Hailing from the sunny shores of Wollongong NSW, multi-instrumentalist Ben Cauduro is Benjamino. Since his inception in late 2019, Benjamino has been crafting an eclectic mix of soul, funk and indie pop to the soundtrack of melodic keys, experimental synths and dominating horns. With a self-produced debut EP and more fresh singles on the way in 2021, Benjamino is developing a reputation as one of the finest under the radar Australian singer-songwriters out there.
Join me as I sit down with Benjamino and discuss the method behind his music, from the themes he explores in his songs to the drive that keeps himself motivated.
Primarily, my songs have a lot to do with self-ambition and procrastination, you know, that feeling of summoning some type of energy into getting things done.
I started Benjamino in early 2019. The reason why I wanted to start this project was firstly, I wanted to try something on my own because it’s a solo project, and secondly, I wanted to try and explore more of the Indie Soul genre. I was previously feeling frustrated with some of the music I was writing as I felt a bit too constricted within Rock genres such as Indie Rock. I also wanted to write more for keyboard and incorporate a lot of horns, as that is my musical background. I really wanted to branch out and share my full potential as a songwriter.
When did you know you were passionate enough about music to make it your career?
It wasn’t an exact moment – I just fell into it in a way. I was really interested with listening to songs on the radio and took a lot of notice about which artists were which and what their styles were compared to other artists. I also listened to a lot to my parents’ music as well, so I became really interested in bands such as Queen, The Beatles and Skyhooks from a pretty young age. When I got to high school, I became involved with school bands and started taking piano lessons. And all of a sudden, my teachers were saying, “You’re really good at this”. So, at around 14, I rather ambitiously decided that music was the thing I was going to pursue.
Lyrically, my music explores biographical and fictional themes. Primarily, my songs have a lot to do with self-ambition and procrastination, you know, that feeling of summoning some type of energy into getting things done. Just sort of everyday things that explore the inner workings of my life and what I’m thinking about on a daily basis. I channel the pressures of “making something of myself” into my writing. On the other hand, I enjoy coming up with fictional storylines based on real people and events, similarly to Father John Misty, Split Enz and Blur. For example, I wrote a song recently called Statues in Torino, which is a fictional story based on what actually happened to me and my brother overseas. I also wrote another song called Aus Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which was all about my endeavours trying to secure a passport through Australia Post.
Musically, my songs are grounded in Soul Funk and R&B music, but the production side of things falls more into to being Indie and Indie Pop. I want the complexities and nuance that can be achieved in Soul music, but then blend that with what you would hear on stations such as Triple J or community radio. That’s the fusion I’m trying to achieve.
I like having a lot of control over my mixes and recording techniques. It’s also another skill that I can hone – I feel like I’m pretty good at playing music and songwriting, so I also just want to be able to be good at recording myself. And if it means I don’t have to pay anyone else to do it, then that’s another bonus.
That was my biggest fear when I started Benjamino as I had previously only played in bands where the other people helped give me a sense of responsibility. I quickly found though, that with Benjamino, there’s so much to do – writing horn charts, mixing, recording, sending emails – so if motivation is starting to wane in one area, I can quickly go over to something else that needs attention. Having such a varied set of tasks really helps me. But you know, there’s also that ever looming sense of time running out that also pushes me to try and get stuff done [laughs].
I want my listeners to be bopping their head and thinking about life at the same time.
Generally, music comes first. But some of the better songs I’ve written come from when I’ve built a song around a catchy lyric that pops into my head. That was the case for Clutching at Shadows – I came up with the chorus line singing it in the shower and then built something around it. Some songs are like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, as I’m combining new ideas with pieces that had already been written, like an opening riff. But nine times out of 10 when I’m songwriting, I sit down to do the music first, and the lyrics come later.
Right up until COVID happened, I was doing a lot of gigs and that was my main focus. I was able to get in some gigs as Benjamino but due to COVID my focus quickly transferred to “I better record this first EP”. It also meant that my teaching went onto Zoom lessons, which was good in a way because it meant I could stay at home instead of traveling an hour and a half up to Sydney from Wollongong and back. I found myself already in the room that I was recording and mixing in. That gave me a lot more time to be able to write, record and mix the EP. That was the main change and I really enjoyed it, to be honest. All I had to do every day was sit and do exactly what I’ve always wanted to do which was write and record music. After we went back to face-to-face lessons, I fell into doing the same thing, I would just have to leave a little bit earlier to get to my lessons. Now gigs are starting to come back and will be the priority but 2020 was really all about recording music and getting ready to release it.
That’s like picking your favourite child a little bit. I go through stages. Generally, my favourite song is Paradise is Here, not just because it was the first one that was played on Triple J [laughs]. I actually didn’t expect it to be all that successful, in terms of being played on radio – I thought it was maybe a little bit too niche. But luckily it was received really well which was which was awesome. Because I never really expected it to do very well commercially, it took a bit of pressure off. I didn’t have to necessarily worry about it doing well so I just wrote what I wanted to write. I ended up releasing it as a single and it ended up being one of the more successful songs that I’ve released. So that was a bonus.
I always say I want my listeners to be bopping their head and thinking about life at the same time. I want my music to be enjoyable to listen to. I want it to be interesting. I want it to be engaging. I don’t want it to be predictable. I want it to have a bit of life to it. And lyrically, I want them to be really engaged by what I’m saying because I would hope that they’re going to be finding that interesting and be hanging on what I’m going to be saying next.
I’ve got around five to six songs I’m looking at recording this year. It’s undecided whether I’m going to put them together as an EP or as separate singles. One thing I’d also really like to do, because I wasn’t able to do much of it in 2020, is play more live shows, depending on the COVID situation. I’d love to play interstate, in places like Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide, but obviously my focus is playing around Wollongong and Sydney and maybe even Canberra as much as possible – places within driving distance.
You can support Benjamino and listen to his music in the following places:
Instagram: @benjamino.music
Website: benjamino.com.au
Spotify: Benjamino
YouTube: Clutching at Shadows music video
All photography in this interview is by TEEL Studios