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The Squid's Ear Magazine

Miller, Ben

In the Moment

Miller, Ben : In the Moment (Two Rooms)

Destroy All Monsters and Sensorium Saxophone Orchestra guitarist Ben Miller in an album of experimental solo guitar works, augmenting his guitar with effects, synthesizer, bass, tapes and radio to create seven fascinating works that reflect on his rock background through solid rhythmic and melodic hooks, but also captivates through unusual and surprising sonic elements.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Ben Miller-guitar, effects, synthesizer, bass, tapes, radio


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Label: Two Rooms
Catalog ID: Tr-007
Squidco Product Code: 31789

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2021
Country: USA
Packaging: Digipack - 3 panel

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"In the Moment is a retrospective of the solo, multi-phonic guitar work of underground rock and experimental musician Benjamin Miller. Utilizing extended techniques, prepared objects and implements, and an array of processing, his approach to the electric guitar on In the Moment is almost like a polyphonic sound generator, fully apart from the tradition of Chuck Berry, Clapton and company. Alien tongues, ambient soundscapes, the sounds of mechanization and technology breaking down all emerge in the masterful manipulation of sound by Miller.

There is a lot for fans of traditional electric guitar to appreciate as well. With the wild technique and complex strand of sounds in the opener, "Statue of Digression," and the pop-song hook of the record's only vocal performance, "In the Skies and the Stars," In the Moment is a perfect gateway into experimental guitar music.

A member of significant art rock bands like Destroy All Monsters and The Glenn Branca Ensemble, his first recording was in 1969 as a teenage member of Sproton Layer, with his older brother Roger (later of Mission of Burma) and his identical twin Laurence. Languishing in obscurity until being properly released in 2011, their record With Magnetic Fields Disrupted displayed a guitar sound and overall sonic sensibility that presaged the edgiest rock of the following decade. Miller also recorded with both brothers in M3 and with Roger in M2, and has releases with groups including Nonfiction, GKW and Third Border, in addition to numerous records under Ben Miller/Degeneration.

A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Miller has also lived in New York, Detroit and Boston. He currently leads the Detroit-based groups Porcelain Hammer and Empool, as well as the New York-based Sensorium Saxophone Orchestra."

Also available on Vinyl LP.

Artist Biographies

"Ben Miller is an American rock and avant garde guitarist born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and now based in the NYC-metro area. He has formerly been a member of such Detroit/Ann Arbor bands as Sproton Layer, Destroy All Monsters, and non-fiction. Destroy All Monsters, in particular, still a cult favorite, was a big part of the proto-punk, punk, and post-punk Detroit rock scene, featuring such bands as the MC5, the Stooges, Sonic's Rendezvous Band, and The Up.

Miller comes from an interesting family background where all of his family members were either musicians or scientists. He is the younger brother of Roger Miller, a founding and current member of the Boston-based Mission of Burma, and an identical twin brother to Laurence B. (Larry) Miller, also a former member of Destroy All Monsters. Both of Ben's parents were scientists. His father was well known in the field of paleo-ichthyology and worked as the Curator of Fishes at the University of Michigan. His oldest brother is a well-respected professor and glaciologist. His sister was also a scientist and a professor.

Miller has collaborated with his brothers Roger and Larry on the M3 project, and a project with Roger as M2.

Miller collaborated with his twin Laurence particularly through the 1980s and early 1990s. Since Miller is a right-hander and Laurence is a left-hander, their 1980s power trio "Nonfiction" had a rather powerful visual symmetrical stage presence-the guitar and bass each pointing outward, away from the centrally positioned drummer. Laurence and Ben would typically trade off on bass and guitar, with each preferring to play guitar on his own compositions.

Miller was also instrumental in the founding of Ann Arbor avant-garde label Bulb Records, having recorded the early releases in his basement studio.

Currently Miller performs solo with his self-deconstructed multiphonic guitar (picture), Detroit's Porcelain Hammer, Empool, and NYC's Sensorium Saxophone Orchestra.

Miller grew up in Ann Arbor, attended public schools, and graduated from Pioneer High School. He studied music at the School of Contemporary Music in Boston and more recently obtained a BFA at Columbia College Chicago. Miller has three sons."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Miller_(musician))
4/28/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Statue of Digression 5:31

2. Psychades 1:46

3. The Zoo 2:43

4. In the Skies and in the Stars 11:26

5. Eyeland Under Eyelid 9:11

6. Blue Condition 2:48

7. Glass Worms of the 4th Stone 9:37

Related Categories of Interest:


Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv

Guitarists, &c.
Electronic Forms
Solo Artist Recordings
New in Experimental & Electronic Music

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The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC

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