There’s nothing like the thrill of ‘the new’… That very first time you hear a song, see a movie, meet someone impressive.. That new experience is what helps to make life great.

When it comes to music, these days it’s even easier to be introduced to ‘the new’ via the net. By the minute, tons of new artists are uploading music to websites such as Facebook, MySpace, Unearthed, Sonic Bids, Bandcamp, ReverbNation – take your pic – for literally anyone to find, should they so desire. There are no gatekeepers or cultural filters anymore – curiosity and ‘evolving frames of reference’ are now the guides to fantastic discoveries with which to fill your iPod, gig calendar and internal musical soul…

The net has become a way for artists to not only have their work discovered, it’s also a way for them to build audiences for gigs and  tours, way before a fan has even laid eyes on artist. It’s all about building a community around your music, no matter where you’re based – even if it’s ‘a long way from anywhere’.

A story that befits Alice Springs musician Ben Allen all too well… You could almost describe him as the ‘poster boy’ for DIY bedroom musicians in remote Australia. Ben writes, records, arranges and produces his music at home with a mic and a laptop. Then uploads – ie digitally distributes – it for the rest of the world to hear.

Ben has lived in Alice Springs for some time, a place where he chooses to work and raise a family. He makes music as a solo artist, producing delicate, almost fragile, glitch-folk-electronica under the name  ‘Yellow Streetlight’.

His more guitar-based “songwriterly” work goes under the title of Broadwing. It’s music which recalls Badly Drawn Boy after a fight with Radiohead – which the latter wins after a big night out on the turps (ie less dandy, more grunt).

And this badly-drawn boy also has an eminently listenable voice, used to dramatic effect across both musical styles.

Ben might be in the early stage of his career, but his songs – and songwriting ability – already bespeak of a maturity that can take a lifetime to achieve. They are very-much arranged and written, with some orchestral in construction, others bluntly stripped bare. And they possess a distinct ‘epic-ness’ surely born of living in so much (desert) space.

Very much a fan of artist-controlled digital distribution, Ben’s also an artist with an interesting relationship to his fans, grown largely through a presence on triple j Unearthed, with airplay support also coming from the national youth music network. His music definitely possesses the ‘wow’ factor that goes with stumbling upon ‘the new’, and an as yet undiscovered young artist.

Ben Allen is also another of the musicians who make discovering new music in the NT all that more exciting. He recently spent some time talking to Music NT…

Music NT: How long have you been making music? And how did you get into it in the first place?

Ben Allen: I started making up dodgy little tunes on guitar when I was about ten years old. But the first actual songs were written with my older brother a few years after that. We used to write very ambitious prog-rock songs with ridiculous time signature changes. My brother listened almost exclusively to Jethro Tull, so that was the sort of music we were trying to emulate. If I listened as a fourteen year-old to the music I write now I would be horrified at how conventional it is!

MuNT: Have you studied music anywhere?

BA: No, I’m pretty much self-taught. My brother got me started with some rudimentary guitar playing, but everything else was just a result of me spending hours after school trying things out.

MuNT: How would you describe your music? (I love the click music ‘beds’ you use!!)

BA: I struggle to describe it. The electronic stuff (Yellow Streetlight) is quite glitchy and is influenced by artists like Bjork and Radiohead’s ‘Kid A’ and ‘Amnesiac’ albums. Whereas the guitar based songs – Broadwing – have a more conventional songwriter approach and are less focused on interesting sounds. The only constant is that I always write in minor keys. I don’t really do ‘chirpy’ music.

MuNT: What instruments do you play – and what gear is involved in creating your ‘sound’?

BA: I am most comfortable playing guitar, but I can fake my way on most instruments. Much of my electronic songs are constructed from samples of household objects, and free software instruments that I’ve found on the internet. But you can make sounds with anything from a set of housekeys to a baking pan, really. I have a pretty basic set-up. Just a laptop and one microphone generally.

MuNT; What inspires your music – and do you think living in Alice Springs has an influence on the sound of your music and composition?

BA: It’s hard to describe. It’s more a compulsion than any profound inspiration. I just tend to feel happier if I’ve written a decent song recently. I think the imagery in my lyrics has changed since I moved to Alice Springs. My lyrics are very much stream-of-conciousness, so wherever I’m living is bound to have an impact…

MuNT: Have you always been a solo artist – and do you ever collaborate with others?

BA: I did used to write with my brother and I was in a grunge band in high school, but not for quite a few years now. I definitely want to make the move to collaborating because I think it can sometimes become a bit stale when it’s the same voice in every song. It would also be great to find some people who were interested in performing some of my songs live, although I’d be a bit worried about being a dictator because I’ve had things my way for so long!

MuNT: How did you come to be in Alice Springs? What’s the best thing about making music there – and ‘limitations’?

BA: My partner and I fell in love with the Territory when we were travelling, and when we had kids it seemed like a good town to settle in for a while. One of the great things about recording in Alice Springs is that you can get away with a fair bit of noise pollution. What with cracker night and everything, people tend to be a bit more relaxed with noise here. I suppose the real limitation in living here would be finding venues to perform your music, though at this stage I haven’t really attempted that.

MuNT: Who are some of your musical heroes or inspirations? And do you have any music mentors you could tell us about?

