Spells Ben Lukas Boysen

• 1The Veil06:42
• 2Nocturne 303:39
• 3Sleepers Beat Theme04:30
• 4Golden Times I08:37
• 5Nocturne 406:47
• 6Keep Watch06:02
• 7Golden Times II05:44
• 8Selene03:20
• Total Runtime45:21

Info for Spells

Erased Tapes are set to release 'Spells', the new album by their latest signing: Berlin-based composer, producer and sound designer Ben Lukas Boysen, on 10th June 2016. 'Spells' merges programmed piano pieces with live instruments, combining the controllable technical world and the often unpredictable aspects of live improvisation. In some ways it continues where his underground debut 'Gravity' left off, though a lot of weight is lifted, making room for a lighter and more energetic listen. Friend and fellow Erased Tapes artist Nils Frahm mixed and mastered both albums. Ben is not a master pianist like his dear friend, but his sound collages are so meticulously designed that after hearing the result an impressed Nils declared: ''from now on, if anyone asks - this is a real piano''. His intricate, humanised programming enhanced by drummer Achim Färber, cellist Anton Peisakhov and harpist Lara Somogyi, and a considerate selection of echoes, delays and compressors has been used to create a hybrid sound that intends to deceive, question and challenge existing listening habits. Utilising the contrast between reduction and decoration, 'Spells' can be seen as a quest to find out how much or how little composition is required to constitute a song. Why the ear can and should be deceived about the authenticity of instruments. What significance these instruments have within this process, and why the personal perception of balance and sound exclude ultimate truths. Linking the two albums are the four movements of 'Nocturne', an everdeveloping conversation that on occasion flirts with the grandeur of compressed rock drums. The first single, 'Golden Times 1', received a world premiere by BBC 6 Music's Mary Anne Hobbs, proclaiming it as ''incredible.'' An alternative version of 'Sleepers Beat Theme' composed for the soundtrack to a short film about the Trans-Siberian Express opened Jon Hopkins' Late Night Tales album from 2015, who noted „I thought it was such a calming and sensitive piece that sounded to me like the beginning of something...the warmth and depth of the sound entrances me every time“.

Ben Lukas Boysen, all instruments

Ben Lukas Boysen
Berlin based electronic producer and in-demand sound designer, Ben Lukas Boysen has been in contact with music and arts from a very young age. Born in 1981 as the third child of opera singer Deirdre Boysen and actor Claus Boysen, his classical music training on piano and guitar began when he was seven years old.

Ben's first electronic compositions were done by experimenting with samplers and tape loops when he was 16. Setting up HECQ Audio as a studio project in 2008, he has produced many albums and created custom sound design for films, commercials, installations and image films – clients include MTV, BBC, Amnesty International, Marvel Comics and Mazda.

Festival such as OFFF, BD4D and Flash On The Beach have been inviting Ben to give workshops for students, TV & film editors, composers and sound designers. Boysen wrote his first score in 2010 for the feature film Restive, directed by Jeremiah Jones, followed by Johan Liedgren's Mother Nature and California Scheming by Marco Weber scored in 2011.

Mostly known under his moniker Hecq, Boysen will release his new album 'Spells' and a re-issue of his debut album 'Gravity' under his real name on June 10, 2016 via Erased Tapes Records. Ableton paid Ben a visit in his Berlin studio for a fascinating look at how he gathers and transforms his unconventional audio material. ‘Sleepers Beat Theme’, an excerpt from his score for the motion picture with the same name, was released as the opening track to the acclaimed Jon Hopkins-curated Late Night Tales compilation in early 2015.

This album contains no booklet.