Linda was kind enough to listen to Portrait and write a short piece about it. Her first language is French and she did a great job with an English review. She was ok with me editing as needed. - Ben 

Portrait, An Invitation to the Voyage 
by Linda (@ArcticMonkcul)
  
On October 14th Ben Myers released “Portrait”, an album mostly based on the concepts of love and underlying commitment. The lyrics of “Portrait” address everyone yet creates a personal experience for the listener. Ben’s message of love to his muse is so strong throughout that we can’t help but wonder who it might be. In Portrait love is everywhere. Love surrounds us. 
  
“It’s been a while, since I last wrote a song for you. It’s been a while, but babe, this one here is for me too.” – Aging Hearts 
  
Ben’s hushed voice shares a certain sensibility with us. A feeling of serenity is evident in each song. Even with his abstract lyrics, Ben makes the listener feel like he understands how they are feeling. He sings in whispers but his message of love, understanding, peace and passion resonate loudly with his hushed tone. 
  
A verse from “Invitation of the Voyage” by Baudelaire completely sums up this album: 
  
“There, there’s only order, beauty: abundant, calm, voluptuous”

http://ratedsound.com/index.php/2016/06/30/ben-myers-daylight-moon-review/
 

"Ben Myers Daylight Moon album is the latest in a remarkable run of creativity which saw the talented singer-songwriter write seven albums in four years. Prolific or what? Over the twelve songs on Daylight Moon, Ben shows that his song writing is on an upward curve as he produces acoustic ballads with melodies that would be the envy of any of his contemporaries.

... It’s quite easy to see that Ben is interested in the song writing process with influences from The Beatles to Elvis Costello apparent in his work. More obvious comparisons in mood and tempo have been made to Elliott Smith but given the quality of such artists, this is no bad thing.

Ben Myers has a seemingly effortless knack of producing intelligent, thoughtful acoustic music with roots in pop and folk in equal measures. All of the songs on Daylight Moon have a great melody that is, in-part well planned but also something instinctive that no amount of practice can generate. You’ve either got it or you haven’t and on Daylight Moon, Ben Myers proves beyond any doubt that he’s got it in abundance."

Here is my interview with the Mexican independent rock site Indie Radio Rock:

See the full post here: http://www.indieradiorock.com/2016/03/ever-listened-to-ben-myers-give-new.html
(There is also a Spanish version on their site)
 

Good night Ben, Where do you get your inspiration from? 

Dreams, memories, and feelings. I seem to have a wide range of emotions which follow me around... things that I've tried to ignore... but I end up diving head-first into these feelings. There's certainly a lot of anger and frustration present in my songs, but more than that it's the release that comes from freeing yourself of that anger, like finding spiritual enlightenment and rising above it all. Sex, beauty, and beautiful women are a huge influence on me as well, and not in a shallow way. There's something incredibly mystifying about women, and it usually comes from the ones that don't realize how mysterious they are. 

Could you please name your musical influences? 

There are so many... really way too many. All the greats. Some artists I currently connect to are David Bowie, New Order, The Smiths, Kate Bush, Neil Young, Elvis Costello, Elliott Smith, and I'm also a huge Beatles fan, mostly John Lennon. 

Do you have some future projects? 

Yes, I'm currently recording a new album and I hope to have it done by the end of the summer. I've got 17 new songs demo'ed and a few recorded already. The album is going to be mostly acoustic guitar and piano with some percussive shakers and tambourine. The album sounds a lot darker than Daylight Moon. I think I've been in a good place personally and in my relationship to where I can express some hurts from years ago. Where Daylight Moon felt very dreamlike, this one feels much more real. It's a bit intimidating to follow up my last album because I always try to raise the bar higher. Hopefully I can achieve that here. 

Will you be touring soon? 

I haven't played a show in over a year and a half. I love performing, but I've been very disenchanted with the music scene in my area. People get more interested in what social circle your run with rather than the quality of your music. I've always been a loner. I think the best musicians are quiet people. I've watched too many good bands die out around here from social pressures. That being said, if I can get the money together, I'd like to tour in the region when I finish my next album. 

Would you like to visit Mexico, and what have you heard about mexican audience? 

Mexico looks absolutely beautiful and I would love to go! Some of my style tries to imitate a spanish/latin sound. It's such an intimate way of playing that I can only wonder at the sensuousness of the country. I'm sure the audiences would be great. 

Please tell us about a song that means a lot to you, and why? 

About 12 years ago I wrote and recorded a song to my Grandma shortly before she passed away of old age. The song was called "New Morning". It was a song about memories and cleansing your spirit. I've always thought it reminded me of "Do You Realize" by the Flaming Lips. No one on her side of the family was musical, and I think it puzzled everyone when I dropped out of college to make music. She really loved the song though! 

We thank to Ben Myers for giving us the oportunity to listen to his music and his time! Don't forget to listen to his work and remember if you like it, let him know, he's really a nice guy.

A very kind review of my album Daylight Moon by Walter Price of the Global Texan Chronicles

See the full post here: http://globaltexanchronicles.com/3-reasons-why-ben-myers-daylight-moon/
 

"For fans of Five for Fighting, Rivers Cuomo, James Harries and Ben Folds as I am there is a singer-songwriter out of Lawrence, KS named Ben Myers. Myers is crafting intelligent dreamy at times hushed folk derived pop sounds that move in advanced and tactile queries of everyday life. 

The difference with this songwriter are his approaches;Daylight Moon has personalized ways of utilizing pop, rock, folk flavors and hints of 60’s psych to convey mature but yet unique flirting perspectives on the ordinary.  Myers is a brilliant song-crafter with real textures that pull you in and hold you close."