Ben Barker
Ben Barker is a RL Didgeridoo and guitar player, combining his Aboriginal Australian heritage, the past and the present to create a truly unique sound !
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Ben is a quiet, humble and very spiritual man. A proud Aboriginal Australian of very few words who prefers to let his music tell the story than tell it himself but I managed to pry a few words out of him.
Harlow – Ben thank you for taking the time to chat with me, I have been pulling my hair out for weeks about this interview as you are an artist that’s doesn’t quite fit the “SL mould” so to speak (and nor should you) Let me start by saying welcome to SL (you are about 2 months in now). How on earth did you find it and what made you want to perform in here?
Ben .. Thanks Harlow, I was looking for a virtual world to explore that had more than just one dimension to it like so many games are.... So when I found SL I was interested because it not only had music but so many other directions you can take in here
Harlow – As a fellow Aussie and one that will always call the NT home, I am no stranger to the sound of the didgeridoo. It’s such a unique sound and has such a haunting quality about it. Is it an instrument easily learnt (it doesn’t look easy)? Can you tell us how you came to learn to play.
Ben....When I was young I would practice on a vacuum cleaner tube as that’s all we had access to. We grew up very poor so I learnt to make do with what I had. Playing the didge is actually easy once you get the circular breathing right, but before that it seems impossible....so dont give up trying
Harlow …You are a proud Australian Aboriginal man and you are from what I have seen a very spiritual man also. Is shining the light on your culture something that is important to you?
Ben... Connecting with people on a soul level is really important and sharing our story is what everyone deserves... I like to use music as my medium to touch peoples souls and open the door to our culture.. Australian culture is very much aboriginal flavored and they are both unique
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Harlow - As I am writing this I am watching a you tube of you…I would assume that playing the didge is hard work…that’s a lot of breathing you need to do, but to play the guitar at the same time is just insane. Does it require a lot of practise to combine the two?
Ben.. It was a gift from the spirits when I was under a lot of stress and I sat down and wedged the didge between my knees and sat the guitar in my lap and all of a sudden the waves lined up and I could do it .. straight away my stress went away and I entered the dreaming ...a euphoric space of love and infinite creation .. I will never forget it ... that evening I spent all night refining it then the next day I went busking and made $24.90 ...it felt like free money
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Note - Dreamtime or Dreaming for Australian Aboriginal people represents the time when the Ancestral Spirits progressed over the land and created life and important physical geographic formations and sites. ... The past of the Spirit Ancestors which live on in the legends are handed down through stories, art, ceremony and songs
Harlow – Tell me about Ben Barker art.
Ben.. My paintings are an extension of my music and they are from my dreaming ... I like to use monochromatic because I feel it stimulates peoples dreaming without using color to guide them... It lets their minds wander and open up their own dreaming ...
Harlow – As a relative new comer to SL what do you think of the live music scene in here?
Ben.. the live music here is very much the best scene to be a part of in SL ... the people are great and the music is too... without the music scene i dont think i would of enjoyed SL as much as I do
Harlow…I have heard that you are playing and rubbing shoulders with some pretty cool Aussie musicians….eg Paul Kelly (an idol of mine), Archie Roach, Kirk Pengilly. How did that come about and what do you have planned in the future?
Knowing those musicians has come from me building a reputation through my performances .. I let the music speak for itself and I always try to stay humble always remembering no matter what heights we reach we are all born from the same energy
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Harlow - anything that you would like to add in regards to your experience in SL so far?
Ben. I really hope my music keeps moving forwards into the future and I thank everyone who supports the live music scene in SL ..without you there would be no one to play to so thanks for the love and I hope to see you soon at a gig. Also thank you to you Harlow for this interview and for your blog.
Thank You Ben