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Bio
- Ben Tolliday is an Australian music producer, mixer, engineer and multi-instrumentalist, currently based in Los Angeles. Over the past 10 years, Ben has worked in the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand with artists as diverse as Alanis Morissette, London Symphony Orchestra, The Smashing Pumpkins and Wolfmother. Whilst studying cello at the Queensland Conservatorium, Ben formed experimental Brisbane ensemble Trinkets with acclaimed violinist Savannah Jo Lack, subsequently releasing two full-length albums and performing at major festivals including Woodford Folk Festival and Livid. In 2006 he relocated to London, where he became an engineer for UK producer Guy Sigsworth (Madonna, Bjork, Seal). In 2008 Ben returned to Australia, where he worked on albums by Wolfmother, Operator Please and Jackie Marshall & The Black Alles Band, among others. In late 2010, Ben relocated to the US, where he has worked with The Smashing Pumpkins, Lord Huron and legendary session players including Jim Keltner and Marc Ribot. In January 2011, Ben briefly returned to London as music editor for a recording with London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices. In 2011, he formed a new band, The Eye Fives, with former Trinkets collaborator Savannah Jo Lack. Ben continues to be an in-demand producer, engineer, mixer and session player in Los Angeles.
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News
- February 13, 2013A belated happy new year to you all! 2012 was such a whirlwind, I'm only just now catching up on another website update.In May last year I finished up work on the debut album by Lord Huron, titled 'Lonesome Dreams', which I co-engineered with Rick Parker at Bright St Recorders in LA. The album was released in October, and the boys are currently on tour playing to sold out venues across Europe.In June I completed mixes on Scott Spark's second record, 'Muscle Memory' which is due for release in early-mid 2013. This was a big project, involving amazing string arrangements by Savannah Jo Lack, and guest appearances by some fine LA session players, including Lemar Carter (Raphael Saadiq), Joe Ayoub (Enrique Inglesias, Shakira), Brett Farkas (Solomon Burke, Rihanna) and Mark Barry (Lord Huron).From August - October I had the privilege of co-producing, engineering and mixing the second album by my old friend and musical cohort, Heath Cullen. This project was special for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the fact that we were able to collaborate with some legendary session players, including Jim Keltner, Marc Ribot and Larry Taylor. A lot of experience, wisdom, amazing stories and inspired playing from these guys - it was truly a dream project to be involved with. The album is called The Still and the Steep and will be released on March 18. I've posted the first single, 'From Father to Son' on my Music page.After Heath's record, I mixed and added some cello & atmospheres to a beautiful folk album for Melanie Horsnell, titled 'the cloud appreciation society', which is now available on iTunes. My favourite track, 'We Can't Be Together' is up on my Music page.Rounding out 2012, I recorded a live session for LA blog Rollo & Grady, featuring an exciting young LA band, Pangea. The first two videos are up: Sick Shit and Badillac.To kick off 2013, I recently completed mixes for a gorgeous three-track EP for my favourite LA folk duo, We Are The West. I'll post a track on my Music page in the coming days..Right now, I'm working on a raging four-song EP for LA band, Boys School. Stay tuned for release info..May 2, 2012Long overdue update, but it's been a busy time in 2012 so far, working on full length albums by Lord Huron and Scott Spark, a new EP by Chris Pickering, plus a new song by Heath Cullen. More info about these exciting projects as their release dates become available - I can't wait to share them with you!Coming up later this month, I'll be heading on a brief US Pacific Northwest tour with Lord Huron, taking in the Sasquatch Festival just outside of Seattle, WA. I'm really looking forward to mixing at another major US festival!!June 30, 2011Welcome to my new and improved website! I'll be updating news, latest recordings and pics here from time to time, so sign up to the newsletter here if you wanna keep in the loop!After a few months away touring the US with Lord Huron and working in San Francisco, I returned to LA at the start of June for the final mixing sessions of the Zenda Marie record. This album is something I'm immensely proud of - my first US full-length record - and I can't wait for you to hear it! If you wanna preview a few songs, head on over to the music page.Also in June, I played cello on recordings for Lord Huron and Cameron Daddo - stay tuned for more details!May 31, 2011At the start of May, I was midway through the Lord Huron US tour. We started the month in Pennsylvania then drove west via Michigan, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Arizona back to California, finishing up the tour with a show at the legendary Troubadour in Los Angeles!My major realisation from this tour was that, despite what some people say, the music industry is well and truly alive and well - we've just gotta get out there and bring it to the people!After the tour was finished, I returned to San Francisco and recommenced work on the Zenda Marie album. The Eye Fives overdubbed some strings, which really gave a whole new dimension to the songs. Next up I spent a few days at Radical Sound Recording Studio mixing and reprocessing some of these recordings through some tasty analogue gear, which reminded me why I love the analogue world so much!Also in May, I mixed two songs at Radical Sound for an awesome Australian band called The Rescue Ships. Check out the music page to hear their beautiful song 'Plasticine'.April 30, 2011This month The Eye Fives again played at Oakland Art Murmur to a huge