You thought you knew him by now… Ben Saunders thinks otherwise. The tattoo artist from Hoorncame, saw and conquered in TV talent contest The Voice Of Holland. Right from the first notes he sang during his blind audition, he not only succeeded in convincing all the programme’s jury members, he also won the hearts of people throughout the country. He amazed audiences with his voice during the workshops, contests and live shows. But he promises: you ain’t heard nothing yet. Ben showcases his true sound on his debut album You Thought You Knew Me By Now.
“This is a real soul album,” the 27-year-old Anglo-Dutchman says of his debut CD. “This is the style that suits me. It is pure, the kind of music which arouses emotions in me. You sing this music from the deepest part of yourself.” It is the music of his greatest influences, he explains: “Like Luther Vandross, from whom I have learned a great deal; simply by listening to him a lot. I even have a large tattoo of him on my side. Babyface, Stevie Wonder… They possess real soul. Listening to them helped me to discover how I wanted to sing.”
With that in mind, Ben set to work in the recording studio with Holger Schwedt, renowned for his work with Anouk, DI-RECT and Bløf.Schwedtproduced the album and wrote a couple of the songs, together with British soul diva Corrina Greyson. Other songs are by Eric van Tijn and Jochem Fluitsma, Daniel Merriweather and “from around the world,” Ben adds.
Although he did not co-write the songs, he did inject his own style. “I was of course involved from the start. The backing singers, brass instruments, bass… I determined all the sounds myself. And with respect to lyrics, I only selected songs which aroused emotion in me. Heartstrings, for instance, about someone who touches a raw nerve in you. And Smoking Gun, on the same topic. In fact, most of the songs are about love, I now realise.”
The lyrics were recorded atSchwedt’s own Shamrock studio. And although the brass sections were recorded in theNetherlands, You Thought You Knew Me By Now was a truly international affair, with musicians from theUKandFrance, among others. Highly-experienced musicians were brought in via Greyson. “Ben l’Oncle Soul’s pianist, Amy Winehouse’s bass player, Eric Clapton’s drummer, a producer of the Stereophonics and backing singers for Stevie Wonder and James Brown,” Ben lists his session musicians. They provided the real, old-style soul sound Ben had been looking for.
“The sound is completely different to the singles I released during TVOH,” Ben confirms. “For the new songs, we asked musicians to bring their oldest instruments. Old guitars, everything. We even recorded them using the old Rolling Stones mixing desk; Keith Richards’ name is scratched into it. These days drum reverberations are created by computer, but we did it ourselves in a large space below the studio. All the sounds are authentic. The CD was recorded using old-fashioned methods. And you can tell.” His three number-one hits, When A Man Loves A Woman, If You Don’t Know Me By Now and Kill For A Broken Heart, are included on the album as bonus tracks.
Although we really only got to know Ben a few months ago, he has been singing for years. “I started singing when I was about six or seven,” he remembers. “My dad had a karaoke machine and I used it when my parents were out. In secret, because I didn’t want anyone to hear me. Then one day they come home early and immediately called in all the neighbours to hear me sing. From that time onwards, I performed in karaoke shows with my dad. We sang a lot of Elvis Presley songs.” Ben, sometimes together with older brother Dean and younger brother Jamie, moved on to talent shows. They won them easily even in those days.
Ben returned to the Netherlandsafter a holiday in Tenerifeto discover that his parents had entered him for auditions for a new band and reality TV show, Follow That Dream. Together with his brother Dean, he passed all the auditions and they ended up in the band. “We spent a year touring theNetherlands and playing in a lot of discos.” That was in 2000. Three years later, the brothers sang on television when they entered the National Song Festival as Brothers.
Once again, it was not Ben’s doing that he ended up in The Voice Of Holland. “Jamie entered us both. I only went along for a laugh.” Jamie was eliminated immediately, but Ben came through the auditions with flying colours. “It was a huge joke; I had never expected to get that far. I hadn’t even practised.” Right up to the end, Ben didn’t mind whether he won or not. “I thought it would be great for my coach Roel (Van Velzen), but I wasn’t in it to win,” he explains modestly. “I never dreamed I would break through as a singer. What will be, will be. Of course that doesn’t mean I haven’t enjoyed winning.”
His tattoo shop is currently being managed by his dad, while Ben is now a fulltime musician. He put together a band after holding auditions and wants to perform live with it as much as possible. “Now that this album is finished, I can finally play my own, original songs,” a prospect which he clearly relishes. He has little to say about the changes to his life. “My life is the same really: I have a different job and I’m slightly busier. I haven’t changed, but people around me treat me differently. When I walk down the street, I get people greeting me every hundred metres or so. I can laugh about it though. I am still just a country boy fromHoorn.” But one with soul, as he proves on his debut album.
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