Ben McGarvey

"McGarvey has locked himself away in his bedroom and crafted songs of true otherworldly magic and splendour. Bursting with beautiful acoustic melodies and hooks." MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS
"Epic, otherworldly sounds in an intimate show, with digital trickery framing trad folk singer-songwritery fare." THE GUARDIAN
"McGarvey is a young singer/songwriter with that rarest of things in the genre; imagination" CLASH MAGAZINE
"This is an astoundingly accomplished album that twists alternative folk with the traditional, yet uses technology to compelling effect" MANCHESTER MUSIC
Songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Ben McGarvey has been described by Clash Magazine as having "as much in common with Múm as David Gray and his ilk". Ben's songs are not restricted to the all too familiar traditions of the singer-songwriter genre; his painstakingly emotive melody lines drift in and out of soft electronic textures and lo-fi drum clatterings, with the distant echoes of found-sounds to reinforce the quirky and often taboo lyrical themes.
In 2008 Ben self-released his debut album "Too Busy Framing" to critical acclaim. The promo singles "My Electric Wire" and "Disjointed" (an uncomfortable love story referencing Fred and Rose West) have received radio airplay all over the country including BBC Radio Manchester, London and Nottingham.
After growing up as an only child in the Shropshire countryside where he passed the time playing the piano and writing songs in his parents' basement, Ben went on to study Contemporary Music at the University of Central Lancashire. He has produced songs for other artists such as Kathryn Edwards, We Are Willow and Butler Williams and has written soundtracks for several short films, such as Jacob Owens' award-winning "Copain" series.
Ben currently resides in Manchester and is working on his second album, due for release in 2011. He is also writing, producing and performing with Manchester folktronic outfit "The Spiels" - a collaboration with Canadian Singer-Songwriter Ryan Lamey, and their debut EP will be released in 2011.