Near the end of his life, Vincent Van Gogh wrote, “I have put my heart and soul into my work and have lost my mind in the process.” Those words beg the question: what does one do when the inspiration is gone? This sentiment resonated with indie-alternative artist Jake Benjamin. Jake was at a personal and artistic crossroads when he wrote his latest body of work, collectively known as Broken Stars. This artistically adventurous and boldly vulnerable opus was inspired by reading The Letters of Vincent van Gogh, a collection of correspondences from Van Gogh to his brother, Theo.
“I decided that the songs on this record should tie into themes of the psyche and the human spirit,” the NYC-based artist details. “Some of the songs were written from famous artists’ quotes, and others were written from my own experiences with anxiety, depression, relationships, and sexuality.” He continues: “Today, I’m open to showing all the aspects of my life, including my queerness.”
Jake earned his bachelor’s degree from University of Miami’s Frost School of Music’s Music Business and Studio Music & Jazz programs. He received his master’s degree from Indiana University’s prestigious Jacobs School of Music where he studied voice. Beyond his grounding in jazz, Jake pulls from inspirations as diverse as Björk, Snarky Puppy, Vulfpeck, Becca Stevens, Jacob Collier, and Kneebody. Jake’s overall sensibility is a “beyond pop” aesthetic that favors evocative feelings and engaging storylines over punchy pop songcraft. He is equally comfortable composing with a loop pedal and working songs out through leading large and small band ensembles.
Previously, Jake issued the 2018 EP, Finally Back Home, and three singles. This latest collection of songs is his most ambitious. It features twenty-five musicians, five engineers, and five co-writers. Broken Stars is lushly produced; lavished with horns, a string section, piano, guitars, synths, and a loop pedal. The music is sonically cohesive, but created in vastly different manners. Broken Stars was recorded with live band ensembles, and it features tracks built from MIDI keyboard demos. The overall project was produced by Jake and Pascal Pahl. Jake makes his producer debut on the LP’s final track, Countrymen.
The single, Hemingway, is cleverly constructed, utilizing different rhythmic meters for dynamic expressivity. “When composing music to this lyric, I wanted to portray a sense of imbalance that an ocean can sometimes bring,” Jake reveals. The song is vibrantly orchestrated with a horn trio, a quartet of female vocalists, acoustic guitar, piano, and Jake’s own richly expressive vocals which convey a sense of longing. The song was inspired by a trip to Key West where Jake toured the Ernest Hemingway House. While there, he learned more about Hemingway’s life and the different worlds and transformations his stories went through. Like Van Gogh, Hemingway endured pain and mental trauma from his creative continuum. After the Hemingway House tour, Jake read The Old Man And The Sea, Hemingway’s final book.
“After reading this journey of struggle, identity, and valor, I wrote this stream of consciousness lyric based off of what this story meant to me along with different Ernest Hemingway quotes,” Jake details. “The song is about the tragic reality of an artist so close to their glory and artistic aspiration that they cannot seem to cross the line.”
