Watt,Ben Hendra CD

2014 release, the first solo album in 30 years from one-half of Everything But the Girl. Recorded in London and Berlin, the music is a meeting of worlds: languid Folk, distorted Rock and fizzing Electronics; in part a result of the album's two central collaborators, ex-Suede guitarist, Bernard Butler, and Berlin-based producer Ewan Pearson. 'I turned instinctively to Bernard very early on,' says Ben. 'I knew his overdriven, string-bent intensity would be the perfect foil to my own warm open-tuned style. It adds tension to the songs. Ewan has a foot in both my recent worlds. He can do thrumming Berlin techno, but also things of great delicacy and grace. I also wanted his vintage '70s poly-synths as a contrasting color, and a burnished 3-D sound, which of course both play to his strengths.' the album also includes one other unexpected stellar cameo - Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, who adds plangent slide guitar and backing vocals on 'The Levels'.

1. Hendra 2. Forget 3. Spring 4. Golden Ratio 5. Matthew Arnold's Field 6. Gun 7. Nathaniel 8. Levels 9. Young Man's Game 10. Heart Is a Mirror