Ben Hughes revisits old crossroads with A Sun That Only Sets Once
Ben Hughes just released his tenth installment of his album-a-month project, and it hits the existential home. The songs on October’s A Sun That Only Sets Once were written when Ben was 20 years old in college, and are heavily influenced by Bright Eyes’ Cassadaga and John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band. The stripped down songs ponder about changing relationships, school-life balance, and an everlasting passion for music.
The inspiration for the songs comes from the place that Ben was in at the time:
I was still trying to figure out who I was, and who my friends were. I was trying to find a way to balance my obsession with music and songwriting with my relationships and school. I was trying to figure out how to be more decisive & find a belief system I could live with.
Basically, I was 20.
These songs were written from that perspective.
Of the recording process, Ben says:
I remember sneaking into the music room at college to record piano parts, getting locked in the piano room and climbing out the window, I remember, somehow, moving a Wurlitzer up in to my 10×10 bedroom that was already crowded with instruments. I remember turning my college bathroom into a makeshift studio with a makeshift drum set, I remember getting garage band and most likely going overboard with midi parts, I remember spending almost all of my time writing songs no matter where I was or what I was outwardly doing.
All of Ben’s albums that he has released this year are set to be released on cassette via Obselite, a tape label from Austin, Texas. Listen to A Sun That Only Sets Once below: