On ‘Witness’, Benjamin Booker uses the sounds of ‘60s soul to explore his place as a young black man in modern America.
Before the release of his self-titled debut album in 2014 he was just about getting by in New Orleans. A few short months later he was performing on Letterman. Booker quickly achieved his goal of living as professional musician, but the whirlwind success left him with something of an identity crisis.
He struggled to create his follow up record and briefly lost himself by travelling. He decamped to Mexico City and shied away from the headlines and the responsibilities that came with his platform. But it didn’t last.
It’s this internal conflict that he explores on ‘Witness’, developing a dual narrative that can work on both a personal and political level as Booker turns to document racism and injustice.
In New Orleans, Booker lived face-to-face with the consequences of poverty in the black community, where violence was a constant spectre and he saw the police turn a blind eye as a volunteer with public service group AmeriCorps.
Right on You is a driving garage rock track that forces Booker, when faced with death, to question his lifestyle, asking whether contributing to the world might be better than his selfish behaviour. “Death is sad to im-, is sad to im- Is sad to imagine,” he struggles to get out.
Given soul music’s connection to the civil rights movement it makes sense that Booker would look to those sounds when exploring his own experiences of racism. Believe sees him express his desire to be a part of something bigger, accompanied by sweeping strings and a female chorus who echo his sentiments: “I just want to believe in something.”
It’s the title track, a big gospel number, that really uses the retro sound to bring Booker’s message home. “See we thought that we saw that he had a gun / Thought that it looked like he started to run,” he sings, asking us: “Am I / Gonna be a witness?” The track features Mavis Staples, whom Booker worked with on her 2016 album, ‘Livin' on a High Note’. It’s shameful when you realise that what Booker is singing about is just as relevant to today as it was when Staples was beginning her own career back in the ‘60s.
Booker combines the stylistic characters of retro soul with his fuzzy garage rock guitar, stopping the record from falling into pastiche and adding a hard edge to the softer sounds. On the final track, All Was Well, he leaves behind his questions, declaring: “If I have my way / I'll tear this building down.” The thick wall of guitar feedback adds an extra layer of anger to his defiant words. Through Booker’s drive to better understand himself and his surroundings, we see him turn his attentions both inwards and outwards. He will inspire others to do the same.
Benjamin Booker Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue July 04 2017 - LONDON Moth Club
Mon November 13 2017 - MANCHESTER Gorilla
Tue November 14 2017 - LONDON Student Central (formally ULU)
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