Ben Neill Carves Infinite Space on Mutantrumpet Live on Echoes
There is no other instrumentalist like Ben Neill, because he plays an instrument that no one else has, a constantly-evolving hybrid he calls the mutantrumpet. It’s a trumpet with 3 bells, 2 sets of valves, a mini trombone slide and a lot of electronic controllers. In a 2009 interview with Echoes, Neill told us that the purpose of utilizing the mutanttrumpet is to create a larger spectrum of sounds.
“That’s been a big focus for me, basically trying to use the trumpet for as many of the different kinds of sounds as I can,” Neill explained. “So you’ll hear percussion sounds, and other types of sounds, like blowing air through the instrument; Things that you wouldn’t necessarily associate with the conventional trumpet.” With his custom instrument and minimalistic influence from composers like Brian Eno and Jon Hassell,
Ben Neill’s solo act creates electronic landscapes where all the sounds originate from his trumpet in a hallucinatory swirl. Back in 2016, Ben stopped by the Echoes studio to play music from his new album at the time, called Horizonal, which includes five original pieces by Neill as well as a cover of a tune by 90’s shoegaze band, Lush. In this performance Ben Neill plays three tracks from Horizonal live.
You can watch Ben perform the first tune, “The Other Side of Midnight,” on the Echoes YouTube channel here>>
This version of that song also appears on our collection of live performances: Efflorescent – Echoes Live 22.
Ben Neill Live in Concert |
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Horizonal
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I enjoyed hearing Ben explain his music as well as hearing the playing. Also the gentleman from Echoes sharing in-put to the conversation as well. Thanks for making it available for everyone to see the instrument and how it controls all the music. Congratulations on your book! Ann Neill