RNZ Music is proud to be the first to share ‘Lozenge’, the debut single from former Salad Boys drummer Ben Woods.
Ben Woods reckons music video director Martin Sagadin tricked him into making the performance ensemble video for his song 'Lozenge'. “I can’t even remember how it happened—it all happened very fast.”
“I felt deeply unsure about the idea. I find myself a bit of a harsh critic in regards to music videos. Often the worst ones are overcooked, overproduced bands in a warehouse.”
He avoided his worst music video fears by filming ‘Lozenge’ at his workplace Space Academy, a popular multipurpose venue and cafe in Christchurch's regenerating St Asaph Street locale.
In keeping with the DIY and under-produced aesthetic, Ben spent forty dollars at a second-hand clothing warehouse for the “ambiguously retro” costuming for his twenty-piece backing band.
“It was a pretty strange and fun experience being dressed as Waylon Jennings (the country music star) with stage makeup on us all and pretending to sing my frantic home-sore song twenty times.”
Ben Woods Photo: Supplied
The Christchurch musician decided to quit all his bands when he realised he'd "never heard what it would be like if I did everything myself".
Ben Woods has featured in many bands that have emerged from the lively Christchurch music scene. He’s drummed for beloved fuzz-punk trio Salad Boys, been on guitar duties for Fran/Bar Group and Wurld Series, but he'd never heard his “own musical vision without some aspect of collaboration'.
Confident that he'd picked up enough skills to be self-sufficient, Ben’s mission statement for his forthcoming solo album was to “Do whatever is cosiest”, which meant he and his computer holed up at home to record demos over a six- to eight-month period. ‘Lozenge’ is his debut solo release.
