Scandinavian-born singer Benjamin Folke Thomas is excited to announce the release of his new studio album Modern Man, due for release on November 9, 2018 on Aveline Records. Full of sardonic tales of love, hate and double standards, this impressive fourth release was recorded in just two days in Studio Panikangest in Gothenburg, ft Johannes Mattsson (bass), Henning Sernhede (guitar) and Erik Berndtsson (drums). Watch his new video for lead track Tasteless and Complacent on which he shared the following:
“This song is about my first panic attack and the descending spiral that life sometimes takes. Like when you’re feeling down and out. Meaningless and full of bitterness. The chorus is ironic.”
The ten songs on Modern Man draw from Folk, Country and the blues, to reveal the inner thoughts of a songwriter torn between supreme self-confidence and fear of the future.
Folke Thomas was born in the coldest winter recorded in modern day history in Gothenburg; perhaps his obsession for sad, lamenting country songs was inevitable; and grew up on a secluded island off the coast of Sweden, populated by mainly evangelical Christians. However, Ben never found God. He discovered grunge music instead, and at the age of 11 he was playing drums in a punk band before turning to Folk and Americana music after seeing Kurt Cobain’s performance of ‘In The Pines’ on Unplugged. Steeping himself in Leadbelly, Dylan, and Leonard Cohen, by the age of 20 he was an accomplished finger-picker, confident performer, and mature songwriter.
Ben released his first studio album Too Close To Here in 2013 and its follow-up Rogue State of Mind came two years later. Recorded with the same Swedish band in their studio in an old warehouse, and released on Bucketful of Brains, it caught the ear of BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris who invited Ben to Nashville as part of BBC Introducing. His third studio album Copenhagen, released in 2017, won rave reviews and was followed with a live album, Acoustic Classics, later last year.
This time he adopted a different approach. “I wanted it to be recorded quickly and I wrote a lot of songs on the piano for the first time. I wanted to get away from just writing about myself and my broken heart and all that sort of thing – or at least to do it by taking the piss out of myself with sardonic humour.”
BEN FOLKE THOMAS 2018 UK TOUR DATES
SEPTEMBER 2018 SOLO SUPPORT DATES:
11th – Leicester (supporting John Murry)
12th – Hyde Park book Club – Leeds (supporting John Murry)
13th – Borderline – London (supporting Hawksley Workman)
14th – Naked lunch – Liverpool (supporting John Murry)
15th – Ty Pawb – Wrexham (supporting John Murry)
16th – Broadcast – Glasgow (supporting John Murry)
17th – Edinburgh – Sneaky Petes (supporting John Murry)
18th – Telfords Warehouse – Chester (supporting John Murry)
NOVEMBER HEADLINE TOUR (FULL BAND)
21st – The Castle Hotel, Manchester
22nd – The White Hart, Corby
23rd – The Prince Albert, Stroud
24th – Railway Inn Winchester
25th – Lexington London
26th – Kitchen Garden Café Birmingham (solo show)
http://www.benfolkethomas.com/