Ben Lee // The Rebirth Of Venus

Download our exclusive split-mp3 number five now! This is also our last split-mp3.

Don't worry, we'll continue to give you free and exclusive music, we're simply retiring the split-mp3 concept.

What is a Ben Lee split-mp3? In the venerable tradition of the vinyl split-7" single, our split-mp3's contain two songs - one an unreleased and absolutely exclusive track by Ben, the other by an artist of Ben's choosing.

Our first four split-mp3s are still available. The links are at the bottom of this page.

This month's MP3

1. Ben Kweller - Launch Ramp
2. Ben Lee - In The Morning

In The Morning (Lee)

Ben Lee -- Guitar and Vocals
Recorded at home.

"the melody for 'in the morning' got stuck in my head on greene street last spring. it reminded me of joni mitchell for some reason. a sad song. i recorded it at home in new york.

i left grand royal a few months ago, so right now im just sitting around waiting to see if anyone will sign me. since this is going to be the last regular split mp3 for a while, i figured, why not throw something entirely new down. this will probably end up in some form on the next album."

Launch Ramp (Kweller)

Ben Kweller -- Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Synth
John Kent -- Drums, Vocals
Joe Butcher -- Guitar
Debbie Williams -- Bass

Ben Kweller says:

"I like this song a lot because it's very freewheelin' and loose. It reminds me of summertime and rehearsing with my old band back in Texas.

I don't really know what the whole song is about but when I wrote the lyrics for it I was goin through this phase of constantly writing in my sketch book, stuff I heard people say. I mention this old computer I heard about. It's made of vacuum tubes & takes up the entire basement of Harvard University but it's only powerful enough to play a game of Pong. I talk about how the indie rock scene can be stupid & uptight. I sort of talk about Timothy Leary's idea of the world being a better place if we all took mushrooms at the same time.

I named the song Launch Ramp because when the band comes in, it reminds me of somebody flying off a huge ramp on his or her motorcycle. A lot of people confuse the title with "Lawn Tramp". One of the words in the first verse sounds like "penis" but i'm really saying "impedance" and the song is in the key of A."

Ben Kweller is one of today's most promising musical artists. His undeniable knack for melody leaves you singing away long after your walkman batteries are dead. His music is a cross breed of sing-along/power-pop and new school-folk sprinkled with Texas, toy keyboards, and love. Having grown up in a musical household, BK embraced the piano as soon as he was tall enough to reach the keys.

Composing original lyrics and music came quickly for him and before junior high he was awarded an honorable mention in the annual Billboard Songwriting competition. In 1993, he formed the three piece group Radish. Radish rapidly became a fixture in the Deep Ellum music scene of downtown Dallas, 30 minutes from their hometown Greenville, Texas. With BK performing lead vocals and guitar, Radish recorded an EP entitled HELLO along with their first full length album DIZZY for Practice Amp Records in 1994.

Producer Roger Greenawalt took the band under his wings in 1995. Shortly after recording a three song demo with Greenawalt, a well-publicized bidding war ensued. In June, 1996 the group closed a deal with Mercury Records CEO Danny Goldberg.

Radish's major label debut RESTRAINING BOLT, was released in April, 1997. For the next two years BK and co. toured the U.S. and EUROPE, landing a top 40 UK single "Little Pink Stars" as well as appearances on "Late Night with David Letterman" and "The Conan O'Brian Show."

After nearly six years since its commencement, Radish parted ways during the winter of 1999. Shortly after the break up, BK moved to Brooklyn, NY to embark on a solo career with Island Records. At only 19 years old, Ben Kweller is gaining lots of attention from his energetic "one man" show. For the past year Kweller has been touring with nationally acclaimed artists Evan Dando, Juliana Hatfield, Jeff Tweedy, and Guster. With the striking live shows and a new album due out early next year, it¹s a safe bet that this is only the beginning of a long career for Ben Kweller.

Ben Kweller's official website is www.benkweller.com

We'll have more exclusive downloads on a regular basis. Some will go away as quickly as they arrive - to be sure you don't miss one, why not sign up for one of our mailing lists while your mp3 downloads, and you'll be the first to know!