Ben Jelen

New York City-based multi-instrumentalist Ben Jelen crafts expansive orchestral pop that explores the full range and nuance of emotional experience. Having moved between England, Scotland, Texas, and New Jersey, this restless songwriter developed his abilities during his early years by practicing guitar, violin, and piano and joining friends’ groups for occasional performances. While employed as an engineer at a neighborhood studio, he recorded a demo entirely on his own; a Calvin Klein marketing executive spotted him at a Jane’s Addiction show and proposed a modeling opportunity. Jelen turned that idea down, yet his clear drive to pursue music caught the attention of Joseph Janus, later identified as CEO of Fearless Management. Janus became the young musician’s manager and played a central role in securing his contract with Madonna’s Maverick Recording Company. Jelen issued his first album, Give It All Away, in March 2004. His ecologically themed follow-up, Ex-Sensitive, appeared in 2007 and favored a more natural sonic approach rooted in the pop sounds of the 1960s and 1970s.