my gene pool, friendships, folklore, the sun, dogsville, travelling, jorge ben, burt bacharach, chopin, bob dylan, scriabin, scritti pollitti, grace jones, sade, nina simone, phillip, the jungle book, daft punk, bird flu, gotan project, ennio morricone, moloko, pomegranates, kruder and dorfmeister, the village headmaster, melancholic moods, hugh masakela, the voices in my head, caetano veloso, fela, zero 7. his dark materials, rachmaninoff, joni mitchell, suzanne vega, mitzfa the roundhouse dog, south park, gil scott heron, beck, bach, the life of pi, anything with a good melody/good lyric :)
Sounds Like
"maybe a big city, overgrown with weeds, but flowering weeds. on every corner a wrecking crew and something new and crooked going up. windows missing in every edifice like broken teeth, and a gray high sky full of ravens....prophet birds.... piles of trash and broken bottles that are strangely beautiful likes rubies and obsidian, and diamond-colored cowspit streamers in the wind.... and voting booths.... and everyone in balenciaga gowns with red corsages, a big dance palace full of music and lights and racial impurity and gender confusion. ....a place where all the gods are creole... mulatto... brown as the mouths of rivers. ..a place where finally race, taste and history are finally overcome..." -belize describes heaven in 'angels in america'
Born in Cardiff but raised in West Africa, his sound is a wonderfully fresh perspective on world music.Ben Onono's story has Lagos; Manchester; New York, Paris; London and Rio de Janiero as its backdrop and a soundtrack that will break your heart.
If you haven't heard of Ben, you've almost certainly have heard his work; he co-wrote It Just Won't Do with DJ Tim Deluxe a song which became one of the biggest dance tracks of the year and which was nominated for an Ivor Novello award for songwriting. His lounge classic Tattoo Blue was included on the 'Best of Café Del Mar' compilation and named tune of the week on Radio 1's Oneworld show. Ben has written for artists as diverse as Cicada, Bob Sinclar, Fatboy Slim and Natalie Imbruglia, and his dance tracks have been championed on both sides of the Atlantic by DJs from Pete Tong to Joe Claussel.
Trained as a concert pianist, Ben Onono's forthcoming debut album has taken him back to his roots. It¹s a record bursting with blissed-out acoustic songs and subtle traces of electronica a brave step that crosses genres, continents and breaks boundaries. It drops in June.
Greetings from Chicago! Thank you for writing what I've been feeling. Got You on My Mind has been a staple song for my sentiment for the last week. I stumbled upon it after trying to find my favorite version of Badagry Beach. Your esquisite work pierces my soul. Keep it up! Ciao for now...
Big Blue Moon was the perfect song on,February 9,2009.A great start to a Lunar Eclipse that occurs on a full moon. As My friends and I gathered for what ended as a lovely evening,we walked through the outside of the Sierra Vista Mall in California,USA looking up at the beautiful moon as it took on great changes. It seemed as though you wrote this beautiful song just for this night. My friends and I wish to thank you for this wonderful song.Ben you are a great artist. Your friend,Angelus
Thank you for your music,it is a blessing to me.I will be happy to listen to your new music as well.I am, very interested in getting to know the man behind the mask.I am sure you are a very special and gifted person. Best of luck to you always,your friend for life [Angelus]
Hey Ben! Great to hear from you! Still in France, but coming to UK end of Feb, can't wait! Maybe we can catch up, though it will be super quick visit in London... Raymond Scott tune was: Night And Day. Can send it by email if u wish? ...Hows things with you? +
Profitons, savourons, et aimons-nous! Il ne tient qu'à nous d'inventer milles ruses pour que chaque année soit plus merveilleuse que la précédente! Bien à toi... Jehanne...
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