Benjamin Shaw (musician)

Benjamin Shaw released his debut EP "I Got the Pox, the Pox is What I Got" in October 2009 on Audio Antihero which saw airplay from BBC 6 Music on the Tom Ravenscroft,[4] Gideon Coe,[5] Steve Lamacq,[6] Jon Holmes[7] and Tom Robinson[8] shows and positive reviews from publications such as The Skinny,[9] The 405,[10] The Music Fix, This Is Fake DIY,[11] Clash Music[12] and The Line of Best Fit who remarked "If you think you've heard the like of Benjamin Shaw before, think again. TLOBF recommended.".[13]

In October 2011 it was announced on sites like Drowned in Sound,[14] Bearded[15] and This Is Fake DIY[16] that he would be releasing first album, There's Always Hope, There's Always Cabernet. He began promoting the album with a series of sessions for the likes of The Fly, The 405,[17] This Is Fake DIY,[18] Triple R,[19] The Line Of Best Fit,[20] Dandelion Radio[21] and Resonance FM.[22]

The debut LP There's Always Hope, There's Always Cabernet was released on 21 November to positive reviews. Drowned in Sound called it "superb,"[23] Clash Music remarked that Shaw was "an outcast, a loner, a maverick and a freak. All of these are compliments,"[24] The Line of Best Fit claimed "you wouldn't want everyone (or anyone else) to sound to like Benjamin Shaw but I'm delighted someone does,"[25] Is This Music? awarded it 4/5 and called it "one of the better records of the year"[26] and MusicOMH gave it 4/5 and hailed it as a "truly special album." Album tracks "The Birds Chirp & The Sun Shines" and "Interview" were given multiple plays on the Tom Ravenscroft and Gideon Coe BBC 6 Music shows, as were the album's first single "Somewhere Over the M6" and its B-side "Pig".[27]

Shaw has played around the UK, Europe and Australia [28] with artists such as Darren Hayman,[29] Tom Paley (New Lost City Ramblers),[30] Jack Hayter (Ex-Hefner),[31] Neil Pennycook (Meursault),[32] Extradition Order, Paul Hawkins & The Awkward Silences, Runaround Kids, Little Red and The Owl Service.[33] Shaw has also seen endorsements from Nic Dalton of The Lemonheads.[34]

During a radio interview on 12 August 2012, Audio Antihero founder Jamie Halliday revealed that Benjamin Shaw was working on new material for a future release with the label.[35] The first piece of new material to surface was the "T'ra F'now" instrumental on the Audio Antihero produced "Hüsker Doo-wop" Charity EP to raise money to repair damages to independent music organisations in New York following Hurricane Sandy.[36][37][38][39] Shaw followed up his contribution to this charity EP with "This Christmas (I Just Want to be Left Alone)," a collaborative Christmas single with Fighting Kites to raise money for Shelter, Shaw also directed the music video.[40][41][42][43][44][45] The single benefited from critical praise from online press and radio and saw support from Tom Robinson, Bush Radio, Jon Solomon's WPRB show and Rolling Stone.[46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54]

On 14 January, it was announced that Benjamin Shaw would releasing a new instrumental record entitled Summer in the Box Room on the Glass Reservoir label in February 2013.[55][56] Two tracks from the record were premiered by Robert Rotifer on 4FM[57] and GoldFlakePaint praised it as a "special kind of dour musical genius."[58] Tom Ravenscroft also aired tracks from the release on his BBC Radio 6 Music show.[59]

Benjamin Shaw sometimes performs live with Neil Debnam (Fighting Kites/Broken Shoulder) and Kay Ishikawa (Comet Gain) as Benjamin Shaw Band.[60]

• Benjamin Shaw official site
• Benjamin Shaw's BBC profile
• Benjamin Shaw's Audio Antihero profile
• Benjamin Shaw's Last.FM profile
• Benjamin Shaw's TLOBF profile
• Benjamin Shaw interview with This Is Fake DIY
• 405 Focus Session