High Heart

Ben Wendel (Tenor Saxophone, EFX, Bassoon)
Michael Mayo (Vocals)
Shai Maestro (Piano, Fender Rhodes)
Gerald Clayton (Piano, Fender Rhodes)
Joe Sanders (Upright Bass)
Nate Wood (Drums)

Music composed by Ben Wendel
Produced by Ben Wendel
Executive producer Dave Stapleton

Mixed by Nate Wood
Mastered by Nate Wood at Kerseboom Mastering NY

Artwork design by Oli Bentley, Split.
Photos by Shervin Lainez and Dave Stapleton

High Heart: High Heart is a play on the phrase "High Art, Low Art" and speaks to how the digital age has potentially democratized culture to the point of irrelevance. This project reflects my continued effort to create art that is personal and relevant in an increasingly impersonal time. The title refers to the human desire to connect and express in this new era, even if that brings the risk of feeling isolated. 

Burning Bright: This title was inspired by William Blake’s poem “The Tyger”.  While reading his words, it struck me how evil and good can also be seen as experience and innocence. It describes the complexity of human nature - its darkness and light. I thought about how we change with time - how we are constantly adapting. To me, this inherent ingenuity in humans is what burns bright.

Kindly: We live in unpredictable times that seem to be moving and evolving faster than ever before.  Although it can feel overwhelming, there are also unprecedented moments of kindness, support and connection around the world. I have been deeply moved by such gestures and this piece is a thank you note for these moments. Although it is a bit abstract, I think of the free moving melody in the beginning and end of this song as how we feel when we are connected and accepted.

Less: I love contrast in music. Density followed by space. Energy followed by stillness. When I think about our lives, they often seem active and full of chatter to me. I wanted to write a piece that would feel like an emotional and sonic break from the clamor. A pure moment when the mind is clear and the noise is gone.

Drawn Away: In my mind, this song is a continuation or an answer to the piece “Less." In a way, it is about losing perspective and focus in the noise of the current age. It is about being drawn away from what matters and, more importantly, finding a way back.

Fearsome: I enjoy music that has momentum and also feels static at the same time  -  like the words and melody of a prayer or chant repeated over and over. This is my attempt to create a static frame for energetic expression. When I was recording this piece in the studio, the engineer called it “fierce” and I remember thinking that would be a great direction for the title.

Darling: This song is dedicated to my dear friend Alfred Darlington, also known as the electronic artist Daedelus. I have known Alfred since high school and we have shared a lot of wonderful moments together as children and adults, as musicians and friends. There is a thread of nostalgia and melancholy in his music that I have always loved, and I wrote this piece with that in mind. Alfred has always been an inspiration to me. He has never feared technology in the creative field and has made the most of it in his work. Always embracing the changes along the way while staying personal and intimate in his art.

Traveler: I was looking for a way to bookend this album and bring it to a compositional close. This piece mirrors and inverts melodic material from “High Heart” and represents a fading away, or a farewell to the story this project tells.

The artwork, designed by British designer, Oli Bentley, beautifully incorporates the message that drives the whole album. Each and every cover of the Ltd Edition Coloured Vinyl run was individually hand painted. As Oli explains: “We talked a lot about the themes of the record and the dilemma of how to connect in a genuine way, not just artist to fan – but human to human – at this time. Ben’s music – and this record in particular – does this so well. My challenge was to rise to the level of his creative statement, and to complement it with the visual artwork. How could we make something special, something personal? This is where the idea of personalizing every sleeve was born.

During our first (ironically digital) meeting one evening, without me knowing, my 5-year-old son had crept out of bed and slipped a postcard under the door for me. On it was drawn a simple, black line-drawing of a heart. The simplicity and innocence of the symbol, its link to the title we had just been discussing, and the human connection it made through a closed door – I knew there wasn’t anything I could possibly bring to this project that was more personal or contained more humanity than this”.