Wexford Singer-Songwriter Ben Turner releases Live Video for new single ‘Starting to See’, from debut album ‘A Breath of Light’
Credit: Liam Cooney
Fans of Bruce Springsteen, Ben Howard and Gregory Alan Isakov are in for a treat.
A troubadour in the truest sense, Ben Turner has spent years perfecting his craft on the streets and in small venues across Europe—a journey he refers to as his ‘shadow work.’ Despite keeping a low profile on social media, his raw, intimate performances have made a lasting impact on all who’ve experienced them. Ben has shared stages with Irish artists Mark Geary and Wallis Bird, as well as Czech underground legends The Plastic People of the Universe and German folk hero Stoppok. His sound carries echoes of John Martyn, Nick Drake, and the rich storytelling tradition of folk music, and now is the time to truly make his mark.
Summer ’25 is gearing up to be a productive time for Turner, with shows being currently scheduled across Europe, and also sees him returning to the Bardentreffen festival in Nuremberg, Germany, where his performances have attracted loyal fans from across the country since his debut there in 2022.
On the back of his powerful debut album ‘A Breath of Light’ which dropped in April, Turner is releasing the record’s second single, ‘Starting to See’, along with an intimate live video. Written with a cautious optimism in early 2022, the song reflects the feeling of the post COVID era. Its imagery of springtime transitioning to summer gently brings home the song’s message that life, no matter how changed and unfamiliar, does indeed go on.
About the writing of the song, Turner says, “I have a handful of songs that have fallen into my lap, and this one showed up on a beautiful March morning at a friend’s kitchen table. The final version came a year later, and the only reason it took so long is because I tried too hard to make it something it wasn’t. What you hear on the record is much closer to how it came to me first. Sometimes you just have to submit!”
Recorded over the course of just four days, ‘A Breath of Light’ is a mammoth achievement, with Turner recording guitars, vocals, drums, piano, bass and double bass for ten tracks himself. Thanks to the expert guidance of engineer Brendan Carthy, this frantic window of creativity was carefully captured, with closing track ‘Starting to See’ being the perfect exhale after this journey.
