Born in London in 1999, Ben Wolf spent most of his childhood in a rural Belgian village, nurtured by the strings of his guitar, exploring the nature reserve in his backyard. With an international upbringing in an academic home, he was destined to become a doctor but fell back on songwriting as self-therapy after the sudden death of his best friend at the age of 18. This was the catalyst that radically changed the course of his journey. After completing the cycle of acceptance, he dropped out of college at 21 years old. Now more than ever, Ben is determined to live his life to the fullest. Focused and driven, he believes that you don’t need to know where he came from to understand where he’s going.
Indeed, firmly anchored in the present but always with an eye lurking on the future, this epicurean artist is not one to find satisfaction in the contentment of floating around. Never idle, Ben Wolf navigates life through the high and low tides with constant wind in his sails, putting all his trust in the power of change and action. He is convinced that confidence is the key to manifesting success and with his fair share of it, he chose to look inward and dissect his feelings by releasing music in 2020 as his New Year’s resolution, efficiently fuelling his drive and interest for self-development.
Laid-back and intimate, his dreamy and introspective lo-fi pop moves with a quiet confidence that Ben Wolf ultimately hopes to instill in his listener. Going wherever his heart and intuition lead him, the Belgian singer-songwriter has a good head on his shoulders. Aware of his strengths as much as his weaknesses, he fearlessly embraces both.“I’d rather have people hate me for who I am than be loved for someone I’m not ” he smiles, remembering Kurt Cobain’s famous words.
Uninterested by instant gratification, he cultivates mindfulness, sowing its seeds in each one of his songs. Altogether, they form an intricate web of pure emotions, sometimes inspired by love, lost and found. Other times, they’re stemming from frustrations with our society, inspiring his fellow youth to trade perspectives, take responsibility and seize the opportunities that can help them become who they want to be.
Out today, his debut single Ultraviolet is the epitome of his very own transformation.“As my first song, it signals for change and is based on how I felt when I was studying for my medical degree. Having released this anger and made the step to work on myself, my emotions have also changed. This is all part of the journey, he explains. Ultraviolet light is used by insects, bees in particular, to locate pollen flowers and thus nectar. As a medical student, because of the hive mentality, I felt like a bee constantly having to suppress my sixth sense for the ultraviolet glow. When my frustration reached its peak, I decided to leave the hive and follow the trail towards my own nectar.”
Life is not perfect but, like a silver lining to the clouds of worries above your head, let Ben Wolf’s music expose you to a new world of possibilities.