bolomite jr
photo by DeeAnn Calhoun
Currently residing in Philadelphia, PA, Ben Calhoun is a working carpenter and residential construction worker hailing from the surrounding country of Ithaca, NY. Surrounded by music since a young age, Ben performed in many classical piano recitals, NYSSMA festivals, and orchestra conferences in which he played symphony trumpet . After high school and during his undergraduate years Ben struggled to find a relationship with performing that felt deeply personal and innovative. Through the influences of his older brother (Dear Life recording artist Jason Calhoun) he started experimenting with Digital Audio Workstations in 2014 and released a series of EP’s and albums under the moniker “bolomite jr”, a name generated through online gaming and roughhousing with close friends. 2019 saw Ben’s first live show at a church in Kensington, Philadelphia and a physical cassette release of his record “Haste."
Ben's thoughts on the record:
"For me, having cold feet is a feeling I experience often. A surge of excitement followed by the dread of potential loss. A desire to show off and a terror that you might be caught in the act. This record is a reservoir for those feelings of insecurity revealed by these contradictory impulses. In many ways this album was founded conceptually on feelings that I first came to terms with while creating “HASTE,” but in this form I set out to dive deeper into my own insecurities as a pianist to create songs that felt a bit more personal. While on Haste I felt like I had finally achieved a sound that instrumentally resembled my influences, here, I attempted to include more of my own playing, improvising, and voice leading to allow myself to sit in a space that felt almost songwriter-ish, yet constantly return to sampled loops or drum and synth passages that are rhythmic and very technology driven. Sound sources vary from analog synthesizers, digital samplers, and midi instruments."
releases on DLR:
