to write a piece based upon my own personal life and experiences, whilst creating a work with universal appeal. By doing this, I both get to write music that acts as a piece of therapy for myself, allowing me to tell my story to an audience whilst giving little away, but also in light of the studies that over 70% of professional musicians deal with some form of mental illness. I want to let people know they are not alone in their strife, that the world that has been built for us is not proficiently defending us, and that change is possible.
I used the past 5 years of my life as a narrative for this piece, creating the music in a linear fashion around this framework. It is split into four movements:
- 1) When the light hit your eyes
- 2) The dishes in the sink don’t mind if I wake late
- 3) Love
- 4) How does it feel?
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The strings and the electronics have two different roles in the piece. The strings represent time itself, playing almost constantly throughout the piece, driving the story onwards. The electronics act both as a wrecking ball and as a disconcerting accompaniment, knocking the strings off course and causing unease amongst the ensemble. This interplay acts as a metaphor for the events and mental struggles I have journeyed through.
There are two main themes which are found in all movements (except the second for reasons I don’t have time to go into). Theme A, the first theme you hear and become accustomed to, is a dark and dissonant slow burner, full of tension and friction. Theme B is romantically inspired, with tonal harmony and phrasing, but with a shifting pulse to stop the listener from getting too comfortable. The themes act as an anchor, a |
familiar feature to grasp onto when the piece becomes harder to follow. They also act as a metaphor for life events repeating themselves. Even as you try to move forward, it often feels as though the past is a loop. How does it feel? Sometimes I feel like a teddy bear that’s locked in a washing machine spin cycle.
Writing the piece was a mammoth challenge. I decided I wanted to write a large-scale work for my final piece at Trinity as a fitting tribute to the challenges of the degree. Having to revisit my past was oftentimes arduous, making the writing and rehearsal process a tumultuous one. However, the outcome is this new work I birthed and blissed with all that I could give. It is something that I am truly proud of, and something that I sincerely hope can help others.
Writing the piece was a mammoth challenge. I decided I wanted to write a large-scale work for my final piece at Trinity as a fitting tribute to the challenges of the degree. Having to revisit my past was oftentimes arduous, making the writing and rehearsal process a tumultuous one. However, the outcome is this new work I birthed and blissed with all that I could give. It is something that I am truly proud of, and something that I sincerely hope can help others.
Listen to 'To Care' here: https://soundcloud.com/ben-ramsden-985959771/sets/to-care
Why do you compose?
I compose because it helps me make sense of the world. I grapple constantly with everything; the state of the country we live, the world’s lack of action on global warming, my own brain, the terrifying growth of far right movements the world over. It can often make the world seem too vast, too daunting, too much. Composing helps me deal with this. I think being a musician, and being granted access to a stage, you have a duty to speak about the world in which we live.
Listen to 'Hide': https://soundcloud.com/ben-ramsden-985959771/hide
What are who are you influenced by?
I can retrace the steps in my musical journey back to where my love of classical music began. Around the age of ten I was obsessed with techno/dance music. I vividly remember my dad suggesting we play a Beethoven CD in the car and me profusely objecting to the idea; where were the beats, the relentless rhythms, the obnoxious loud basslines? Fast forward a few years and I heard Tiesto’s techno adaptation of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings and had no idea this was originally a classical piece. At fifteen, my grandma played me the original Adagio for Strings by chance in the car and I have never looked back.
I compose because it helps me make sense of the world. I grapple constantly with everything; the state of the country we live, the world’s lack of action on global warming, my own brain, the terrifying growth of far right movements the world over. It can often make the world seem too vast, too daunting, too much. Composing helps me deal with this. I think being a musician, and being granted access to a stage, you have a duty to speak about the world in which we live.
Listen to 'Hide': https://soundcloud.com/ben-ramsden-985959771/hide
What are who are you influenced by?
