Y'all don't know what it's like to be male, middle-class and white.
At least that's what Ben Folds had us singing relentlessly in 2001 when his hit song, 'Rockin' The Suburbs', dominated Australian airwaves.
On his first solo album since parting ways with band Ben Folds Five, Ben moulded a musical identity all his own with who millions worldwide fell almost instantly in love. Fifteen years later and Ben is still rocking, only now he's moved beyond the suburbs onto a bigger game.
Ben Folds & yMusicLast year he released another solo effort, 'So There', a collaboration with New York City-based chamber ensemble, yMusic. “I don't know how to brag about this record because I'm not really accustomed to that," Ben says. "Maybe I should just say 'this is one of the best records I've made' and leave it at that."
In a leap-and-bound from his usual serving of rock-infused, piano pop flavoured with a splash of expletives, 'So There' combines Ben's pop sensibilities with classical composition to create a new style he rightly dubs, chamber rock. “Every so often it occurs to me how much freedom I have," he says. "In this case, it was, 'oh, I can write pop songs for what's in essence a small orchestra'.
"I think with this group I had the freedom to be more obvious in a pop songwriter kind of way, to just write a pop song. We've got our experimental quotient taken care of, now I can be even more obvious."
The album features an original concerto in three movements, performed with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, followed by eight chamber rock songs penned with the yMusic collective. These songs retain the humour and downright honesty that have become synonymous with Ben's work.
In an interview with The Canberra Times on 14 July, Ben told reporter Jil Hogan the record had started as a project writing concertos for piano, which quickly developed into something so much more. "I didn't know if I was even gonna have singing and lyrics on it at first,” he says, “because it was based on piano concerto and having that as a starting point, I felt that I might finish the record with small chamber groups playing instrumental music I was writing, but as soon as I met yMusic it just seemed like a rock band.
"When I was introduced to yMusic, it was like, 'oh, these are my brothers and sisters, we're done'," Ben says. "I didn't look back. I had a new rock band, basically. I didn't expect to end up in a new band, but that's what happened."
Ben and yMusic make their way to Australia in August for a string of shows. Although currently based out of Los Angeles and Nashville, Ben once proudly called Adelaide home, proclaiming his great love for the city in the song 'Adelaide' from his 2004 EP, 'Super D'. “I'm looking forward to bringing our new live show to Australia,” Ben says.
“For me, returning to Australia is like coming home, where I have deep roots and feel such a strong connection to audiences.”
Ben Folds & yMusic Tour Dates
Thu 18 Aug - QPAC(Brisbane)Sat 20 Aug - Sydney Opera House
Sun 21 Aug - Sydney Opera House
Tue 23 Aug - Perth Concert Hall
Thu 25 Aug - Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Fri 26 Aug - Palais Theatre (Melbourne)
Sat 27 Aug - Palais Theatre (Melbourne)
Sun 28 Aug - Canberra Theatre
