Broadwing Launches New Single ‘Wasp’ Ahead Of Album Release

Words by Steve Kelk | Images Supplied

Posted on October 15, 2019 by Steve Kelk

Darwin alt-electronic music producer Broadwing has dropped a new single, ‘Wasp‘, as a prelude and teaser for his soon to be launched album ‘Lumen‘, due out next month.

‘Wasp‘ is unmistakably Broadwing in all his understated glory. Broadwing (aka Ben Allen) is one of those rare artists whose music can both relax and excite the listener at the same time, and this is very true of ‘Wasp’, with his dulcet vocals rising from restrained, airy lilting to suddenly being like a firehose aimed directly at your chest. Ben Allen possesses surprising vocal power and pressure, giving him a clarity and solid timbre of voice across the high tenor pitch and volume spectrums. The live experience of Broadwing’s singing is even more profound, his full-throttle sections taking you by surprise and snapping you back to reality after you drifted away with him on the lighter stuff.

“Wasp explores the impulsiveness of human progress”

Wasp is Broadwing’s first release since his award winning ‘Pockets‘ (NT Song of the Year 2015), and his work as producer on the ARIA nominated Gawurra album ‘Ratja Yaliyali‘. His tracks are all recored and mixed entirely in his rural Darwin home and have received airplay on triple J and Double J Radio and winning him some of the biggest songwriting prizes in the country. Of the track itself, Ben says:

“Wasp explores the impulsiveness of human progress – the inevitability of technological advance regardless of outcome and the fact that we don’t seem to be in control of our own inquisitiveness.”

Large parts of the structure of Wasp are built up from random phone sample recordings collected on a visit by Ben to Indonesia. Bamboo drainpipes were used for percussion, and the call of an unidentified jungle insect was manipulated into a synth. The track has a kind of soft, glitchy static underscoring the melody, giving it a pleasing textural dimension, making it perhaps a little bit ‘dirty’ and adding character – typical of Broadwing’s ability to think outside the EM box.