Biography
A journey in music
As a songwriter Ben has released his own album, several singles and video clip – all of which received critical acclaim, Radio & TV Airplay.
As a singer he continues to surprise his audiences, including the 4 coaches in ‘The Voice of Holland’ - getting them to turn all 4 chairs.
Ben has also lent his voice to many radio commercials & jingles, remixes & song pitches, so there is a good chance you may have heard him somewhere.
But success is often the result of much hard work…
From the start…
Having studied piano since the age of 5, playing the traditional classical repertoire, Ben stopped playing aged 15. Teenage life and listening to heavy metal (AC/DC, Van Halen) was far more interesting. It was only a few years later after hearing Bruce Hornsby's 'The Way It Is' on the radio that Ben started playing and writing music again.
Whilst completing a law degree in Bristol, UK, Ben took up piano study with gifted jazz pianist Dave Buxton (Andy Sheppard). It was Dave's creative and innovative approach to music and composition that inspired Ben to continue writing music.
Having fallen in love with Holland, Ben was accepted to study composition and arranging at the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music, where he studied with renowned jazz composer Bob Brookmeyer (Bill Evans, Stan Getz).
Although the Conservatory was a great learning experience, the songwriting didn't stop and during his study Ben won in UK magazine Sound on Sound the Best Demo award for 3 of his songs.
Onwards...
After his study, Ben spent some time working as a freelance musician and recording engineer and continued to write, record and mix his own songs. Having worked with some of the best musicians in Holland, Ben learned a lot about the recording process, and recorded, mixed & produced his own Album ‘One and Only You’ .
Nashville…
In order to gain a better insight into the songwriting process Ben travelled to song city Nashville, USA, where he hooked up with songwriter Rob Crosby (Martina McBride) who shared his thoughts on the craft of writing songs. Ben also met record company & publishing executives who all expressed pleasant surprise at the quality of the his songs - although most felt that Ben's voice wasn't quite there yet if he was to compete with the best that Nashville had to offer - a point that Ben took to heart.
Hard work…
In the years that followed, Ben worked hard on improving his singing voice and played in just about every pub and club that would have him.
He released an number of CD Singles (The Why,
So Good Inside, Lost Alone) which were all well received by Press, Radio & TV. So Good Inside was also accompanied by a great looking video clip that was shown on the video channels such as MTV.
As part of the CD promotion Ben played his songs many times on local and national Radio - always live on air - something that many artists prefer not to do.
Since his participation in ‘The Voice’ Ben has been busy writing, recording & playing gigs with his own Ben Littlewood Band - and hopes to release a New Album in the not too distant future.
