Ben Matthews

Hello and welcome! 
I'm Ben, Perth-based pianist and composer, and I'm creating the next album in the LiveWyre series! Livewyre presents original music that draws influence from genre-bending jazz heavyweights like Pat Metheny, Esperanza Spalding, Hiromi Uehara, Robert Glasper, Herbie Hancock (and so on).  My intention for this music is to balance intensity with sensitivity, and creativity with accessibility. 

The Project:

In 2016 the first album in the LiveWyre series was created ( You can listen to it here: https://benmatthewspresents.bandcamp.com/album/livewyre-jazz-fusion ). Since then, there was some excitement around the project - Compositions from the first album became finalists in the Western Australian Song of the Year competition, and the group performed at a whole range of events (highlights include Perth International Jazz Festival 2018, WAM Awards night 2017). Side note: early videos of this group performing are what helped to get my foot into the door of the international gaming composition scene, not that I knew it at the time!!

About two years ago I began creating new compositional sketches for the project, but it wasn't until the world stopped in 2020 that I had the time to turn these ideas into finished and polished compositions.  The pieces are done and it's time to bring them to life. LiveWyre features some of Australia's top shelf musicians in the jazz and contemporary world. To be able to create more music with them would be an absolute privilege, and it's through efforts like crowdfunding that these musicians are able to work on creative projects like these. So let's make an album! 

If you're someone who:

• Is a delighted friend and/or family who would like to support me in my wayward creative endeavours;
• Wants to see or encourage creative and cultural development in Perth;
• Is a fan of the music and can't wait to hear more;
• Loves raging sax solos, amazingly funky bass lines, the tightest of drum grooves and/or sweet piano textures;
• Is a fine lover of delectible rewards as described below;
• Loves to see musicians and/or artists grow and succeed;
• Wants to be a part of the album-creation journey with me;

...then perhaps this is just the sort of project that you've been waiting for! 

The new album will have 5-6 tracks of new, original music that I cannot wait to share with you all. 5-6 tracks may not sound like much, but the average LiveWyre piece duration is about ~10 mins, so it will likely be a full album's length! We're aiming to be recording in late February here in Perth, with the release of the album in the months shortly after. 

On top of the rewards described below:
All pledgers will recieve a public shout out on facebook as a thanks for their support, and will be invited to a closed facebook group. In this group I'll be offering behind the scenes updates on what's going on with the project, what's coming up next, and insights into the music and the creative process as this album unfolds.  

Here's the budget breakdown for the project - where your hard-earned dollars will be spent!

$ 3000 - Musician’s Fee

The music in this project is technically demanding. It takes a considerable amount of time to learn, practice and rehearse - not just to simply be able to 'get through the pieces from start to finish', but to get them to the point where they sound effortless, fluid, confident and nuanced.  These musicians are top tier, and there is a lot of time involved to get this music up to a professional standard.  Given this, they've offered me an incredibly generous rate for their time. If this project raises money beyond the target, it will first and foremost go to the musicians. Without them, the project is nothing.

$ 2000 - Recording, Mixing, Mastering 

$500 - Studio Day Rate: One day of recording in the studio.

$1250 - Editing and Mixing: Making each piece sound as tight and balanced as possible, with epic attention to detail.

$250 - Mastering: Making it sound 'right' on all speakers; your phone, your car, your headphones, laptop (etc).

$ 600 - Album Artwork Fee 

In early 2020 for a separate, solo piano project, I asked dear friend and incredible interdisciplinary artist R.E. Smith to create some album artwork. She listened to the music and crafted this incredible sculpture which blew my mind. I love being able to involve other creatives with projects, and it was so very special to have work featured on the last album.  I'd love to commission her to do the artwork for this project as well! The money here will go toward covering material costs, the artist's time creating the artwork, and time spent formatting images of the artwork for CD printing. Here's a quick 'making of' video from her last artwork creation so you can see what I'm talking about : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz0zhjcPGnU

$ 600 - CD Printing

150 Gatefold Printed CDs from Diskbank in Perth. This will be a limited edition print.

$ 150 - Online Distribution Fee 

Upon release of the album, the music will be online on Bandcamp exclusively for the first six months of the project. After which, it will be distributed through to all of your favourite streaming services (Spotify, Google/Apple music etc).

$ 400 - Crowdfunding Platform Fees

This is to account for Pozible's takings on all pledges (about 5%), plus credit card transaction fees.

TOTAL : $6,750