South Africa’s guitar sensational Ben Badenhorst
Local resident Ben Badenhorst is a multi-talented musician and ShowMe Plett had the pleasure of finding out a little more about his music and career.
Guitarist Ben Badenhorst was born in Cape Town and has travelled extensively since – considering himself a gypsy at heart. He has been involved in the music industry for over 20 years as a composer, guitarist, bassist, drum programmer and sound producer.
Ben started playing music at the age of five and later at the age of 12 he landed his first gig. He is self-taught, plays 6 different instruments and sings too. He isn’t genre specific, but mostly his style encompasses broad musical areas, including Maskanda, Jazz, Progressive Rock, Indian Classical, Avant Garde, Middle Eastern and Fusion.
According to Ben, commercialism in the music industry is based on a musician’s net worth, based on the number of albums they sell. This leaves very little space for the minority talented or creative musicians who aren’t classified as commercial. He prefers music that has a universal appeal and timeless quality rather than just another commercial hit.
As a producer Ben has worked on a four-track extended play (EP) record with Wendy Oldfield, featuring the single, New Dress and then completed another project with Oldfield for an artist named Tina-Marie. He has composed and produced a number of his own recordings independently, which according to him is not an easy task.
Ben has collaborated with many well-known South African musicians, such as Offshore Jazz Ensemble, Steve Newman, Anton Goosen, Wendy Oldfield, Mynie Grove, Andrew James, The Jazz Reggae Project, Jamie Jupiter, Heather Waters, The Sons of Azania, Zolani Faku, Tristan Waterkeyn, Shomon Daniel, Chris Tokalon, The Gaia Collective, Meri Kenaz , to name a few.
Go out and support live music before it disappears completely! – Ben Badenhorst
For Ben, life as a professional musician can be very difficult at times. He wishes people were as preoccupied with live South African music, as they are with sports. He desires to be able to make a comfortable living out of his music by collaborating with more skilled and dedicated musicians – perhaps creating a band.
A couple of fans have decided to assist Ben with his dream and have created a campaign to raise funds for the musical gear that Ben needs to achieve success. Visit GoFundMe if you would like to contribute.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching Ben live, then it’s time you did – you won’t be disappointed!
Contact Ben +27 (0)71 556 0679
For information on Ben Badenhorst’s gigs, checkout our events & entertainment calendar.