Never Enough Notes e-zine // reviews + interviews + music

Never has this writer been so amazed and enthralled by a singer/songwriter as I am by one, Ben Sommers. Naturally gifted and with such a wild imagination, Ben has put together one of the most ambitious projects I think I have ever encountered. The album is called ‘Avocado Chip’ and with it’s post-apocalyptic imagery and Orwellian subtext, you can’t help but be totally seduced by this bleak and tragic world that Ben has created.

‘A Town Called Starving Jane’ is the starting point of the Avocado Chip saga, and here exclusively for Never Enough Notes, we have the video in all it’s artistic glory. First though the man behind this illustrious vision, Ben Sommers, has answered a few questions for us and will certainly give you an insight as to what to expect from Avocado Chip.

I understand that Avocado Chip is not simply an album – it’s an experience of recorded and live music, storytelling, animation and more, can you explain?

I wanted to create something that would grow and evolve organically on multiple levels. People consume music, information and art in a number of ways now and I wanted to be able to communicate my music in a number of ways too. So, whilst the album Avocado Chip is done and recorded and exists in its current form, it is only one piece of a much larger story.

So what comes first, the chicken or the egg?

Well that’s hard to say and for the listener to decide I guess…

I don’t like the ‘normal’ way of doing things e.g. ‘band makes a record, plays the record live, makes another record’ etc. That approach just didn’t feel right. So with the live experience of Avocado Chip I want it to evolve – working with different musicians, new arrangements, exploring the possibilities and boundaries of the material at every opportunity. How this ties in with the story aspect of it is another thing.

What about hearing Avocado Chip live?

The live side of the project has begun and I am working with a wonderful band called Pandora’s Box. We will only be playing a handful of shows and the details of those show are available at www.BenSommers.co.uk All the gigs are being filmed and I am making a documentary about the experience. The last ever one will happen at the end of October at the Gallery Café in Bethnal Green. At that point the project will migrate elsewhere.

Where did the original concept come from and who inspired you to create such a project?

I guess living in the world we live in has inspired me to do this. The story is a metaphor for how I see life – socially, environmentally, politically and spiritually. I recently read George Orwell’s 1984 for the second time and it echoed so much of what is going on today. I talk to people about it and I’m shocked how little people seem to either realise or even care about what is happening around them. I think future generations will look back at this time and it will be regarded as a very sad time. Artistically I suppose the people who inspire me the most are those who are brave enough to try something new. Tom Waits has been a huge inspiration for me, so has Syd Barrett and William Burroughs.

Tell us a bit about the main characters?

At this point in the project I have introduced eight of the main characters. Oculus and Old Tall Sam are the two lead characters and in a way they symbolise good and bad respectively. The story is set in a fictitious town called Starving Jane where Old Tall Sam is the corrupt ruler and Oculus is the hero. Oculus and Sam are also joined by a cast of characters – among them are Dweeb, Lucy and Higgins – there is also a reptilian/man-eating prostitute called Hillary and a guy called Biting Biff – he is the town’s illegal music dealer – since the bad Old Tall Sam has outlawed real music.  I don’t want to give too much away about the story so the rest I will leave for you to discover!!

The first video is ‘A Town Called Starving Jane’, why did you choose to start here?

I think a good place to begin telling a story is always at the beginning and this song will be the opening track to the album. During the recording I became fascinated by the art of stop motion animation and I undertook the task of filming a video for the song ‘A Town Called Starving Jane’. It was my first attempt at anything along those lines and to put it simply I really enjoyed doing it. I found a guy on line called Bruce Bickford who is an amazing animator and it blew my mind watching his work. I was hooked from there on in. A bunch of characters appeared in my mind and so I set off on an adventure and now I’m here talking to you. There will be a number of music videos and animation shorts being released in the coming months which will lead up to the animation series ‘Jane’.

What is Jane?

Jane takes over where Avocado Chip finishes and is a five part animation series. After the last installment of Jane, the story will continue with a musical adventure called ‘Chiplets’

If Ben Sommers was to play a character in Avocado Chip who would you be and why?

Well I certainly wouldn’t want to be one of Hillary’s punters’! I’ve got to know the characters really well over the past year and I think each of them has traits from my own personality, be it good or bad. Making something like this kind of forces you to be honest and you end up discovering things about yourself that you wouldn’t normally want to admit exist.

What about Ben Sommers. Who are your personal influences?

As I’ve already said, Tom Waits and Syd Barrett have been very affecting. I love all music really but especially artists like Peter Gabriel, Nick Cave, Kate Bush, John Lennon, Jandek, Joanna Newsom, At The Drive In and Daniel Johnston as well as film makers like Stanley Kubrick and Lars Von Trier..

How can we find out more about Avocado Chip?

You can catch up with me at Bensommers.co.uk and see the video for ‘A Town Called Starving Jane’ on YouTube. The track is also available as a free download. There is also a free download of the song ‘Battleships’ which tells the story of Old Tall Sam arriving in Starving Jane many years ago. This song is a non-album track and will only ever be available to download at the website.

Dare I ask, what are your plans for 2011?

I will be performing a handful of solo gigs at the beginning of 2011 alongside rehearsals with the next band. Also I hope to be in the mixing stages of CHIPLETS. I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag but suffice to say I’ll be very busy with the next stage of the project!

As promised here is the video for ‘A Town Called Starving Jane…’

If that wasn’t enough for you, Ben has made ‘A Town Called Starving Jane’ available as a free download. Also for something extra special, if you sign up to Ben’s mailing list over at www.bensommers.co.uk you can download an exclusive non-album track called ‘Battleships’. This track is a great introduction to the Avocado Chip story and will certainly open your eyes into the world of Starving Jane.