There truly has been no debut more strikingly powerful than Benedict’s this year. Rising from the darkness and the ashes with the gloriously hymnal ‘Oh Fool’, we just had to sit down with Benedict to get to know her better, discussing Melbourne, days as a prison officer, and the beauty of lemon tea.
‘Oh Fool’, the first single from the genius of Benedict, is pure strength in its unfolding. The song acts as a nocturnal hymn to the power of insight, and the overwashing of glory that comes with moving beyond past oppressors.
Raw, tactile and revelatory, ‘Oh Fool’ has to be one of the greatest debuts we’ve heard this year. Every line is deifying, an illustrious balm against fools and trespassers. Anyone who has fallen for the wrong hand will know exactly what Benedict is touching upon here. Coming back with a vengeance, back from the fall with villainy, Benedict has gifted us all a post-heartache anthem for the ages.
We sat down with Benedict to get to know her better, as she makes plans to take over this world of pitiful fools and fiends.
Check out the new single by Benedict, the incredible ‘Oh Fool’
Get To Know: Benedict
How did your artist name come about?
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Benedict is actually one of my middle names. There are many reasons why I chose this as the name for my project but that will take up this whole page so will have to wait for another day!
How would you describe your music to your grandma?
Well, my grandmother was an incredible singer and a deeply spiritual soul. She breathed music just like I do today, so I would most likely just play my music to her and ask for her experience and thoughts!! But.. if I had to I would say.. ‘Gran, I have written this music through your eyes that breathed life into mine and taught me soul, wisdom, grace and spirituality at its deepest. I would tell her my music is a voice for people who don’t have one and that I am passionate about continuing her deep love for people through music.
Tell us about a few tracks; their titles and what they’re about?
Ok, this is a tricky one! The reason being is that I have currently over 35+ songs that I have written and produced for the project. Let’s just say I am not much of a “keep it simple” kind of human so most of my tracks are written purely inspired by heartache, love, transformation, healing, social observation and justice. These lived experiences translate deeply into my lyrics. For now, I’ll tell you about my debut single, ‘Oh Fool’.
This song for me represents transformation at its deepest. Learning that giving away your power, love and trust to the wrong people causes unimaginable heartache and suffering. Yet experiencing strength through the pain, personal growth to rise above the darkness into your own glory and light heals it all and grounds you beyond what you could ever imagine. Forgiveness and empathy towards those who have hurt you is the greatest power you can hold as it cannot control you anymore.
What do you love about your hometown?
I love Melbourne for its arts scene! Its music, arts, culture and diversity. There is always something new to hear or see and this city never sleeps and I can never get enough.
Career highlight so far?
As this project is new, even though my music career is not so new, I would say ask me in about 6 months! haha.
No no…. honestly, it has been the incredible people I have worked with so far and connected with. Blown away by the support and talent. One person, in particular, renowned Australian producer Dean Tuza (Stella Donnelly, The Rubens, These New South Wales). He has been so supportive and I have been able to learn so many new things from this talented man! His skill and experience have taken my demo production to the next level… and I am super excited to be working with Dean on the next part of my project.
Fav non-music hobby?
So… I used to be a custodial/prison officer and on my non-music days I have taken time out to write a TV show pilot based around my experiences of three years working in the cells in Melbourne, Victoria. I am definitely no professional when it comes to putting together tv pilots and concepts for tv shows, but I love it!
I am keen to share this eventually and well…If I could make it to Stan or Netflix to share these stories through film one day, it would be so amazing…!!
What’s on your dream rider?
Tea is the best for me!!! Drinking tea before a show… lemon, honey and herbal all the way.
But if I am thinking of alcohol… I have to go with whiskey! Always warms up the vocal cords.
Dream music collab?
Wow so many!!!! Ummmm I would say Prince but that would have to be in music heaven, so I would say currently if I was to go back to the influences in my younger years it would have to be Joan Baez. I love her passion and strength. I love what she stands for and her bravery and songwriting.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I hope that I am an artist that through strong opportunities taking flight with my music career, I would love to be able to move into humanitarian work and assist where I can. A deeply true passion of mine. I think there is enough suffering within our society today, and I would hope that with a strong platform I could speak out for the voices that cannot be heard, create new projects that bring life to a society that I believe is in much need.
What’s your go-to Karaoke song?
Omg, you are going to laugh but since I can remember it has always been ‘Mustang Sally’! Haha. I remember my sister and I would always belt it out together. Wow..that takes me back. I think a good karaoke session is in need soon!!
