BEN LEE RELEASES NEW SINGLE
“LIKE THIS OR LIKE THAT”
ALBUM ‘I’M FUN!’ NOW SET FOR RELEASE 19TH AUGUST
ANNOUNCES ‘PARENTS GET HIGH’ AUSTRALIAN TOUR
STREAM/DOWNLOAD HERE
PRE-ORDER/PRE-SAVE THE ALBUM HERE
“It’s safe to say Ben Lee is back with a bang” – THE INDUSTRY OBSERVER
“a catchy as velcro bop that’s accidentally super relevant.” – MUSIC FEEDS
“[Ben] has returned home, rejuvenated from various spells of relative anonymity, ready to reclaim his platform as local pop’s prime eccentric.” – THE AGE
“Showing plenty of vigour and youth, Ben Lee’s ‘Born For This Bullshit’ proves, beyond anything, he was born for this career.” – TONE DEAF
Ben Lee today reveals his brand new single “Like This Or Like That” – the second track lifted from the celebrated singer-songwriter’s forthcoming album I’M FUN!, now slated for release on Friday 19th August 2022. I’M FUN! will arrive as a compilation of songs about growing up, celebrating being a weirdo and embracing positivity. Alongside the new single, Ben Lee is thrilled to announce his ‘Parents Get High’ Australian tour, which will see him hit stages in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, and Fremantle this June.
Following on from 2021’s triumphant return with single “Born For This Bullshit”, “Like This Or Like That” is an infectious, guitar-driven ode to life at a crossroads, which sees Ben Lee team up with Justin Stanley (Prince / Beck / Paul McCartney) on production and engineering.
Talking about the new track, Ben reflects “’Like This Or Like That’ is about small choices. But kinda life changing choices too. It may seem that digging the Stones more than the Beatles, or Nirvana more than Pearl Jam, doesn’t really matter. But these choices are about vibez, about values and about identity. Being a fan is like a choose-your-own-adventure story. And what you resonate with, what you are a fan of, ends up taking you down a completely unique path, if you let it. And of course, in the larger cosmic scheme of things, it’s all totally irrelevant…but that’s all part of the fun!”
From recent appearances on The Masked Singer and Celebrity Mastermind, to a feud with The Wiggles’ Murray Cook spanning multiple TikTok videos, Ben’s charming, tongue-and-cheek personality continues to capture the hearts of both loyal longtime supporters and adoring new fans.
While his original plan to record with a live band became another victim of the pandemic, Ben instead made the album remotely, with producers including Jon Brion, Shamir, Sadie Dupuis and Darren Seltmann and guests Zooey Deschanel, Christian Lee Hutson, Money Mark (Beastie Boys), Megan Washington, Georgia Maq and Eric D Johnson.
‘I’M FUN!’ finds Ben in reflective mode, now aged 43, addressing conflicting opinions of him that have lingered since his career began at age 13, with the band Noise Addict. “Yeah I was a total troublemaker, by choice. That’s what the beginning of careers are for – to be as disruptive as you can! But when I turned 40 it was like “Game on!”; so many of my favorite singer/songwriters did their best work after 40 – Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt, PJ Harvey, Willie Nelson – that’s when you’ve paid your dues and you start wearing your wounds and scars like medals from the battlefield!” Ben says.
“This album, this moment in my career, is all about balancing some hard-earned wisdom from a 30-year long career with the vigor and energy of youth. That’s why it was as important to me to collab with artists like Jon Brion and Money Mark who I’ve both known for over 2 decades, as much as people like Shamir and Georgia Maq who are young and lit up with creative adrenaline. I like being a generational bridge between freaky artists. They are my tribe!”
In his 30-year music career, Ben Lee has been gloriously prolific and unpredictable. The 4x ARIA award winning artist boasts an enviable catalogue which is now represented by Warner Music Australia, including ‘Grandpaw Would’ [1995], ‘Something To Remember Me By’ [1997], ‘Breathing Tornados’[1998], 2x ARIA Platinum album ‘Awake Is The New Sleep’[2005], ‘Ripe’ [2007], ‘The Rebirth of Venus’[2009], ‘Deeper Into Dream’ [2011] which have collectively spawned a multitude of chart hits, including “Cigarettes Will Kill You”,“Gamble Everything For Love”, “We’re All in This Together” and “Catch My Disease”.
‘PARENTS GET HIGH’ AUSTRALIAN TOUR
Fri 17 June – The Espy Live, St Kilda VIC
Sat 18 June – Night Cat, Melbourne VIC
Sun 19 June – Triffid, Brisbane QLD
Thu 23 June – Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst NSW
Fri 24 June – Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide SA
Sat 25 June – Freo Social, Fremantle WA
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