BA: I’ve got pretty varied tastes. But the real constant for the last decade has been Radiohead. The fact that they continue to improve and reinvent themselves with every album is amazing. And an album that not many people know of called ‘Smiling and Waving’ by Anja Garabrek which is really delicate and beautifully constructed. But then listening to Tom Waits beating two bits of metal together and shouting can be just as good.

MuNT: Which NT artists are you fans of?

BA: She left town before I got a chance to see her live, but I’ve got the Mei Lai Swan EP and I really liked that. I became much more aware of the local music scene when the triple j One Night Stand happened. I went to a songwriting workshop at the time and it was great to see that there are people in town creating there own gigs. But you only have to search on the triple j unearthed website to see that there is plenty of talent in Alice Springs.

I should also plug my brother’s music. He’s living in Yulara and has a page on unearthed called ‘A Crestfallen’.

MuNT: Do you perform live?

BA: Not in Alice Springs yet, but I’d definitely like to. It would be great to get a spot on one of the Alice festival line-ups. I just need to work out how to strip my songs down a bit, because I don’t really want the performance to be just me singing and triggering a bunch of samples. I’d like to get as much live instrumentation into it as possible. Performing live is great, but I still think a well recorded song is probably more satisfying.

MuNT: Vijay from triple j gave you a nice review of one of your songs on Unearthed… Who do you think might connect with your music, and where do you see it sitting within the ‘marketplace’, if that’s an okay question to ask?

BA: I’ve had great support from the Unearthed website, but unfortunately I’ve never actually been listening when they’ve played my songs on triple j!

I’m not entirely sure where my music sits. That aspect is really probably my biggest weakness as a do-it-yourselfer. So far the only real exposure I’ve gotten is through triple j airplay and Unearthed podcasts. But I’m not particularly concerned about my music as a commodity anyway. To be honest songwriting it is primarily a selfish act and if other people enjoy it, that is really a bonus.

MuNT: Did you spend a long time developing your sound?

BA: I suppose I did, but not consciously. My sound has evolved as my tastes have changed, and my equipment has gotten slightly better. I think you start by trying to sound like other people and eventually you work out what your strengths are. And then you get to a point where -  even if you try to sound like someone else – it still sounds like you.

MuNT: You have a very strong voice.. What is your approach to singing? And have you studied it at all?

BA: Cheers. For a long time I thought of my voice as being a bit of a liability, but I seem to be getting away with it. I am not a fan of auto-tune. I think it’s good to hear a few wobbles so you know you’re hearing a real voice. I haven’t studied singing formally, it’s just been a slow process of getting steadily less out of tune. And I think the fact that I used to smoke pretty heavily gave me a little bit of grain in my voice, but that’s probably not a good practice for aspiring singers!

MuNT: And your production and arranging – do you do it all yourself?

BA: Yeah, I do. It’s becoming easier and easier to do everything yourself. It took me a while to convert to computer recording (and I still swear at my laptop fairly frequently!), but it really has improved home recording. You can find amazing effect plugins and instruments that people make for free in their bedrooms that equal the quality of products that used cost thousands of dollars.

MuNT: Aha – just found your Broadwing page – what’s that all about?

BA: Broadwing is the name I’ve given to my more ‘songwriterly’ music. After a few years of doing the electronic stuff I thought it would be interesting to go back to writing songs on guitar again. The Yellow Streetlight songs are generally written as I am recording and are more based on sounds. There is sometimes a bit of crossover in sound, it’s really more the way they are written that is different.

MuNT: What are your musical ambitions? And do you already have a fan base – or how are you hoping to build one?

BA: My primary ambition is to continue writing songs that I want to hear. There are a little group of people that have heard me on triple j and I email songs to them as I write them. Eventually I’m going to set up a page on Bandcamp.com to allow people to download albums. It seems like the best option available at the moment.

MuNT: Does the geographical isolation affect you, living and making music in Alice – or do you think the net has you at the same advantage as other musicians?

BA: In some ways I think it could be an advantage, because if you live in a more populated area, it’s easier to be lost in the crowd. If an event like the One Night Stand is bringing focus to the area, you’re more likely to be noticed. The ‘net has definitely been a big equalizer in tems of getting heard.

MuNT: What is the best thing about being a musician right now?

BA: Probably the fact that you can control everything now. Musicians can now control the decisions about the content of the music itself, how it’s distributed, how much to charge for it, or in some cases whether or not to charge for it at all. I think it makes for much more interesting music generally when musicians have that kind of control.

MuNT: And where do you think you might be with your music in a few years’ time?

BA: Hopefully performing it in some capacity, and maybe making a bit of money occasionally to justify spending more money on equipment. I know I’ll still be writing whether anyone else is interested or not.

MuNT: And finally, the ‘Yellow Streetlight’.. Is that a metaphor for something?!

BA: Sadly, there is no metaphor or story attached to that name. It was literally a case of staring out the window while trying to think of a name and seeing a yellow streetlight. I could have just as easily ended up calling myself ‘letterbox’ or ‘unmown lawn’!

Check out Ben’s music on MySpace: Yellow Streetlight and Broadwing. You can also listen to his songs on triple j Unearthed.

Words: Megan Spencer. Thanks to Ben Allen for the interview.