ABOUT
Ben Kranen
Musician / Singer / Songwriter
MAKING MUSIC SINCE YOUNG -
An endless passion for music, for singing,
for songwriting.
Making music since young, I started playing classical piano when I was 11, then switched to bass guitar. I played in many different bands in my teenage years and early twenties, in styels varying from rockabily to jazz and rock. After this, I took vocal training with different teachers. I even learned belting techniques which ensures a decent range, despite my low bariton voice! I have been singing in different bands, and as a singer feel most comfortable in styles like jazz, rock and pop. I then picked up guitar, which gave me much more freedom to accompany myself. All these different musical paths inspired me to do more and more songwriting myself, where I could combine all these different influences. I have songs that I wrote on my bass guitar, on my guitar, and on my keyboard, and they all give me different angles of writing.
I was happy that some of my songs were discovered from my website, and were then featured in internet charts like Reverbnation and Broadjam, and were played on the radio in Switzerland and on local radio in the US. Currently I am enjoying playing many of my songs with my band, Red Nov, and in the duo Ben and Eileen. For my Iyrics, I always let myself be inspired by the thrills and challenges of life itself, and the lessons learnt while on the journey. The lyrics of the song ‘Greater Everyday’ is a very basic example of that… all I did was writing down what I saw happening around me!
Ben Kranen.
Musician
Singer
Songwriter
SONGWRITING STYLES & PHILOSOPHIES
I write and produce in a variety of styles, ranging from pop/rock to EDM. My assumption is always that my songs are heard for the first time, and therefore must have a strong, easy to remember, repetitive motive, and some clear hooks. This way, by the time the song ends, it already sounds familiar and memorable. Furthermore, being a singer myself, I always write lyrics in such a way that they can be easily sung; nothing is more annoying to a singer then having important words at the wrong place, forcing the singer to belt out on closed syllables like ‘it’, or ‘click’ instead of open syllables like ‘day’ or ‘eye’.