A Chat with Ben McElroy (10.02.2022)
Society generally tries to steer us in the direction the powers that be want us to go using various means. This is something that Ben McElroy has picked up on and is standing against with his album How I Learnt to Disengage from the Pack. Mixing his ambient and drone electronic tones with pure folk music, he turns our attention to what is happening in the world and how we need to move away from blindly following what others tell us. We had the chance to chat with McElroy about the album, blending sounds, being featured in The Guardian and much more!
OSR: Was there a moment or experience that made you know you wanted to make music?
McElroy: Possibly, I can’t think of a particular moment but it would have been a long time ago now! I got into music in a big way in my teens and was listening to Neil Young, early Pink Floyd and The Velvet Underground when most people my age were listening to whatever was modern. There were a few of us exploring different types of music but we definitely stood out. Although I did play in bands at that time (my first instrument was drums though I was never very good!), I was definitely more of a fan than a musician. Most weekends were spent in Liverpool record shops such as Hairy Records and Probe Records hunting for new music I’d read about.
Music got me through a lot of tough times as a teenager, and I often felt I could relate to the musicians more than the people around me. I was pretty lonely but the music got me through. I guess that instilled in me the value of music and possibly gave me the inspiration to start making my own music.
OSR: Your latest album, How I Learnt To Disengage From The Pack, is rich in lazy days and hazy folk moments, but is there a backstory or theme to the album?
McElroy: Nothing definite, I was interested in how things degrade, this natural process that all living things share, and I did try to incorporate a feeling of natural degradation on the tracks. I guess I wanted it to sound consistent as a whole but I think I’m mostly asking questions rather than giving answers (if that makes sense?!?)
OSR: Your music is an intriguing combination of ambient sounds, drone and folk. What drew you to this interesting blend?
McElroy: In my head, they sit quite naturally together. Drones have long been used in folk music around the world and I feel that there’s something in the timbre of these acoustic instruments that has a very lyrical quality. I like using acoustic instruments because they’re very good at signifying various things – whether that be a sense of history, nature or whatever.
OSR: As you were recording the album, some of the instruments and audio interfaces were on their last legs, how do you feel this affected the overall sound?
McElroy: There is some unexpected noise in various bits of the album from the interface dying. Part of me wanted to clean it up but I managed to let it be and it actually contributed to this sense of degradation that I was talking about. I think, for me, it’s a balancing act of how much to clean things up and how much to let it be, there’s a tendency to want to make everything clean and tight or whatever (especially with the capabilities of modern music technology), but there is a beauty and humanness in leaving bits of scruffiness, bits of mess in there (I do get rid of some mess otherwise the music would be rather less listenable!)
OSR: The album has been picked up by The Guardian and made their Folk Album of the Month for January. How did you feel when you found out about this?
McElroy: It was a very pleasant surprise! Jude Rogers had already picked up on The Slow Music Movement’s Future Folk compilation last year so it wasn’t completely off radar but still… She really does a fantastic job in bigging up otherwise fairly obscure artists; there are so many gems in her past Folk Album of the Month columns. Well worth an explore!
OSR: How do you feel the sound of this album compares to your previous releases?
McElroy: I think it exists in a similar space, musically. I recently got a little bit of inheritance money which I used to buy a Martin guitar so I think the guitar sounds a bit better on this one.
OSR: If people could listen to only one track from the album, which would you suggest and why?
McElroy: The last one (‘Collecting Bone Dust’) as being the last one its also the one that gets played the least… it could do with some more love. James from TSMM would disagree though, hence why he wanted it last on the album! 😉
OSR: 10 percent of the sales and streaming revenue from the album will go to Client Earth. Why have you chosen this project?
McElroy: I didn’t, the label did, but it’s good to be involved with an ethical company. The climate is the most important and worrying issue of our times.
OSR: The album has a wintery chill to the tracks, was this something you actively tried to achieve or did it occur organically?
McElroy: A few people have said that but, to be honest, I think it’s more to do with when they heard it/when it came out. A lot of it was made in spring/summer. But that’s fine and I wouldn’t want to be too dictatorial about telling people what to think about the music – it’s up to them. If it feels wintery to someone then that’s just as valid as what I felt when I was making it.
OSR: What is the one thing you would like people to feel after they have listened to the album?
McElroy: Again, it’s up to them. Whatever feelings they have are valid and I wouldn’t want to force any feelings upon anyone.
OSR: What else can we expect from you in the coming year?
McElroy: I’m currently working on a collection of music with composer/pianist A Spot On The Hill, so that’s very exciting. I might try and do some live stuff, then again I might not. It would be nice to bring the music to new people but then again I’m quite happy being fairly reclusive and just making music at home. I’m also due to become a Dad (again) in July so I can probably expect lots of nappies and not so much sleep!
Thanks to Ben McElroy for chatting with us! You can find more about him on his website, Facebook, Twitter and Spotify.
