BENJAMIN CORSON takes listeners through the world of Rituals

BENJAMIN CORSON

The Ritual

New York, United States

Credit - Benjamin Corson

Benjamin Corson is an artist that I always find myself gravitating towards. After reviewing his last project "Mirage" and interviewing the man himself, I was super excited when I heard of his new release! But before we get into that, make sure that you find out more about the artist here - INTRODUCING *Benjamin Corson* (tjplnews.com).

"The Ritual" was released on the 1st of October, and consists of one track totalling over 28 minutes! Before we get into the depths of the track, we must first get familiar with the inspiration behind the piece and the artists' vision. Corson stated that the production "started with one word during a conversation with a great friend of mine, who was going through major changes in his life. She mentioned it and it stayed with me.

We all have rituals in our lives. Some are mundane (like having a coffee in the morning), some are more meaningful and significant."

Consequently, "Ritual" is an exploration of these themes. The piece delves into a variety of "Rituals" to showcase what the word means to himself and others. This is a composition that is rooted in concept, and creativity to merge the two in a way that I have never heard before.

The production plays with imagery and to do so, Corson makes it clear that he could not only use his guitar to paint his paintings. This project sees Corson experiment with samples in combination with his guitar pieces. This resulted in the continuous mix that he has now named "Ritual"

Through "Ritual" we are taken on a journey through the emotions of joy, anger, loneliness, love, hate, envy and fear in a way that seamlessly transitions from one to another. In short, "Ritual" is the projection of spiritualism.

The opening stages of "Ritual" merge the freedom associated with nature with the hauntedness of darker sounds. All sounds here portray nature, from the sounds of birds and wood cracking on the fire to aboriginal sounds and tribal percussions, this is a whole cinematic experience in one short interval. Tribal chants ring through the ears of listeners to create the ultimate tribal ritual that is intriguing, conceptually genius and sonically extraordinary. The first transition is quite special. We hear a ringing of uplifting instrumentation along with clapping and the sound of children. There's a real storytelling element found within this part of the production which is portrayed through a read chapter whilst the instrumentation slowly moves into something dreamlike and meditative. As the piece makes its way into another transition, the meditative instrumentation introduces a backdrop of distorted vocals - astronaut-sounding ones! I guess we're now being taken into space? The introduction of strings lifts the composition into something spectacular. Now finding myself in a realm somewhere between rainforest and space, I found myself introduced to "Rituals" that I would never have dreamed of! Listeners are then taken into an ethnic wonderland through Corson's guitar skills. Midway through the production, the guitar solo skills of Corson get to shine through but only briefly before entering the futuristic realm once more in a windy extraterrestrial soundscape. A heartbeat pounds alone for a brief minute whilst providing a suspenseful wait for the next transition! This transition proves to be completely otherworldly in its experimental, techno turn of events. Almost 20 minutes in, listeners are taken into the Middle East before resting on the shore of acoustic dreams somewhere in Asia. The concluding minutes merge a vast amount of inspiration into a short space of time.

"Rituals" is a project that provides listeners with a whole Hollywood Film Production Experience without the need for the big screen. The project tells a story in the most cinematic way whilst keeping to the flawless transitions of one concept. This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of find so I urge you to open your mind and hit that link below!