Benjamin Francis Leftwich, an English singer and songwriter recognized for his reflective acoustic folk style, first appeared on the scene in 2011 via Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm, an album that reached number 35 on the U.K. Albums Chart. His ongoing refinement of a somber acoustic folk-pop approach appeared on later releases such as After the Rain (2016) and To Carry a Whale (2021), both of which earned comparable praise and evoked the work of Jose Gonzalez and Iron & Wine.
Leftwich entered the world in York during 1989 to parents of South African and Australian heritage, leading to a peripatetic early life split between Sydney and his birthplace in the U.K. At ten he learned guitar on his own, drawing from Elliott Smith and Bruce Springsteen, and later fronted the indie pop group the Nicoles as a teenager prior to pursuing solo work. His initial EP, A Million Miles Out, was captured in Southern France, after which he toured in support of I Am Kloot, Fionn Regan, and Lisa Mitchell while gaining notice for his rendition of Arcade Fire's "Rebellion" on Dermot O'Leary's BBC R2 Saturday Sessions program.
His debut single, "Pictures," drawn from the 2011 EP of the same title, earned the designation "The Hottest Record in the World Today" from Radio 1's Zane Lowe. That same year saw the arrival of his first studio album, Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm, produced by Ian Grimble. The EP In the Open followed in 2012, and the single "Shine" appeared in 2014. After the Rain, his second full-length effort, arrived in 2016 and included the track "Tilikum," cut following his father's passing from cancer. The subsequent year brought an introspective acoustic interpretation of Placebo's "Pure Morning." Early 2019 yielded the singles "Look Ma!" and "Gratitude," while 2021 introduced To Carry a Whale, his fourth album and the first set of original songs since he achieved sobriety in 2018.
