For people like Ben Pellow, music is a basic necessity of life. It’s what keeps them breathing and moving forward. Choosing not to attend college, Pellow currently works at the Longbranch Cafe & Bakery in Carbondale, Illinois and spends his free time playing in two bands, playing keyboards in one and drums/lead singer in the other.

Pellow started playing music at a very young age, teaching himself to play piano among other instruments. Between the ages of twelve and thirteen, he started a band that mostly performed covers at small gigs around his town. Due to lack of interest received from his band mates in the following years, Pellow decided to take a break from the band life and pursued other forms of music such as musical theater and chamber choir. He has also worked on writing and producing music, mixing live band performances, and teaching music lessons. Pellow stated his passion for different aspects of music started after the break from the band as he got into theater and choir and that “from then on, everything I have ever done has involved music and performing, and I hope I never stop.”

If Ben Pellow is determined to do something it is going to be done. This personal trait is shown by what he has recently accomplished: his first self-produced album that he wrote and recorded all on his own. The amount of work put into the album is phenomenal. Pellow explained everything that went into making the album, saying that it didn’t take a long time over all because he’s a fast writer, but once the songs were all written, it took a while to record all the layers and instruments since he played them all himself. He also explained that the mixing process was a bit of trial and error for him since he has had no formal training, and tried to imitate the sounds of other finished recordings by professional studios.

Believing his voice to be his weakest instrument, Pellow’s technique to have the vocals be stronger was to use vocal layering and harmonies to reinforce the sound on separate tracks. When asked about what other techniques he used, Pellow said “I also used panning to give the music a real 3D surrounding sound that really makes each voice and instrument pop out.”

Growing up in a music community gives you a lot of opportunity for collaboration, but Pellow decided to go solo for this album because musicians tend to find that they have a lot to say on their own in their words and that his message would come across much stronger if it was a solo voice rather than a group. Pellow also mentioned that he hoped to write a few songs with his friends Radia Lahlou and Shay Frailey, among others, in the future.

Inspiration can come from almost anywhere. Pellow’s was everything that would happen in his day to day life. Different emotions went into different songs and helped express what he was trying to communicate. Annoyance went into his songs “Keep Them Around” and “Another Man”, while happiness and love went towards “Get Me Down”. Passionate about his music, Pellow said, “Every song was about something that was going on in my life and whenever the feeling came up stronger than ever I would sit down at the piano and let it all come out.” He then went on to talk about the covers he has recorded that have never left his computer, stating that he just loves to produce and make music whether it’s of his own creation or not.

Reminiscent of a Coldplay mixed a Bruno Mars sound, Ben Pellow’s new album Right & Wrong is something very unique that will get you tapping your toes along with the beat. Only six tracks long, each song has something everyone would be able to enjoy. You can find the album on SoundCloud.