BEN RATH/SLOW HEART MUSIC

Ben Rath is a musician from Manchester, UK who also records as Slow Heart Music. His work under his own name, exploring genres of ambient, drone, experimental and abstract instrumental music, has been released on labels including Whitelabrecs, Sound in Silence, Unknown Tone Records, Eilean Rec., Cathedral Transmissions, Moonswing Netlabel and Triple Moon Records. As Slow Heart Music, Ben focuses more closely on solo acoustic guitar instrumentals and has released albums exclusively through Whitelabrecs.

The majority of Ben's musical output finds its home in the rich and diverse territory of experimental ambient and drone music. Ben creates compositions using original recordings of guitar, keyboard, and piano, as well as samples, field recordings, and digital synthesizers. These sounds from various sources are then moulded, transformed, and edited together to form instrumental arrangements which span a wide variety of styles, tones, and emotional registers, with inspiration drawn from pioneers in the genre such as Tim Hecker and Lawrence English, the early ambient works of artists such as Sean McCann and Colleen, and the emotional weight and resonance of Constellation Records greats such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Esmerine (among many others).

Under the Slow Heart Music moniker, Ben strips things back to explore the simple joy of the acoustic guitar. His playing, influenced by the likes of Eric Chenaux and Richard Dawson, as well as the gentle beauty of solo piano works from artists such as Nils Frahm and Olafur Arnalds, combines a sense of playful and spontaneous improvisation with arrangements and compositions that often express a gentle and tender emotion.

Ben began writing and releasing music under his own name in 2014, and then as Slow Heart Music in 2016. Having played the guitar from a young age, he had always dreamed of playing in bands but lacked the social confidence. With the opportunity afforded by greater access to music production technology, and the blossoming of small but vibrant communities and niche music scenes online, he has found the perfect outlet to create and find a receptive audience for his music.