SOLO DEBUT EP ALGORITHMIA EP OUT NOVEMBER 18
VIA GIFTSHOP RECORDS
LISTEN // WATCH: “ADDICTED TO MY PHONE”
Brooklyn-based animator, producer, and self-described “gnome rocker” Ben Wigler, who makes music under his experimental art-rock project moniker BenBen, has unveiled his latest track, “Addicted To My Phone,” along with its deliciously disturbing stop motion video.
“Addicted To My Phone” is the third single from BenBen's solo debut, a seven-song EP Algorithmia. The EP is a disgruntled rainbow rock extravaganza about weeping into the cyber-void of digital culture. “Addicted To My Phone” is about internet addiction and our unnatural attachments to our devices. While the song is lyrically simple, the theme cuts deeply. The song’s mind-blowing video is meant to make us uncomfortable, as the imagery swirls and repeats, its disturbing truth that we are losing ourselves is on full display.
“Addicted To My Phone” follows “Every Day Is The Same” or (“E.D.I.T.S.”) and its mind-melting video, animated by artist and musician Dima Drjuchin. He is best known for painting the revered album art for Father John Misty's Fear Fun and for his collaborations with Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne. The song itself rocks super hard but has an unforgettable zombie-like hook and anesthetized vibe that mimics the dopamine-havoc of internet addiction.
“E.D.I.T.S.” follows the EP’s first single, title track “Algorithmia,” along with its award-winning AI-generated video. The song's angular riffs and soaring vocals sound like Soundgarden and Queen had a musical baby and then fed it, squealing, directly into the gaping maw of the internet. The video was directed by experimental artist Nate Dorr using AI generative art-making techniques, as the song speaks to how we are increasingly allowing algorithms to make our choices.
LISTEN // WATCH: “EVERY DAY IS THE SAME (ft. DIMA DRJUCHIN)”
LISTEN // WATCH: “ALGORITHMIA”
The “Algorithmia” video premiered in Denver at the Supernova Digital Animation Festival (September 2022), winning “Most Original Music Video” at the Grand Rapids Film Festival (September 2022), was a part of the Boundless Film Festival (October 2022) in London and the HB Film Festival (October 2022) in Glasgow, where it was nominated for Best Music Video.
Wigler helped pioneer 21st-century indie rock with under-the-radar bands Arizona and New Beard, performing live and in the studio with artists like Band of Horses, Samantha Crain, and Indigo Girls. Wigler’s last LP was mixed by legendary Dungen frontman Gustav Ejstes. Best known for an unforgettable high tenor voice and infectious melodies, BenBen crafts riff-driven music with a golden heartbeat–living creatures and invitations to adventure in other worlds.
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