Ben Hayes

Based in south east London, Ben Hayes creates music that has been described as dizzying, intelligent and profound. Lacing carefully programmed synthesisers and the warmth of live instrumental performance with deftly manipulated found sound, Ben Hayes punctuates evolving organic textures with evocatively lopsided beats, whilst bringing to the foreground the minute beauty hidden in sounds that would otherwise pass us by.

Beginning his journey on blues guitar and finding his feet in London playing jazz double bass, Ben's musical history represents a melange of formative influences. Discovering along the way a predilection for immersing himself in the sounds of other cultures, Ben draws as heavily on the haunting oud melodies of Arabic music and the innately moving rhythms of traditional west African music as he does on the intricately maximal hip-hop and soul of contemporaries such as Lapalux and Flying Lotus, resulting in a sound that both builds on established tradition and occupies a distinct space in the modern musical landscape.

Ben's Hedonia EP, released in April 2015, was widely praised, described by Complex UK as "dizzying" and by Clash Magazine as "soulful and future facing". Shortly after the EP's release, Ben appeared in FACT Magazine, winning their Against The Clock competition with his episode. His first collaboration with vocalist Naomi Banks, Colours, was picked up last year by Red Bull and featured in their coverage of a snowboarding world first.