Ben Hackett announced his debut solo album, Songs for Sleeping Dogs, earlier this year. So far, he has shared a handful of songs from the record, including “Nylon Bell Pot,” “Loose Changes 2,” and “Memory Ornament.” Today, American Songwriter is proud to premiere the new track “Reflection Pond Ripple.” Check it out below.
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A Chattanooga, Tennessee native, Hackett moved to Athens, Georgia, more than a decade ago after his band, New Madrid, cut their debut record at Chase Park Transduction. Since then, he has become a staple of the city’s thriving music scene and is currently a staff engineer and session musician at the studio. His mastery of multiple instruments comes through on the tracks of his debut album. However, “Reflection Pond Ripple” may be one of the best representations of his widespread skill in the collection.
Ben Hackett on “Reflection Pond Ripple”
Ahead of today’s premiere, Ben Hackett spoke to American Songwriter about “Reflection Pond Ripple.”
”It may be the song I’m most proud of on the record,” Hackett reveals. “Not for any virtuosic playing or any fancy mix tricks, but just because I feel that it is the song that maintained a true sense of space and patience that I wanted to impart to the listener in the most natural and unobtrusive way,” he explains.
“This is one of those songs that I didn’t know what it would sound like when I sat down to record it,” Hackett says. “I had sat down at the piano and started playing this ostinato piano lie and grabbed the closest mic to me–a Sennheiser 421–and stuck it in the middle of the piano, between my face and the piano hammers,” he explains. “You can hear a bit of my breathing as I concentrated to keep the line going while it was fresh in my fingers,” he adds.
“Reflection Pond Ripple” Came to Hackett Quickly
While Hackett is fond of the sense of patience exuded by the song, he didn’t have to exercise much patience when writing the song. “I think I finished this song in about two hours–it all felt like the song was already there and I was just brushing the dust off of the melody and turning it over in my hand like an old shell or a smooth river rock,” he explains.
“There are a few spots in the song where there is an eight or ten, or twelve-measure break, rather than each subsequent musical idea happening in the traditional four-bar phase unfurling,” Hackett points out. “It felt like a good way to leave the song–build up expectations that something would change at a specific time and then see where your mind wanders when those changes are a bit delayed,” he adds. “I feel like when that happens in life, you get the opportunity to sit where you are and learn about yourself.”
Songs for Sleeping Dogs will be available May 16 via Strolling Bones Records.
Featured Image by Sam Johnson
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