Ben Ely

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Ben Ely

Ely performing with Regurgitator in 2013
Background information
Birth name Benjamin Ely
Born (1970-09-13) September 13, 1970
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Genres Rock, alternative rock, hip hop, electronica
Occupations Musician, songwriter, animator, producer
Instruments Guitar, vocals, keyboard, Synthesizer, drums
Years active 1993–present
Labels Valve Records, Warner Bros.
Associated acts Regurgitator, Pangaea
Website

Ben Ely (born 13 September 1970) is an Australian musician and artist best known for his work with Brisbane indie/alternative rock band Regurgitator, a multi-ARIA Music Award winning group which formed in Brisbane, Australia in December 1993.

Early life

Born in Brisbane, Ely's family moved to the outer suburb of Cleveland. During his high school years he became friends with musicians members Dave Atkins and Jim Sinclair, with whom he would later form Pangaea.[1] He met guitarist Quan Yeomans in 1993, with whom he formed Regurgitator together with. He claims that meeting Yeomans is the most important thing that has ever happened to him, stating that "I am a big fan of his work. I guess that helps when you play in a band with them".[2] With regard to his musical influences, Ely has previously stated "Metallica and Black Sabbath made me who I am today".[3]

Music

Aside his tenure in Regurgitator, Ely has worked on other music projects:[4]

  • Pangaea is a punk and metal band from Brisbane, Australia that Ely fronted since the early 1990s.
  • Jump 2 Light Speed released a self-titled album in 2006 and featured Ben Ely on bass and vocals, Graeme Kent on guitar (later replaced by former Channel V presenter Steve Bourke), Keita Tarlinton on keyboards and Stella Mozgawa on drums (later replaced by Tim Browning).
  • Broken Head is a dub band featuring Skritch and Guy Webster and formerly Ely.
  • The Stalkers is a punk band with Regurgitator member Peter Kostic along with Ray Ahn and Raymond Lalotoa.
  • Ouch My Face is an experimental punk band from Melbourne, Australia featuring Ben Ely on Bass, Celeste Potter on guitar and vocals and Ben Wundersitz on drums.
  • Pow Pow Wow is an avant-garde musical duo featuring Ely on drums and his current partner, violinist Rachael Kim.
  • Ben Ely's Radio 5 released his first official solo album, Transcending Reality, in 2008. The band is unusual for its set-up where Ely performs lead vocals while standing up and drumming a simple drum kit made up of flat-lying kick drums, cymbals and snare.

Ely also co-wrote, (together with Decoder Ring), the music to the 2004 Australian film Somersault, starring Abbie Cornish. The soundtrack won an AFI Award for Best Original Music Score and the song 'Somersault' won the 2004 Best Original Song Composed for a Feature Film, Telemovie, TV Series or Mini-Series Award at the Australian Screen Music Awards.[5]

Personal life

Ely is also a successful practicing artist and has exhibited work at The TAP Gallery in Darlinghurst, Sydney, and Flipbook Gallery in Brisbane.

He was previously in a relationship with Australian television presenter Yumi Stynes. They have two daughters together, Anouk (born 2003) and Dee Dee (born 2005), however the couple separated in late 2008. Yumi has stated that "Ben and I are friends. He's a good guy and he's still my girls' dad.".[6] Ely was in a relationship with Melbourne violinist Rachael Kim. Their separation in 2011 inspired his Game Over! art exhibition.[7]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.collapseboard.com/brisbane/ben-ely-the-collapse-board-interview/
  2. ↑ http://www.bombshellzine.com/blog/2012/08/the-hotseat-ben-ely-of-regurgitator/
  3. ↑ http://kotorimagazine.com/permalink/2153.html
  4. ↑ http://queenslandartgallery.com/exhibitions/past_exhibitions/2007/andy_warhol/andy_warhol_up_late/14_march
  5. ↑ Awards for Somersault at the Internet Movie Database
  6. ↑ http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/yumi-a-wild-child-no-longer/story-fn6bn9st-1225992579566
  7. ↑ http://www.annaeangel.com/2012/06/interview-ben-ely-for-rave-magazine.html

External links

Regurgitator
Studio albums
EPs
  • Regurgitator (aka Hamburger) (1994)
  • New (1995)
  • Generic City (2000)
  • Crush the Losers
  • #?*! (Pretty Girls Swear or Pillowhead) (2005)
  • Distractions (2010)
  • Nrob Bmud (2010)
Singles
  • "Blubber Boy"
  • "F.S.O"
  • "I Sucked a Lot of Cock to Get Where I Am"
  • "Kong Foo Sing"
  • "Miffy's Simplicity"
  • "Everyday Formula"
  • "Black Bugs"
  • "Polyester Girl"
  • "! (Song Formerly Known As)"
  • "Happiness (Rotting My Brain)"
  • "I Wanna Be a Nudist"
  • "Freshmint!"
  • "Crush the Losers"
  • "Fat Cop"
  • "Superstraight"
  • "Hullabaloo"
  • "Bong In My Eye"
  • "The Drop"
  • "My Ego"
  • "Pretty Girls Swear"
  • "Blood and Spunk"
  • "Romance of the Damned"
  • "One Day"
Other releases
Related articles
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