Cousin Ben is the moniker of writer and musician Ben Murray, who hails from the Isle of Wight, just off the south coast of England. 

Having bounced between London and Brighton for the last two decades, he finally made the latter his home in 2021. It was where he’d cut his musical teeth years before as a member of fabled pop-punk power trio, La Frange (2003-2008), and then as drummer for Chris T-T, playing on his 2014 album ‘The Bear’ (Xtra Mile). Since 2019, he has played drums for Jim Bob (Carter USM), recording two Top 40 albums, and touring extensively across the UK.

The songs on his self-titled debut album were written over a period of 15 years and encompass a wide range of themes and influences, from the writing of Flannery O’Connor to the films of Ingmar Bergman. The earliest ones emerged after some obligatory heartbreak and were written out of a sense of loss and anguish, but with a desire to turn those things into something of value. 

The album was recorded in rural Norfolk. The idea was always to take the process as it came, to never get ahead of himself. Using rough guides recorded at home, the instrumentation was laid down gradually, welcoming the accidental, the serendipitous, the unexpected. The result is a lush, plaintive record with a hint of indie-pop thrown in for good measure.