{"title":"Ben Harper","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"winter-is-for-lovers","title":"Winter Is For Lovers","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWinter Is For Lovers\u003c\/em\u003e was a lifetime in the making... a solo lap-steel guitar piece incorporating elements of delta blues, flamenco, and even Satie-like minimalism, this work resonates with lyrical virtuosity, originality, and soul.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn some ways \u003cem\u003eWinter Is For Lovers\u003c\/em\u003e is a love letter to \u003cstrong\u003eBen Harper's\u003c\/strong\u003e longtime fans who have always revered his guitar virtuosity; it's the record they always wanted him to make. For many other music lovers, this record is a revelation, an unknown side to a celebrated artist showing a sense of meticulousness, depth, and music history that will add new dimensions to an already renowned career.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs a child, before \u003cstrong\u003eBen Harper\u003c\/strong\u003e was even playing music, he sat at the feet of folk luminaries like Rev Gary Davis, John Fahey, Ry Cooder, and others in his grandparents Folk Music Center in Claremont, CA, soaking up their influence and passion for pure guitar music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs a teenager, while discovering his own musical gifts, he was repairing guitars and being mentored by many of these artists, most notably, Taj Mahal. While his musical path has taken him to worldwide fame playing rock and roll, and many other idioms, that pure guitar music has always been central to his musical heart.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUltimately, \u003cem\u003eWinter Is For Lovers\u003c\/em\u003e is a very personal statement from \u003cstrong\u003eBen Harper\u003c\/strong\u003e, drawing from the bountiful garden of his earliest musical impressions and propelling him into the future with an elegiac masterpiece.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hellcat","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50465269973323,"sku":"1148691","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Clear | LP","offer_id":50465270858059,"sku":"1104154","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50465271251275,"sku":"1104155","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/5f36016c-3c73-4476-bd49-98b7fc487046_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727284548"},{"product_id":"wide-open-light","title":"Wide Open Light","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWide Open Light\u003c\/i\u003e Is a family of songs I’ve written. I’ve selected them with the care one might put into a personal photo album. To that effect, I’d call it a sonic family photo album, each track a close relative to the next. The story behind this record is simple. I have been writing songs now for over 30 years. It’s what I long to do, love to do, and at times feel I need to do, and hope to continue doing until the ink runs dry and the notes fade. But for now, \u003ci\u003eWide Open Light.\u003c\/i\u003e Deliberately minimalist, the songs themselves do as much of the heavy lifting as the production. (produced by myself, and my longtime collaborators Danny Kalb and Jason Mozersky).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWide Open Light\u003c\/i\u003e is a beautifully raw album that features appearances from the likes of Jack Johnson, Shelby Lynne and Piers Faccini.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chrysalis","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50466530427211,"sku":"2020547","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50466530558283,"sku":"2020548","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/wide_open_light_COVER_FINAL_3000x3000_98641faf_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727315901"},{"product_id":"bloodline-maintenace","title":"Bloodline Maintenace","description":"\u003cp\u003eBen Harper releases his eagerly anticipated, fiercely personal soulful album, \u003ci\u003eBloodline Maintenance\u003c\/i\u003e, via his new deal with Chrysalis Records. The album was preceded by the single “We Need To Talk About It” which, propelled by Harper’s blisteringly funky guitar, defiantly addresses the wounds of slavery through a sharp-edged call-and-response with gospel backing vocals and pounding rhythms augmented by the distinctive sound of the African talking drum. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe new album is a work largely inspired by the loss of a long-time friend and the lingering influence of a mercurial and charismatic father, \u003ci\u003eBloodline Maintenance\u003c\/i\u003e sees Harper performing the majority of the instruments on his own, spanning guitar, bass, drums and an eclectic assortment of percussions including a plastic toy snare. His 17th studio LP – and first since 2020’s instrumental \u003ci\u003eWinter is the Lovers\u003c\/i\u003e –and the first non-instrumental solo album of new songs since 2016. The new album is further fuelled by Harper’s signature lap steel, supercharged through a powerful Dumble amplifier creating a truly unruly tone that Harper describes as “\u003ci\u003ea sort of a merging of Robert Johnson and Jimi Hendrix.\u003c\/i\u003e” \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eApplying the inventiveness of hip-hop to longstanding paradigms of soul, blues and jazz, spinning it all forward into a reconfiguration of a new black Americana, \u003ci\u003eBloodline Maintenance\u003c\/i\u003e continues Harper’s long history as one of his generation’s most potent protest singers. Persecuted by local authorities for being a communist, his grandfather moved his family west where their music store, the Folk Music Centre and Museum in Claremont, CA, proved a vital hub in a thriving Southern California folk scene. There Harper learned guitar as a child, playing his first official gig at the age of 12. By the time he was 21, he was touring with blues legend Taj Mahal. The years that followed have seen Harper amass international critical applause and a worldwide fan following, winning three Grammy® Awards (out of seven total nominations) for his own genre-traversing body of work while also producing acclaimed albums by Mavis Staples, Rickie Lee Jones, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Natalie Maines, Ziggy Marley, and others. An inveterate collaborator, Harper has also recorded with a diverse span of artists ranging from John Lee Hooker, Charlie Musselwhite, and Jack Johnson to Ringo Starr, Keith Richards and, most recently, Harry Styles, contributing his signature guitar work to the latter superstar’s chart-topping new album, \u003ci\u003eHarry's House\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chrysalis","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50480165486923,"sku":"1158059","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50480164438347,"sku":"1158057","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/f16465fa-3ae6-40e3-bbd5-0df558780064_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727517179"},{"product_id":"welcome-to-the-cruel-world-25th-anniversary","title":"Welcome To The Cruel World - 25th Anniversary","description":"\u003cp\u003eCelebrating 25 years since its original release, Ben Harper’s debut album \u003ci\u003eWelcome to the Cruel World\u003c\/i\u003e is reissued on Double 45RPM 180 Gram Vinyl.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eLike a King\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eTake That Attitude to Your Grave\u003c\/i\u003e burn with a political conviction rarely heard during the 1990s. \u003ci\u003eForever\u003c\/i\u003e has a tenderness which demonstrates Harper’s emotional range. Ben closes the album with a song that frequently closes his concerts, \u003ci\u003eI’ll Rise\u003c\/i\u003e. This song, built around Maya Angelou’s 1979 poem \u003ci\u003eAnd Still I Rise\u003c\/i\u003e, reminds one of art’s ability to pierce through society, self, and the soul.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Virgin","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50498664825163,"sku":"1075574","price":42.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/fb0c0a8d-4acb-4cc3-b8e8-7d8167dd368f_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727752752"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/ben-harper.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}