upcoming shows
March 19, 8PM – Ben Neill and Bill Jones – Issue Project Room, Brooklyn, NY
April 27, 7PM – 911-911 by Mel Chin Film Screening at MOMA with original music by Ben Neill
May 16, 8PM – Ben Neill and Bill Jones – The Gatherings Concert Series, Philadelphia, PA
June 4-6 – Ben Neill with LEMUR – League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots – NIME Conference, Carnegie-Mellon U, Pittsburgh, PA
June 26. 7:30 PM – Ben Neill with David Rothenberg, Philipstown Depot Theater, Garrison, NY
July 10-12 – Ben Neill and Bill Jones – Ingenuity Festival, Cleveland, OH
October 29-31 – Ben Neill and Bill Jones – Optica Festival, Gijon, Spain
Ben Neill is using a schizophrenic trumpet to create art music for the people. Wired Magazine
A creative composer, genius performer, and inventor of the mutantrumpet. Time Out NY
Ben Neill masterfully blurs the lines between electronic dance music and jazz sounds. Billboard
Ben Neill is the mad scientist of dancefloor jazz…an inventive and stimulating voyage. CMJ Monthly
9 out of 10 rating…Ben Neill is a mad scientist, and he has discovered the formula that breaks musical barriers. Mixmag
Calling Ben Neill a trumpeter is like calling Mr. Spock a frequent flyer…as vibrant as the galaxies beyond, both adventurous and artful. Boston Phoenix
Neill works with harmonies based on numerical relationships that produce spiritually powerful resonances. The result is trippy, otherworldly, seamlessly groovy. Interview Magazine
Ben Neill is a musical powerhouse, a serious and individual talent. Time Out London
Ben has roots in the usual sources, notably Miles Davis and Jon Hassell, but he’s staked out his own terrain in the sonic landscape, mixing fractured jungle loops under his free-form improvisations. His music is like a digital river, with a different fractalized scene around every corner, the constant being Ben Neill greeting you on your way. John Diliberto, Echoes
Ben Neill’s next CD Night Science will be released on Thirsty Ear Recordings September 1. Neill’s new music combines dubstep beats and basslines with the sonic explorations of the newly redesigned mutantrumpet.
river to river festival
Ben has organized four shows at the River to River Festival at World Financial Center this summer. These FREE concerts will be every Tuesday at 9PM in the Winter Garden and will feature live electronic and acoustic music with visual projections.
July 7 – Scanner/Mountains
July 14 – M83 special ambient set with video artist Janet Biggs
July 21 – Gamelatron Robotic Gamelan Orchestra with video by Forward Motion Theater, Karsh Kale and Timeline
July 28 – King Britt – Sun-Ra Lectric; Saturn Never Sleeps
Outlands - new video
new mutantrumpet
Ben has designed a new version of his unique electro-acoustic instrument, the mutantrumpet. Working with engineers and designers in New York and Amsterdam, Neill has greatly updated the electronic capabilities of his instrument. The mutantrumpet has been evolving since the mid-1980’s when Neill originally worked with synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog to design its first electronic interface. In 1992 Neill made the instrument fully computer interactive through a residency at the Steim studios in Amsterdam, a research and development lab for new instruments. The new mutantrumpet uses technologies from Steim as well as a new ergonomic design which now includes 8 continuous MIDI controllers and 8 momentary MIDI controllers in addition to the acoustic note and volume control from the instrument’s natural sound. The instrument connects directly to the computer via USB.
Persephone
Ben Neill is collaborating with Mimi Goese and Ridge Theater
on Persephone, a music theater piece which will premiere in 2010.