Ben Sun releases his full length album, The Henge, on Brooklyn label Razor-N-Tape

Ben Sun releases his full length album, The Henge, on Brooklyn label Razor-N-Tape. Here we ask Ben some questions about his creative thoughts and process production. We also gain some great insight into the background of his forthcoming long player.
Where does the impulse to create something come from in you?
Haha, diving straight into the deep stuff! I think it’s part of our natural state as humans to engage and contribute to creation. Creativity is part of a broader consciousness that is beyond our subjective experience, and it comes through us rather than from us.
That said, the river of creativity still needs to be actively engaged with – it’s a bit of a collaboration between the individual and the cosmos. I am often inspired to work by experiencing other people’s creative output: music, visuals, philosophy – or anything at all where you can feel that someone has entered into a flow and their process is being powered by a greater force. That could be skateboarding, or cooking, or writing a symphony. I see something magical happening and it makes me want to dive in too.
What roles do stuff like art, relationships, and the current state of the world play for you in the ideas process?
A subconscious role, mostly. I do pay attention to all of those things – listen, watch, write down notes and dreams and consider how those different things correlate and so on. But when generating ideas, I’ve had more success in beginning without preconceptions –just start sketching – and then looking out for themes that emerge and leaning into those if they feel good. It’s a bit different from my job as a graphic designer where there is usually a set brief that I need to respond to.
For you to get started, does there need to be concrete ideas for you to make a track?
Ah, there’s never anything concrete. It’s starts blurry and gradually takes shape. To begin, I’m looking out for something that attracts me, maybe a detail that has a resonant feeling… it could be a tone, a chord, a rhythm… often a combination of one of those with a certain configuration of audio path – e.g. a chorus effect that brings out unexpected harmonics or the way a delay feels over a rhythmic pattern. Or the way that a quarter bar of a sampled passage sounds when repeated or recombined. And then look to build something around the initial spark. That’s why I enjoy hardware, there is more room for chance to emerge.
What is the balance between planning and improvisation for you?
Planning comes after the improvisation. Once I have some ingredients I like, along with a basic tempo or rhythmic feel, I’ll improvise some of the melodic / harmonic elements until it feels there is a possible progression that can evolve over a number of minutes. Practice that a few times, then hit record and try for a few good takes. Usually, it will be no more than 3 takes, each say 10 minutes long, and then I’ll select the best bits out of that. And so, it goes for each component of the track.
Once I want to perform track live, I’ll get into planning so I can reach those good points more intentionally, and also so that I can do all of the layers at once (e.g. drums, bass, chords, lead) -whereas in the studio I’ll do them one at a time and multi-track it together.
Is there a preparation phase for your process?
I have to allow time for setting up hardware, which a means playing around with combinations, and occasionally mapping out some stuff on paper. The goal being to find a state where everything is ready to go, rather than having to stop mid flow to fix a signal path problem. I find it super useful to have everything plugged through a patch bay so that it can be easily reconfigured, without having to climb around under the desk.
If I haven’t fired up the studio in a while it might take a day or two to warm up. But once that’s done, it’s possible to jump right in and make something very quickly – and then make lots of somethings. This process applies to digital too – you have to get a handle on all your tools /ingredients so that when the moment comes, you can fluidly use them.
For your latest release, what did you start with? Were there conceptual considerations, what were they?
Initially there was sound design concepts –techniques that I wanted to use and felt I could make something emotive with. Over all concepts for the album come after the tracks are made and combined in a particular order, whereby you can start to see a narrative emerge that might give rise to certain words / visuals / stories. I started with a range of components and tools that I wanted to work with, that I felt would give me room for expression.
Some examples include:
Always collecting drum / percussive sounds and patterns on the MPC – either chopping up vinyl samples or triggering a small array of drum machines, this is what usually forms the rhythmic bed of a track.
Using a Beatstep to control 2 mono synths to create melodic polyrhythms: layering patterns of differing lengths on top of each other. The patterns drift apart until they meet at a common multiple. So you end up with less repetition, but it all still completes a cycle together, eventually. I also love that you can use CV/gate as opposed to MIDI, it has a different feel and different possibilities.
Using a regular keyboard to write chords progressions, lead parts and motifs. Yields a different result to the Beatstep, but I like both.
Using a compressor as a rhythmic gate over drone sounds.
Letting a recorded pattern play, leaving handsfree to ride an effects unit or synth parameters so that you can take a short combination of notes or sounds and make the pattern evolve sonically over the course of the track.
