more from
Nonostar Records
We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

The Secret

by Ben Osborn

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      €2 EUR  or more

     

1.
so you were born with butterfly bones just hanging on to the flower-stem tangled us up into bundles of nerves just hanging on by a thread turning our house to a hospital room the heart to a paddling pool turning our stomachs now over & over & out a transmission of truth & all the lights go off & on & all the gardens grow & all of you as well is me the secret that everyone knows here you arrive like a leaf on the ground here you create the new world we thought we were strong & we know we are now we can't believe what we've endured there is a rock in the pit of my stomach there is a hole in the side of my heart a perfect imprint of the line between life & death left a symmetrical scar & all the lights go off & on & all the gardens grow & all of you as well is me the secret that everyone knows & all the lights go off & on & all the gardens grow & all of you as well is me the secret that everyone knows.
2.
Between 02:43

about

"The Secret" combines intricate guitar-picking with a swirling texture of synthesisers and a subtle yet pervasive drum machine groove. Ben Osborn's lyrics meditate on the delicate "line between life and death" we all walk, in a deep baritone whisper. The lyrics are characteristically cryptic, but embedded in the music’s gentle momentum, they cast a compelling spell. As Ben explains, "it’s about what is shared by many but not able to be voiced - the fact of being alive, which is actually a delicate and improbable state - or the fact of being able to love or to be loved. It embodies the delicateness and messiness we always carry with us; even if we hide it as a secret, it's a secret that everyone knows."
British folk-singer Bethany Roberts' haunting vocal harmonies and reverb-drenched banjo picking complete the track's distinctly immersive texture; a modern folk song with darker, electronic depths.
The song's b-side, "Between", is a dusky piano and analogue synthesiser instrumental, incorporating the natural ambience of a fireplace in winter and the unique sonic surroundings of the remote Nonostar Studio.

The tracks are taken from the upcoming Studies E.P., created in collaboration with multidisciplinary artist Andrea Huyoff as a transdisciplinary artistic project; at once a performance piece, a work of video art, an E.P. of poetic pop songs and a series of lectures. These "studies" focus on themes of society, identity and love - drawing on both a deeply personal first-person narrative and an analytical, critical gaze.

nonostar.lnk.to/thesecret
nonostarrecords.bandcamp.com
www.instagram.com/ben.osborn.music
web.facebook.com/benosbornmusic/

credits

released March 18, 2022

Written and composed by Ben Osborn
Produced by Ben Osborn and Alex Stolze
Mixed by Alex Stolze
Guitar, piano, synthesisers, drum machines, vocals - Ben Osborn
Banjo, vocals - Bethany Roberts
Video and artwork created by Andrea Huyoff
Photography by Matthias Lüdecke
Artist management Jennifer Schild
Mastered by Lupo Lubich

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Ben Osborn Berlin, Germany

“studies” EP out 20th of May

contact / help

Contact Ben Osborn

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Ben Osborn recommends:

If you like Ben Osborn, you may also like: