INTERVIEW; Jack Saunders Interviews Ben Hutcheson

To celebrate the release of Ben Hutchesons self titled debut album, we decided to ask the man of the moment a few questions about his musical inspirations, songwriting, and of course his wonderful new album.
 
Jack: Hey Ben, great to be talking to you today! Thank you for lending me a moment of what I’m sure is a really busy and exciting time for yourself right now!
 
Ben: Hey Jack, No worries at all! It’s an absolute pleasure! Yeah things are pretty mad at the moment with the album being released, now its just full steam ahead!
 
J: First of all, let me congratulate you on the debut album, great achievement and one that you must be so proud of! It’s a really great album and I really enjoyed reviewing it. Tell me how you’re feeling right now, fresh of the back of the release date, and a wonderful launch party to accompany it! How did the launch show go?
 
B: Thank you so much! Yeah absolutely, i’m definitely proud, its taken about 4 years of rescheduling due to Covid and other aspects that delayed it so I’m definitely glad to have it out there!
 
The Show was great! We had a wonderful and attentive crowd with some incredible supports from George Wilding and Hushwing which really made it a special night!
 
J: So for any of our audience who don’t know much about you, how would you describe yourself and your album?
 
B: I tend to describe myself as a Country Rock Musician that has aspects of both Folk and Pop sprinked in the songs. The album itself is what I’ve done to try and make a journey of it. It starts on a high, brings you in for the gut wrenchers in the middle and softly plonks you back down at the end. Each song has its own unique meaning to me but I love hearing people's opinions on what they interpret the song as and it really fills me with joy hearing they got something from it!
 
J: What is your favourite song from the album, and is there perhaps a different song that you would recommend to a first time listener?
 
B: Ooh hard question! I’d say my favourite is one of the last two on the album (Keep the Light On or Came From You). Keep The Light On was a hard song for me to write due to the place I was in mentally at that point but I’m proud of what its become since. Came from You is a song that I feel completely encompasses the vibe of the album and brings it all to a head hence it being up there for me. For a new listeners I’d possibly recommend Summer of Seventeen or Thinking About You. Both are easy going, up-beat songs and really can be one of the easiest songs to listen to!
 
J: Let’s go back to the very start. Who would you credit as your three most influential artists? And what was the moment when you realised that you wanted to be a singer songwriter?
 
B: I’ve known i’ve wanted to be a singer since I was about 5. All of my life i’ve focused on music and its just everything to me. As for artists I always struggle so much with this as so many influence you at different stages in your life. If I had to choose 3 of the most influential I’d likely say Kenny Chesney, The Script and Luke Combs.
 
J: You have had some success in the past with one of your songs “Stand By Me” which has amassed more than fourteen million streams! An incredible achievement. How does it feel to have a song with that many listens? Is there some kind of marketing secret that you think other artists should know?
 
B: It’s mad to think about really! I released through a small label which is where a lot of the marketing came from so sadly I have no tips although I wish I did! I’ve had friends from England go on holiday only to be told they heard my song over in a club in Spain or other places. It’s all very surreal.
 
J: You’ve said that there’s a music video planned in the near future, are you able to spill the beans on what songs we can expect to see videos on and any clues as to what the videos could look like?
 
B: So I can confirm that theres a music video due out at the end of this month! Its a very relaxed vibe of a video but I can’t give away the track just yet so that may help with the guess… as for others in future, I do hope so! they’re great fun to do it just depends if they’re viable or not!
 
J: This is a question I like to ask all of our artists. What is your earliest musical memory?
 
B: Oh gosh! I suppose it’s when I had my first phone (I was probably about 6-7) and using bluetooth to transfer different songs between friends and getting “Apologise” by One Republic and listening to it religiously just as I thought it was a great song!
 
J: Lastly, what does the future hold for Ben Hutcheson, and what’s the musical plan going forward? Another album?
 
B: The hope is to grow the audience and grow the fan base! Then of course it’s all about releasing new music so I should assume that another album will likely don’t you worry!
 
J: Thank you so much for talking to me once again, Ben. Always a pleasure!
 
Ben Hutchesons debut album is available to listen on all platforms. Be sure to head over to the Antix website and app if you would like to read my review on two of the songs from Ben’s album.
 
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