Benny Marchant
Benny Marchant has been winning over audiences with his music so far this year and now he looks set to do the same with his latest track Back To Life and an album to drop this autumn.
I caught up with him to talk about the single, the album, making the transition to a solo artist and what lies ahead.
- Back To Life is your latest single, which featured on the soundtrack to movie Crooked Arrow, so how have you found the response to the track so far here in the UK? And how did the movie come about?.
I am presuming that it has done pretty well in the UK because we are here so I am really happy. The movie experience has been fantastic.
When we found out that they were thinking about using the song we were definitely waiting and hoping and when we saw the movie we had to make sure that it was in there because the director always has the final call to use it or not.
But it was wonderful and it was such a great experience.
- You are in the UK at the moment so how have you found you time here so far? And what are going to be up to while you are here?
Well it was kind of weird because our flight got cancelled two days ago and so we were in the airport or in the aeroplane for twenty four hours straight. So we are a bit tired; we managed to go to the market for a little bit yesterday but after we made some food we all just went back to sleep.
But what we have planned it getting out on the town as we have a show tomorrow night and that should be fun. So we want to see the sights and I am going to do some tour stuff for sure.
- Is there an album around the corner and what can we expect from it?
Yes there is an album and we are releasing it September 14th here in the UK. I love it and it is from the same producer and song writers; myself and Steve Sulikowski and also Joey Clemente did a couple with us.
It is just eight brilliant songs and I love them. We had a bunch of songs to choose from and I thought that these were just the perfect way to go.
- As you say you have hooked back up with the same song-writers so how did you find working with them?
I love it. Back To Life was actually the first track that we did together; we recorded it about a year ago. I was on the road for a while and when I got back we made some time and did a punch of pre-production and worked on a ton of songs. It was just really good to get back together and finish up a record.
- Back To Life is an upbeat and yet emotional track so how does this track pave the way for the rest of the album?
I think it it’s a good starting point as the record has it’s pop way but it also has a lot of rock to it.
It was cool because we wanted to go a little bit more commercial in the beginning of the song-writing process and as soon as we hit what we were looking for we decided to go a little bit more alternative and a little more creative in our own right. Yeah it’s going to be great.
- You have slightly touched on my next question really as you say you decided to go a little bit more commercial and I wondered what made you want to go down a slightly different path?
We released an EP called Conversations Missed about two years ago and we did ok on the triple a charts, I think we went up to sixty four with the first single and then it kind of teetered off a little bit.
My background really is being in rock bands as I have been the front man from a bunch of rock bands and so the singer-songwriter thing is a little new to me and it didn’t feel right and it wasn’t me totally.
So I am glad with the direction in which we are going now because it is a little bit more appropriate. - I chat to musicians all the time and some aren't fans of the recording process so how do you find stepping into the studio?
I love it, that is how I got started to begin with. I like the fact that you can be creative and I just love putting songs and sounds together.
It is where I got started because in college I studied music theory and I learned how the old artist and writers how they recorded and it is kind of a cool thing.
- You have mentioned that you have fronted a couple of rock bands in the past so how have you found the move to becoming a solo artist?
In the beginning I think it was very difficult, the first year was very difficult, and then as soon as I started realising that even as a solo artist I didn’t need to put everything on to my shoulders and I could free myself up.
I ended up having more freedom to work with other song-writers and musicians and studios, producers and engineers and being able to make the decisions quickly was a wonderful thing.
- What does the record say about you as an artist?
That I don’t sit in one category and I know in the upcoming months and years definitely people will learn how prolific this project will be.
- So where did your love of music come from?
Where it came from I have no idea I just know that when I heard it and got my first records I just fell in love with it.
- Well you studied music at college so how useful have you found having that music background?
Huge because I didn’t start playing music until college as well. I just took a theory class because it was late in the morning so I was able to sleep in and go out the night before.
But I wound up understanding pretty well and I was kind of surprised about it. Learning the theory and how songs are written, and formats and how to orchestrate put it into a new perspective and made me think ‘wow I can actually do this’ - and music being something that I loved it was very nice moving in and finding out what you love to do.
- You have an ever growing fanbase so for any of them reading this interview do you have a message for them?
Thanks for sticking with me (laughs).
- Finally what's coming up for you for the rest of the year?
Well with the record being launched I will definitely be coming back to the UK and I’m going to make sure that we hook up something good for a couple of weeks in September.
I have got a lot of shows in the States and I am just going to be doing a pretty big radio tour pushing Back To Life.
Benny Marchant’s single Back To Life is out now and the album will be released in September.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw