Ben Osborn is a writer, songwriter, composer and sound designer from Oxford, UK, now based in Berlin, Germany. Coming from a poetic folk song tradition, his work draws also from electronica and classical music to create a space in which highly personal and deeply political stories can be told. Ethereal string sections rise and fade, complex electronic beats skitter, dreamlike piano chords drift into view: in less capable hands it might sound miscellaneous, but he weaves his disparate influences into textural tapestries that sound like nobody but him.

2022 sees the release of the Studies E.P., created in collaboration with multidisciplinary artist Andrea Huyoff as a transdisciplinary artistic project; at once a performance piece, a work of video art, an E.P. of poetic pop songs and a series of lectures. These “studies” focus on the main themes of pop culture: society, identity and love – drawing on both a deeply personal first-person narrative and wider, analytical and self-critical gaze.

Ben’s debut album “Letters from the Border” was released in 2019 on Nonostar Records. The album received widespread critical acclaim, praised for “incredible orchestration, incredible words, a touch of Leonard Cohen and a touch of Björk” (BBC); it was listed in the top 10 albums of 2019 by CurveBall Radio and its title track was nominated for an International Songwriting Award. Other works and collaborations have also appeared on Deek Recordings, Delphian Records, Hot Topic and Cuculi Records. A collection of his lyrics and poems, “murmeln um schiffland”, was released in 2017 by Moot Press.

Find out about Ben’s theatre soundtracks here, his film soundtracks here and his libretti here.

Ben Osborn is proud to be supported by Asylum Arts