Tell us a bit about the way The Henge developed and gradually took its final form.
It began when I was living in a small warehouse in London, which turned out to be a really formative chapter in my life. It was nicknamed the henge because it was pretty dark and gloomy except for a certain time of year when the sun would be at a low angle and breakthrough the small front window and light it up. The main space was also really beautiful at night, where we had the decks set up with some fun lights. So, it was often a ‘back to ours’ situation.
My housemates and inner circle where all deepinto music, but from different perspectives (jazz, classical, self-taught,etc), so there was lots of casual sharing of ideas, and it raised the bar forme. A number of psilocybin experiences occurred; there is a mystical /spiritual element there too.

Another key aspect was a trip to Nashville where I met the band Lawndry. I saw them play in a back yard basement with a bunch of other bands. They gave me their latest CD which was called Invisible Cities – thematically inspired by the novel of the same name by Italo Calvino, which by a strange coincidence I was carrying in my back pocket that night. So, it felt warmly serendipitous. We worked together on a bunch of stuff, including the tracks Bootstand (Strange Soil)and The Khan’s Reverie, which feature on the album.
I sent Aaron at RNT a bunch of demos, and he the RNT crew suggested we do a dance / club record (which became the Distant Messenger EP), followed by a listening-oriented LP, which became The Henge. Since then, we worked to craft it into a vinyl LP length – it was a collaborative process with the label, and I’m very grateful to Aaron, JKriv and Jared for that.
The album is comprised of some varying tempos and styles. Was this central to your idea for the album, to cover of all corners of sound?
Once there is a bunch of demos collected, I’ll try combining them in different ways and see if there starts to feel like a journey there. It’s similar to the process of DJing or making a mixtape, thinking about how the transitions will feel. Maybe it’s also subconsciously because I enjoyed that when I was a kid – and album felt like better value when there was a range of feelings (styles) in there.
Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later?
I think is essential. It’s difficult to be objective about something you just made, so finishing something, then coming back to it when you’ve almost forgotten it, gives you a better perspective. I’ve definitely made the mistake of getting excited and sending demos out too early. On that note, I’ve generally found it to be a good idea to reduce the track as much as possible: can it be shorter, or contain less elements and still hold its essence? Usually, it will be more impactful that way. The opposite can also be true, but it’s worth considering when evaluating.
How much tweaking do you allow until you're satisfied with a track?
It really depends on the track. Generally, I try to tweak as little as possible, and it’s so nice when that happens, but some tracks just need a lot of love to get them over the line. Or taking the essential idea and making it again from scratch, rather than trying to resolve problems in the mix. The reduction technique above can also help so the true essence becomes clearer.
After finishing an album and putting out there, there can often be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this?
For sure. You can pour your heart out, but ultimately you have no control over how it’s received. I guess the antidote to that is to carry on and make something else. Conversely, there is definitely a great feeling to be had by finishing something, no matter what the outcome. Every guru out there talks about the value of finishing.
Do you find that the feedback of others is important to you?
My wife has been incredible for feedback. Particularly because she tunes in to her body; if I’m playing her a dance /groove track and she’s not moving, I know it’s falling flat without any words needed. Or she will help me identify harsh frequencies or nasty clashes in the mix. I’m lucky for that. JKriv also help a lot with some attentive listening to refine the demos – as does Jimpster when I’ve worked with him, and Simon at Phonica. But these people are actively involved in the process. It’s kinda hard to get anyone else to listen properly. I haven’t cast the net too wide for feedback.
What was most important for you to convey this album?
I just wanted to create a sonic experience that would be evocative or transportive in some way. To add to the cannon on music that I have enjoyed so much! I’ll have to leave it to the listeners as to whether it worked.
Where should we make sure we visit in Margate?
You’ll always find some good music and friendly vibes at Faith In Strangers, Where Else and Margate Arts Club… go to Waste Will Save Us for DIY custom clothing and maker’s workshops. A sunset pintat Xylo or The Two Halves. Get a pizza in the garden at Covell’s Tavern. There’s plenty of nice spots but those ones have offered me a warm welcome!
Who do you think is currently changing the world for the better?
I think everyone with a generous spirit is doing that in some way, and small kindnesses count. You never know how much a little bit of generosity and love (especially towards strangers) can change someone’s trajectory and multiply out in the world. Big up to all the kind people.
BUY HERE: https://razor-n-tape.lnk.to/TheHengeLW