Benjamin Francis Leftwich is intensely fragile an act. To watch him perform is to witness an exercise in memory recall, as each song evokes a rich emotional reaction that permeates into the audience. After the tragic loss of his father caused him to recede from public attention, the release of his new album After the Rain in August of this year has been a welcome return to the fore.
When comparing this new body of work with his 2011 debut album, Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm, there are some striking differences. The album opens with the track ‘Tilikum’, in which Leftwich sets the reflective tone for the album, whispering in a voice augmented to an echo “wonder what you’re thinking, staring through the rain”. This vocal effect is used extensively throughout the album allowing his voice to retreat into hypnotic acoustics, a perfect metaphor perhaps for how his relationship with music has developed.
Watching Leftwich perform it is quickly apparent that his eyes remain closed for the duration of the song, channelling the emotions and memories around which the song was conceived and written. The relentless nature of his finger patterns are therefore a necessity needed to drive the song on to completion – despite his desire to linger. In an interview I asked him why it was he felt he had to continue writing, to which he responded:
“Music writing to me is like an audio will, you always think… what if something happens to me tomorrow and I haven’t gotten out everything I wanted to say… my inspiration for writing music is to leave something behind after I die”.
The impression I was left with after spending some time with Leftwich and watching him perform was reflective of his words, as his aspirations for music have never been driven by fame, or wealth. Instead it is a desire to share the harmonic and melodic world he has created for himself in the face of grief. The result of all this emotional depth is an album that can only be described as beautiful, yet devastating. However, the comfort he seeks and evidently gains from his unique soundscape potentially leave him vulnerable to stagnation with regards to artistic development. There are some hints of exploration in ‘After The Rain’ with subtle use of electronics, but it lacks confidence. When asking Leftwich how he plans to develop his sound, he said:
“My taste in music has widened and diversified so much since [Last Smoke] Before the Snowstorm, all I really listen to now is hip-hop and rap – no one believes me when I say it but I’m so obsessed with it, you know, and there are elements of the sonic of that in After the Rain but very subtly… what I relate to is the unfiltered visceral flow and the energy of creation, and sharing of a message.”
When asked who he would like to work with in the future, Leftwich expressed a desire to collaborate with Drake’s producer – Noah James Shebib, professionally known as 40. So with a stylistic shift potentially on the horizon let’s hope Leftwich fans will continue to say “baby, I like your style”.
To listen to the interview in full, visit my Soundcloud page.
