Benjamin Lew

by Craig HarrisThe poetry and ambient melodies of Benjamin Lew have produced some of the nineties truly innovative music. Lews collaborations with saxophone player Steven Brown of Tuxedomoon have yielded three memorable albums -Douzieme Journee: La Verbe, La Parure, Lamour (1995), A Propos Dún Paysage (1995) and Nebka (1995). In a review of Douzieme Journee: La Verbe, La Parure, Lamour, Interview Magazine wrote, All this band is missing is Yma Sumac on lead vocals. Lew and Brown first met while Lew was working as a bartender in a Brussels bar frequented by Brown and other members of Tuxedomoon. When their conversations steered towards their musical vision, they discovered a kinship that continues to produce results. Lews debut album, When God Was Famous, was a collaboration with vocalist Samy Birnbach of Minimal Compact which featured the poetry of such poets as Yeats and Herman Hesse set to music.