As he prepares to release a new solo album, singer-songwriter Ben Lee is coming to terms with his evolving role in the Australian music industry.
"Some parts of my creative process haven't changed at all in that I sit down with a guitar and write a song, wow, I've been doing that a long time," Ben laughs."But other things in terms of getting older: wanting to help my creative community more and help develop different projects and be available as a mentor and a producer.
"You know, you have to take on this role as an elder statesman. That stuff has been a more gradual understanding of how I can be useful and it's really fun."
Ben is currently on tour with his forthcoming album 'This One's For The Old Headz', which will be released in September.
The tour is taking Ben off the beaten track to some new and interesting venues around the country, including the newly refurbished Kingston Butter Factory Cultural Precinct in Brisbane's south this June. The former butter factory has transformed into a landmark venue for music events in the City of Logan.
"I'm at this moment where I've made this new record I'm really proud of and it's time for me to connect with my audiences. Basically, offers are coming in for me to play here and there, and I'm saying yes," he says.
"It's a fun period saying yes to weirder gigs – I did two gigs on Dangar Island on Mother's Day – but it's a lot of fun. Especially as an Australian artist playing more regional stuff too, where you normally wouldn't get to play. So, I'm just saying yes."
Back in 2005, awake was the new sleep for Ben; nowadays, the '90s are the new nostalgia. 'This One's For The Old Headz' is an audio homage to Ben's formative years during a decade that has become the cultural taste du jour among a new generation.
"It's interesting because a lot of [the album] is about reflecting on being younger and the music scene that I grew up in," he explains.
"I wanted to make a record that both was for people my age who understood the value of the ethics of the '90s musically, but also talking to the younger audience who [with] nostalgia has idealised the era they weren't even alive in.
"I was very interested in making a record that was about speaking to both those things; about looking back at that period, where I stand now and what I carry with me."
From the early, pre-Internet days of Noise Addict, Ben's musical career has been rooted in an indie DIY ethos empowered by the rise of digital recording capabilities.
"That was my history, starting in 1992 coming right over the invention of Pro Tools, all of that but taking an indie approach to technology. I'm still interested in what that era had to say about the way we use equipment."
Over the years, Ben has connected with a myriad of musical collaborators for various projects, including Ben Folds and Ben Kweller in The Bens, duetting with Sarah Silverman, his work with actor/ musician Josh Radnor as folk duo Radnor & Lee, and his current venture with wife Ione Skye in their production company Weirder Together.
"I find the collaborations have these cosmic windows that open and close," Ben says. "The odds that two people, let alone three or four people, are going to be in the exact right moment to come together and make something, it's kind of a miracle when it happens, so you sometimes find it opens and closes.
"It's like our schedules aren't aligned or we live in different places, but that's not to say it doesn't open again.
"I've always thought, 'don't ever say anything's over', because there can always be a moment where it comes back and starts again. It just feels a bit arrogant to assume you're going to know the flow of how things are going to go."
Ben Lee 2024 Tour Dates
Fri 7 Jun - Street Theatre (Canberra)Sat 8 Jun - The Marlin (South Coast)
Fri 14 Jun - Everglades (Central Coast)
Sat 15 Jun - Avalon Beach RSL (Sydney)
Fri 21 Jun - Studio 188 (Ipswich)
Sat 22 Jun - Kingston Butter Factory (Brisbane)
Wed 26 Jun - Weirder Together @ The Great Club (Sydney)
Sat 29 Jun - The Concourse (Sydney)
Thu 4 Jul - Redland Performing Arts Centre (Brisbane)
Fri 5 Jul - Star Court Theatre (Lismore)
Sat 6 Jul - Jetty Memorial Theatre (Coffs Harbour)
Sun 7 Jul - Hello Sailor (Port Macquarie)
Fri 2 Aug - Pacific Palms Rec Club (North Coast)
Sat 3 Aug - Dungowan Brewery (New England)
Wed 7 Aug - Piano Bar (Ballarat)
Thu 8 Aug - Piano Bar (Bendigo)
Fri 9 Aug - Queenscliff Town Hall
Sat 10 Aug - Cowes Cultural Centre (Philip Island)
Thu 15 Aug - Bone Idol Bar (Toowoomba)
Fri 16 Aug - SunPAC (Brisbane)
Sat 17 Aug - Mo's Desert Clubhouse (Gold Coast)
Thu 22 Aug - Warners Bay Theatre (Newcastle)