I can retrace the steps in my musical journey back to where my love of classical music began. Around the age of ten I was obsessed with techno/dance music. I vividly remember my dad suggesting we play a Beethoven CD in the car and me profusely objecting to the idea; where were the beats, the relentless rhythms, the obnoxious loud basslines? Fast forward a few years and I heard Tiesto’s techno adaptation of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings and had no idea this was originally a classical piece. At fifteen, my grandma played me the original Adagio for Strings by chance in the car and I have never looked back.
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My biggest influence to date is Björk. I wrote an essay last year about the issues of music categorisation (something I struggle with when trying to describe the music I write) and what the differences between classical music and popular music are. Björk rides the two worlds completely, creating complex, intense music, which somehow appeals to pop audiences. Take her song, An Echo, A Stain. This could easily be mistaken for a contemporary work for orchestra, choir and electronics, with Sarah Kane’s dangerous words being sung seductively over glitching microbeats and luscious orchestrations. Alex Ross in The Rest is Noise claims that if you were to listen to ““An Echo, A Stain”... and then move on to Osvaldo Golijov’s song cycle Ayre... you might conclude that Björk’s was the classical composition and Golijov’s was something else”. This blurring of worlds is so exciting to me.
Away from music, nature and space drive me. To Care in part is in homage to Yorkshire, and my previous life there, especially the first movement. I love the city, but wow I miss the countryside and quietness and space and not having grey bogies. |
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What excites you about the art world today?
The world may be messed up, but wow is it an exciting time to be an artist! There is so much to say and create. I’m especially grateful to the visual arts for leading the way in talking about the issues we face in this world, especially as I feel classical music is now too afraid to do. There’s currently an Artist Room in Tate Modern by Jenny Holzer that makes me cry and laugh, leaving me warm and cold every time I see it. The messages can contradict one another, just like life. Art via any medium is so important, especially now as a means to bond and heal, helping us fertilise a better future.
What is the most exciting thing that you have done to date?
I was chosen to be the representative this year for the Composition Department for Trinity Laban’s Gold Medal, which meant I got to place the final movement of To Care in The Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room, which also means I’ve shared a stage and changing room with David Bowie (????) Which I think may be more exciting than conducting/performing at The Southbank itself.
What are your future ambitions?
To keep going. Keep doing. Keep making. Keep loving.
Listen to 'Approaching Thunder': https://soundcloud.com/ben-ramsden-985959771/sets/approaching-thunder
The world may be messed up, but wow is it an exciting time to be an artist! There is so much to say and create. I’m especially grateful to the visual arts for leading the way in talking about the issues we face in this world, especially as I feel classical music is now too afraid to do. There’s currently an Artist Room in Tate Modern by Jenny Holzer that makes me cry and laugh, leaving me warm and cold every time I see it. The messages can contradict one another, just like life. Art via any medium is so important, especially now as a means to bond and heal, helping us fertilise a better future.
What is the most exciting thing that you have done to date?
I was chosen to be the representative this year for the Composition Department for Trinity Laban’s Gold Medal, which meant I got to place the final movement of To Care in The Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room, which also means I’ve shared a stage and changing room with David Bowie (????) Which I think may be more exciting than conducting/performing at The Southbank itself.
What are your future ambitions?
To keep going. Keep doing. Keep making. Keep loving.
Listen to 'Approaching Thunder': https://soundcloud.com/ben-ramsden-985959771/sets/approaching-thunder
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What motivates you?
The people I love. The people I surround myself with are the people who drive me to create and become a better version of myself. They are people who love me for who I am, and maybe that’s the nicest thing in the world. I’m lucky enough to be supported fiercely, and even when the routine bites hard and ambition is low (thank you Joy Division for that very relatable yet basic Tumblr 2009 reference), they help levitate me and get me back on the right track. What is your favourite instrument to write for and why? I love writing for strings. If we have to filter it down, I’d say the cello. I’m lucky enough to have a phenomenal cellist friend, Shabnam Gould. I wrote her a piece a few years ago and it remains to this date one of my favourite things I’ve ever written, bouncing between serious contemporary cello work, to fun silly . Writing that piece for Shabnam was a true joy and one of the turning points of me realising what I wanted to do. Further links: https://soundcloud.com/ben-ramsden-985959771 |
