Benji Hughes

An eccentric singer/songwriter from Charlotte, North Carolina, Benji Hughes fuses the stylistic range of Beck, the Flaming Lips’ adventurous pop constructions, and the luxuriant beard associated with Rip Van Winkle. Previously employed as a housepainter, he signed with New West Records in the middle of the 2000s after impressing label president Cameron Strang through his wide-ranging compositional approach and command of numerous instruments. Relocating to Silverlake, California, Hughes recorded his first album with producer Keefus Ciancia and songwriter Gus Seyffert. In June 2008, Los Angeles songwriter Priscilla Ahn included one of his compositions on her own debut release; Hughes followed with the double-disc A Love Extreme the next month. He made a brief appearance in the 2009 feature Gentlemen Broncos and, in 2011, contributed to both Jeff Bridges’ self-titled country album and Meshell Ndegeocello’s Weather. Hughes entered into an agreement with Merge in 2015 and returned to the studio to complete another full-length project, Songs in the Key of Animals, which appeared at the start of 2016.