Ben Sun
By: Dream Chimney
The following interview was conducted on January 12, 2025
Ben Sun returns this month to Razor-N-Tape with a full length offering of introspective electronic textures. Known for his deft skill at fusing analog frequencies and crushed samples to create vivid, atmospheric dance music, his releases have included outings on Cyphon Recordings, Phonica, as well as his previous drops on RNT. With fans like Linkwood and Laurent Garnier, Ben has been developing a live set that combines synths with trumpet and cello, that had its debut at We Out Here two years back.
We thought it would be fun to ask Ben to talk us through some other albums that have made a mark on his musical world.
THE PROFOUND ONE
Arthur Russel - World of Echo
This is just Arthur Russel singing with a cello and delay pedal (I think that's it: super minimal). It's very personal and intimate. He has such a beautiful voice and dreamy melodies that stay with you – but I can never quite replicate them in my mind. They're like a distant memory that I have the pleasure of returning to any time I play the record. I could say this about any of his records – but many of them are posthumous compilations; this one was him presenting an album.
THE NEW(ISH) ONE
Salamanda – Sphere
This record by these two ladies from South Korea is incredibly beautiful. A sonic environment that tickles the brain in an ASMR kind of way, but also a melodic structure that lifts it out of atmospheric ambient stuff into to something more of a song.
THE PIONEERING ONE
DJ Shadow – Endtroducing
On of the 3 or 4 cassettes I had in my borrowed Mini Minor when I was 17. I had no idea how this kind of music was made, and I had to go find out. The misty, expansive worlds, cool as fuck. I didn't get an MPC until years later, but this was the first step of that journey probably. Dare I say, it's a masterpiece of sampling.
THE POETRY ONE
The Alan Parsons Project – Tales Of Mystery And Imagination
A soundtrack built around the gothic horror poetry of Edgar Allan Poe. My dad had this LP. So I heard it before the DJ Shadow, but it gave me a similar feeling – in terms of being quite epic and full of many different grooves and atmospheres.
THE CLASSIC ONE
Lil’ Louis and The World – From The Mind Of…
What can I say. You’ve got the Dance side and the Romance side. And they both swing.
I can only imagine how much good stuff got cut out to get this collection of tunes down to the 30-odd minutes of music that can fit on one LP. What a badass.
THE PROTEST ONE
Propagandhi – How to Clean Everything
90s punk was one of many styles of music I found through skateboarding. Most of its pretty shite but this one stuck. Like all good punk from any era, when you go beyond the raw fuzz guitar energy, there’s a deep pop sensibility in the songs. Great songwriting.
Also, they sang about things that 30 years later society still hasn’t figured out – gay-positive, pro-feminist stuff, talking about -the Gaza strip – soon to be parking lots for American tourists and fascist cops”. Angry but never without a sense of humour.
THE ACCOMPLISHED ONE
Innerzone Orchestra - Programmed
The moment my friend Eric the Falcon (real person) got me to listen for when the beat dropped on Blakula, wow. Best heard in the dark. My favourite track is At Les. This is a superb record, and a also a pretty broad snapshot of music in Detroit in the late 90s.
Check out the latest release from Ben Sun.