We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Benjamin Wilson-Scott . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Benjamin below.

Benjamin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I always wanted to write music, at least as far back as I can remember. I have memories of being a small & shy five-year-old hitting the family upright piano and thinking I sounded like the records my Dad would play in the car – Bob Dylan, the Beatles, & Jefferson Starship.

When I was ten my oldest brother went to university. Of course, like any younger brother, I helped myself to anything he left behind. There was this beaten-up Stratocaster-style guitar sitting there, along with a few teach-yourself-guitar books, and from that moment I knew what I wanted in my future.

The first time I remember deciding to pursue this professionally was in my earlier teens. I was in an Emo/Punk/Alt-Rock band and we played local shows – mostly pubs and function rooms – where no one was there to listen to us. One year we entered a Battle of the Bands and to my surprise, we won. Pictures in the local newspaper on a beachside hotel balcony. I remember being so happy but after a few days I wondered why everything seemed the same, no one cared about our excitement and the music was too Vans Warped Tour for our small town.

The next week I was approached by a friend who had listened to our music & said that it resonated in a way that made them feel seen and heard. Right then I understood what I loved about music. Nothing changed except I then knew what drove me.

A huge part of my musical journey has been about connecting with people. I was a shy kid in a big traditional family and maybe struggling to get my voice heard growing up makes me now value the honest connections that making music collaboratively can bring.

Benjamin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hey there! I’m Benjamin Wilson-Scott, an award-winning Songwriter & Producer living with my partner, and soon-to-be-born little one. I work a lot from an outhouse studio I built near our house but also from Salvation Studios, a state-of-the-art multi-room studio less than a mile away.

I’ve been playing instruments and writing songs since before I can remember, it’s been my way of connecting with people and having fun my entire life. Throughout my teens and 20’s I toured in bands across the globe working with amazing indie darlings like Shura, Half Moon Run, & Benjamin Francis-Leftwich. During this time I also completed a degree in Music Performance and started my journey into music production.

I think a lot of sound engineers and audio technicians start their careers because of their love of music. Years of touring and studio work taught me these skills but my heart was in writing and creating meaningful music. This drove me to become a Producer and studio owner.

When I take on new clients I’m interested in what they’re trying to express. If this isn’t abundantly clear in their music we’ll work through the song: changing words, editing melodies, and adding space where space is needed. A ‘Producer’ can be an umbrella term for a lot of jobs but for me the meaning is simple. I oversee the development of a song until it’s released. Usually, this means: getting to know the client, having writing sessions, changing the song arrangement & facilitating the mixing, and mastering of the track.

My specialty is Folk, Americana, Soft Rock & Indie-Folk. Artists like Phoebe Bridgers, Anna Tivel, Ken Yates, Alexander Biggs, and many others bring these deeply personal simple stories that break your heart but also mend it. That’s what I seek in artists I work with and that’s what we deliver together once the project is released.

I play a lot of instruments. Any arrangement changes I make will always start with structure and addition – or subtraction – of real instruments. From there the world of analog synths, soft synths, and sample packs can help to emphasize or recontextualize certain elements.

I have a wonderful network of talented session players, mixing engineers, mastering engineers, etc. Whatever the song needs, the song will get.

The main thing I want people to know is how genuine I am about my love for songwriting. Developing a song is important to me and I give my all in each part of the journey. I want to work with people who are driven to express something in their writing, it doesn’t have to be profound but it does have to be honest.

The difference between myself and others in a similar position is my boutique approach to music production. I have my skills as a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and engineer but each artist and each song is different. I have to be flexible to their needs as the song comes first. I will never rush a production to make a sale and the song will always come first.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Mary Oliver was a wonderful poet, author, and National Treasure. Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of a good work-life balance. Mary Oliver’s wonderful writing on identity and spirituality in nature has reminded me of all the important things in life. The time with loved ones and the time reconnecting with nature or experiences you love. Being present can be hard as a small business owner, you always have so much to plan for but being present today and enjoying the wins as well as feeling the losses is important.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Being a working musician can be very lonely. Sometimes there’s too much time spent alone, too much rejection, and too much aggressive competition. A lot of creative industries can be like this where mental health issues are common.

Not taking your creative journey too seriously, build a network of support, and allow yourself to make mistakes and recover from them. These are things that build you up over time because otherwise, the struggles that come with this industry would break you down.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.benjaminwilsonscott.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benjaminwilsonscott
• Other: Spotify Production Playlist:
  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0ru0pndU0eQgIXA9Rc3U1V?si=5844f093b7ca4274

Image Credits

Oliver Denton, Tall Pictures, Tom Barnes, Christopher Edmonstone