The last place you’ll find Benjamin Booker is where he was yesterday.
The artist grew up in a woodsy trailer park on the outskirts of Tampa overlooking a sewage plant, surrounded by rebel flags and religious fanaticism. “The neighbors burned a cross in my yard when I was 6. We didn’t really socialize with a lot of people around us after that. I spent all of my time in my head.”
Eventually, he found his way to the local DIY punk scene, a welcomed escape, and never looked back. After, releasing his Waiting Ones EP, he was picked up by blogs and signed to a label shortly after news spread.
His 2014 self-titled debut album dabbled in fuzzy americana-inspired garage rock. The raw, stripped back, analogue recordings hinted at the past, but underneath the surface were contemporary songs about gay marriage, growing up in a post-9/11 world and erotic asphyxiation. Then, after nearly losing his life in a shooting in New Orleans, he retreated to Mexico City and wrote his second album Witness (2017)—a darker album that ran lush string arrangements, 60s balladry, boom bap, and 70s glam rock through Shawn Everett’s futuristic mixing filter.
Both albums were met with critical acclaim and led to world tours, a spot on just about every festival you can think of and opening slots for Tame Impala, Jack White and Neil Young. But then, he disappeared.
“I wanted to get to this sound, but I didn’t know how. At some point I decided I’m going to find it or die trying.”
He spent years tinkering in a loft near Skid Row in Los Angeles before ending up across the globe in Perth, Australia.
Trading stems via email, Booker crafted his third album with LA underground hip-hop mastermind Kenny Segal. The new album, LOWER, mixes experimental hip hop, dream and noise pop, and singer-songwriter music into something that is entirely his own. Through the changes, Booker’s lyrical exploration of pain and longing have been persistent.
“Kenny was the missing piece I needed–he fills in all of my gaps. I don’t know what I’ll do next, but if I can imagine it, I can do it now.”