In something of a backward nod to the ways of a bygone era, it’s fair to say that Ben Hemming didn’t so much find the blues… as the blues found him.
It was during a particularly troublesome period in his life, stuck in a dead end job, and having watched his girlfriend walk out of his life, that he decided the only option was to seek change. Big change. Leaving all of his emotional baggage behind, he embarked upon a musical pilgrimage around America that eventually would come to define not just his sound, but also his own identity. Picking up an old guitar in a pawn shop along the way, he played his way across the southern states in the tradition of the delta Bluesmen before him. It was Hemming’s way of paying his dues, and of understanding a cultural heritage. Yet in moments of brutal self-reflection, he himself knew that more than anything, this was about escape.
He eventually returned to London with a collection of songs he’d written along the road, which went on to form the basis of his debut album, the aptly titled ‘Broken Man’. He subsequently went on to record three further albums, ‘City of Streets’, ‘The Devil Beside Me’ and ‘Broken Road’ which he self-released to critical acclaim; The Blues Magazine called him 'A unique musical identity’; Blues Blast Magazine described his songs as being 'of bleak beauty' and Americana U.K. placed him firmly at the forefront of the so-called ‘new Blues’ movement.
