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Special broadcasts featured on KBVR
It is New Colossus twenty twenty six. I'm here with Ben Ellis. How are you?
Ben:I am so good. Thank you for having me. This is great.
Evangeline:We're we were talking about how you've been to The US before, but this is your first time playing in New York.
Ben:Yes. Yeah. This is
Evangeline:my first How are feeling?
Ben:My first ever US show at all. And, yeah, I'm really, really excited to be here. This is the coolest thing ever. Yeah. New York.
Ben:Who'da thank? It's so fun.
Evangeline:How was it working with Matt Rad, who's done like One Direction, the All American Rechecks? Like, was that ex was it surreal? Was it crazy? How was it? That's such a
Ben:cool question. Matt is one of my best friends in the world. And my first session with him, I didn't realize that he was like he had done like best song ever, like one of my favorite One Direction songs. And just like all of these things, didn't realize that he had all these like crazy credits. And we just got along so well.
Ben:That's kind of why I wanted to work with him. It wasn't really necessarily about, like, the songs we were writing. It was more about the connection that we had as mates. And so, yeah, since then it's been he's changed my artistry and how I view songwriting and I'm so grateful for him. So, yeah.
Ben:I love Matt. He's the best.
Evangeline:That's I mean, that's great. I was a directioner as a kid. I wasn't as I wasn't as crazy as other people were, but when Zane left the band, I I cried. It was it was heartbreaking. I cried.
Ben:Yeah. I I I remember when they were on the X Factor, and I was a massive, like, Niall stan Oh, at yeah. The time. But now, obviously, I just feel like I am a bit the biggest Harry Harry Styles man. Styles man.
Evangeline:How do you feel about the new, what, album, right, he just released?
Ben:Yeah. Have you listened to it?
Evangeline:No. No. I'm sorry. No. No.
Evangeline:No. No.
Ben:I'm sorry. I love it. I think it's really good. I think some people might not like it because he's just doing whatever he wants, but I kind of think that that's what music is about. And he is constantly trying to reinvent the wheel of what pop music is, and I think that's really cool.
Ben:So I would say I love it.
Evangeline:I do like him as an artist. I just the most pop I get is Ed Sheeran. Ed Sheeran's my guilty I love Ed Sheeran.
Ben:I like, Ed Sheeran was my, like, guy when I was growing up. Like, one of the people that I think if I did meet him, I'd probably cry. Like, and don't I think I feel that about anyone else. Just purely because of how much of an influence he had on my childhood and, like, growing up.
Evangeline:I went to London recently Okay. And I was like, so people actually go out here. This is great because
Ben:Yeah. Have you been to heaven?
Evangeline:No, I haven't.
Ben:Okay. Next time you go, you've gotta go to heaven. It's like a gay club in the center of London. And I only love clubbing at gay clubs. Okay.
Ben:Which I I I'll be honest, it's just like the best vibe because you just kind of if you're going with your, like, your girlfriends or anything, like, you don't really have to worry about them. Whereas in a club in London, usually you're having to be like, keep your keep your to double check that they're okay. Yeah. And it's just the best vibe. Everyone just doesn't care.
Ben:And, yeah, that's why heaven is the best. You should definitely go.
Evangeline:Yeah. I wanna go back. Although if I go back, I wanna go to other parts of The UK, like, Brighton And Wales. That's where you're from. There we go.
Evangeline:That's where you're from. Yeah.
Ben:I was waiting for that. You was like, you need to you need to include that.
Evangeline:There's a lot of, like, folkish music coming out of Wales. Does that influence you at all?
Ben:I I guess my main influence that come from Wales are more along the pop and rock side. There's a really great band called the Stereophonics Okay. Who I I grew up on and who are huge in in Wales, and everyone knows who they are. Mhmm. Also, Tom Jones and, like, he's, like, the the biggest pop dude in the in the world Yeah.
Ben:For for the Welsh people. They just love him. But then folk stuff, I mean, I like all of the kind of there's a load of up and coming artists coming from Wales who are really killing the game. And in the folky kind of realm, I think there's a there's an artist called Betzan. She's insane.
Ben:She has a song called Ous, which is fully in Welsh, and it's incredible. But, yeah. No. I would definitely say that, like, the upcoming scene in Wales is definitely influencing me a lot because I wanted to be a part of it as well. Yeah.
Evangeline:So from being from there, would you ever do a song in Welsh?
Ben:I unfortunately, I don't speak Welsh as much as I wish I did. I'm I'm currently getting lessons. Oh. Wonderful. Because I kind of wanna advocate for it a lot more.
Ben:I have a song that I'm hoping that, like, ends in Welsh Oh. Which is cool. But, yeah, I kind of wanna, like, hammer in a little bit more of it, to be fair. Mhmm. I love being from Wales.
Ben:I love being Welsh. So I I hope that people can notice that more, you know?
Evangeline:Yeah. Your promotion for Sofia?
Ben:Oh my gosh. Yeah.
Evangeline:Yeah. How I like it. I mean, it was like I've never seen somebody do that. I know. Did you like, when you were doing it, were you like, this is it?
Evangeline:Like, I this is what's gonna get me out there? Or were you just like, I wanna do this?
