Ben Chiarini - The Shape of the Sky (2018)

Tracklist
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01. Broken Sidewalks
02. This Escape
03. The Platform
04. Another Hemisphere
05. Ghost of Me
06. The Shape of the Sky
07. Tulum
08. Waiting for Spring
09. Oblivion
10. Don't Let Go
11. The Anchor
12. The Elephant

My thought process going into this recording: I wanted to make music on my own terms. Music that didn’t sound like anything that I’d ever heard, yet inspired by everything I love. Music that defies genres. Music that moves your mind and your body. Music that takes you on a little voyage. Music you can chill out to. Music that was also listener friendly. And finally, music that could transition well into a live, jam-band setting, if the opportunity presented itself.
Challenges: I basically had to teach myself how to record, produce, mix, and master a full length album over the last 10 months. I also had no other musicians to work with. No one to bounce ideas off of. So I had to think like a guitar player/drummer/keyboard player/horn player/percussionist/etc. And I had to do it all with one instrument. So aside from a little keyboards, percussion, and drum programming, everything you’ll hear is bass guitar. All of the melodies, rhythms, grooves, chords, hooks, harmonies, solos... all played on my 5 string Warwick bass.
Result: 12 pieces of art that I put my heart and soul into. Each one sounding drastically different from the next, yet each having similar tones and concepts throughout. I doubted myself and second guessed myself a hundred times. But now I’m finally proud to say that this is an expression of who I am, and my abilities as a songwriter/musician. It may not be for everybody, but it has something for everyone.