Ben:I I I found a lot of comfort as of late of, like, I feel like I've done everything that, like, young me would have wanted to do as an artist. And so everything past year, I'm just like, I'm just so grateful. For example, I'm in New York right now, like, that's crazy. Yep. I think with Sofia, like, it was at a time where I hadn't traveled that much and, like, I was, like, desperate to get out and, like, do something.
Ben:Mhmm. And then when I met my camera man, we were just like, should we just go to Bulgaria and do, like, a, you know, get matching tattoos and do crazy things and Why not? The things that you do when you're 19. And, like, I think we were just like yeah. We just wanted to have fun.
Ben:Mhmm. And I think that that's what sometimes is the main thing that people can gravitate gravitate to because it's people are craving what's real now, I guess, in this day and age. So I feel like traveling to a country and, like, having an amazing time strangers and really having a great, like, experience really showed that, like, that's kind of how we wanted to brand everything from for the future. And I think we've stuck to that really for the rest of the project. Absolutely.
Evangeline:So you are an independent artist. You don't have a record label or anything. So how like, the music is great and it's fun, of course, but the business side of things, does that sometimes put a dampen like, does it dampen your attitude about music or does it put like a fire in your belly?
Ben:I think it's so interesting. Like, I've been so lucky as an independent artist to like, I have the most amazing fans back home and like, all of the money that we make on merch kind of helps us. Like, all a lot of different things that kind of, like, help us to to keep this afloat until maybe we decide to sign later on. I think that it's really easy to be cynical about it. Like, you I only make music for the music and all of that kind of stuff.
Ben:Like, I am so proud of the stuff that I've made. This next project that I've got coming out is just everything to me. And I think you can definitely show that through the business side as well. Like, you can put your passion into, like, your image and your branding. Like, unfortunately, we're just in a day and age where music isn't everything in in, like, the career as an artist.
Ben:Like, there's so many different things that you also need to be good at. Mhmm. Music will always be the forefront. You have to write good songs, but then also, like, you also need to, like Make smarts. Make smart decisions and be an artist that kind of, like, puts himself out and shows, like, his A businessman.
Ben:Yeah. I'm I'm grateful and and lucky that I get to do it, and I'm so so excited for, like, the future with it all. But again, yeah, I'm just so content with it now. I'm like, I get to tour. I get to play some my songs.
Ben:I, hopefully, we'll be able to keep doing it for the rest of my life and, yeah. I
Evangeline:think you've got the potential.
Ben:Thank
Evangeline:you. And having a really supportive fan base helps a lot too. It's really interesting because you're you are very well known in The UK, but I feel like in The United States, unless, like, you're on social media where your music did go viral for a little bit. Yeah. You're not known as much.
Evangeline:Do you think that your, like, more recent release is gonna change that? Are you currently in the works of something else that you think has the potential to go viral in The United States?
Ben:Again, like, I guess my my thought process is, like, I I'm finally in a position where I'm just, like, this is amazing. I love what I write. I love everything and that I'm doing. And so I think I've been lucky enough. I go to LA often to make all the music that I do.
Ben:Working with Matt is is Matt Rad is is out in LA in his place, and and I love American culture. I do feel like when you go to The US as an artist, you can be like a tiny fish in a massive ocean of artists and people. So I don't know. Like, I have no idea what's gonna come out of it, but I'm just loving every second of it and, like, whether two people are in the room tonight or, like, 100. I you know, it's just gonna be it's just gonna be fun.
Ben:I'm just gonna have a good time. I I have the most incredible fans who turn up for me in some of the weirdest circumstances. It's hilarious. Like, they'll be at gigs that I'll be like, why are you here? I do think this is probably overshooting it.
Ben:I'm not expecting Okay. Anyone to be here at all from from The UK. They are amazing fans. It would be really funny. But, yeah, I don't know.
Ben:My my I I guess I'm just excited to kind of play for a new crowd of people. Yeah. Don't know what New York people are like. Maybe they'll be with me.
Evangeline:They're awesome.
Ben:But I'm expecting good things.
Evangeline:Yes. Well, I'll be the crowd, so I'll see you. But with that said, what is your favorite song to play live?
Ben:Oh, interesting. I will say I have a song called Where She Goes that I really love. It's like an anthem anthemic kind of song that's always so fun. And with a band, it's great because it's just like it's just like the song I always wanted to make, so I really love it. Also, there's a song called When It Ends as well, which is also really fun.
Ben:We're in a kind of acoustic set up here, so all the songs are very much toned down. But, yeah, the the emotion still comes out of them, which is really cool. So I'll probably say where she goes, actually.
Evangeline:Okay. Okay. Where can people find you on? Where do they follow you? Where do they listen to you?
Ben:You can find me on Spotify, on at benellis. My Instagram is like benellismusic benellismusic on pretty much a lot of things. Mhmm. And, yeah, just benellis, b e n e l l I s.
Evangeline:Last thing, can I get a legal ID from you?
Ben:A what?
Evangeline:A legal ID? You just have to say this is Ben Ellis. You're listening to KBVR Corvallis.
Ben:Hey, guys. This is Ben Ellis on KBVR Corvallis. I hope you guys enjoy. Lots of love. Bye.