and receptive crowd! We were joined by a special guest - our dear friend Robin Waters from The Boat People - who wowed the audience with his keys, drumming and beer bottle-playing skills!Following this show, I returned to LA for some tour pre-production rehearsals with the amazing Lord Huron. Doing live sound for The Boat People last month was so much fun that I jumped at the opportunity to do a month-long national tour with one of my favourite LA bands.The Lord Huron tour began in the Pacific Northwest - Portland, Seattle & San Francisco - then headed east through Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, DC then NYC. We had some great shows in NYC at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Femi Kuti, then a sold-out headline gig at the Mercury Lounge!March 31, 2011After a mere handful of writing/recording sessions in February, The Eye Fives launched headlong into some live shows in March. First up was a crazy fun gig at Oakland Art Murmur, then later in the month we performed at the opening for the Rolph Scarlett art exhibition at Weinstein Gallery in San Francisco.Also this month I began work producing an album by a wonderful acoustic duo from LA called Zenda Marie. We initially spent three days recording the vocals & guitars live at Oh My Studio in San Francisco, followed by a day in LA recording drums and percussion overdubs by the brilliant Mark Barry from Lord Huron! More overdubs, including strings by The Eye Fives, to come soon!Later in March, I did some work in LA with my old Brissy mates, The Boat People. First up was a private party at the house of the renowned KCRW DJ, Nic Harcourt, where I did live sound for the first time in many years! A few days later, The Eye Fives played strings on the recording of an exclusive new track by The Boat People, produced by Les Camacho!February 28, 2011The big news this month is that I’ve formed a new band called The Eye Fives with Savannah-Jo Lack! Ever since Trinkets disbanded, we’ve played/arranged/recorded strings for a bunch of our favourite artists, such as: Jackie Marshall, Silent Feature Era and Heath Cullen & the 45, but haven’t made the time to write our own original material together. Now that we’re less geographically challenged, we’re making it a reality! In addition to writing original material, we’ll also be using The Eye Fives as a vehicle to promote ourselves as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for string arrangements, performances, programming and recording.January 31, 2011At the start of the year I was offered a wonderful opportunity to travel to London as music editor for a recording with London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices. These sessions were the second of a three-part recording project of the works of the American composer, Nick Strimple. It was a very quick visit to the UK - only five days - but was truly a wonderful experience to work on a recording featuring some of the finest classical musicians going around!Following the London gig, I began engineering for the very talented Mr Steven Argila - a composer who has worked extensively in the Film and TV world here for the past 15+ years. The first major project with Steven was to record and mix the music for a new NBC show called The Paul Reiser Show. The musical style for this project sits somewhere between the tango sounds of Astor Piazzolla and the kooky sounds of Esquivel. The instrumentation is predominantly acoustic, featuring: violin, steel-string acoustic guitar, piano, accordian, double bass, drums and percussion. For these, my long-time collaborator Savannah-Jo Lack played violin and did a truly amazing job!
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Discog
Lord Huron - Lonesome Dreams (IAMSOUND) +E/MU
The Smashing Pumpkins - Live US tour recordings Fall 2011 (Constantinople) E
Alanis Morissette - Flavors of Entanglement (Warner) +E/MA
Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg (Interscope) AE/MU
Macy Gray & Kaz James - Can't Hold Back (Sony/BMG) AE
Operator Please - Gloves (Brille/EMI) +P/+E
Heath Cullen - The Still and the Steep (Five by Nine/Fuse Records) +P/+E/M/MU
Chris Pickering - Corners (Independent) +P/E/MZenda Marie - Ancient (Independent) P/E/M/MU
The Honey Month - Foliage (Useless Art) +P/+E/M
Jackie Marshall - Ladies' Luck (Vitamin) P/E/M/MU
Chris Pickering - Work of Fiction (Longtime Listener) +E/M/MU
Silent Feature Era - This Old Leather Heart (Plus One) M/AE/AP
Heath Cullen & the 45 - a storm was coming... (Vitamin) M/AE
Temposhark - Winter's Coming (Paper & Glue) M
Dukes of Windsor - The Others (MGM) E
Jackie Marshall - Fight 'n Flight (Vitamin) P/E/M/MU
Mark Seymour - Westgate (Liberation) +E
Plastic Palace Alice - The Great Depression (Inertia) +E/AP
The Golden Circles - Playground (Independent) P/+E/M/MU
Trinkets - Choose Your Own Adventure (Independent) +P/AE
P = Producer
+P = Co-Producer
AP = Additional Production
E = Engineer
+E = Co-Engineer
AE = Additional Engineering
M = Mix Engineer
MU = Musician
MA = Mastering Assistant
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Pics
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Uploads
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Tweets
- Seriously?! @ Hollywood & Highland http://t.co/NPnBuavmxv
- Friday morning vocal mic porn ;) @ Above The Law http://t.co/jlp3oHFX1W
- RT @RolloGrady: Dune Rats performing "Pogo" on a rooftop in Downtown LA. http://t.co/y8xv8TFIpF Directed by @dchenks and recorded/mixed by …
- Full house! It's time to mix this Boys School EP @boysschoolrules #tubesrule @ Above The Law http://t.co/O5LJNxuWZJ
- The still and the steep drops today! I'm so privileged to have worked with @heathcullen, Jim Keltner,… http://t.co/dYUyJAXbtx
- RT @RolloGrady: R&G Session w/ @togetherpangea performing new track "Why." Directed by Jeff Cohn & Recorded/Mixed by @bentollida ...
- Some western outlaws layin it down. @boysschoolrules @boysschoolrules @ The Escondite http://t.co/VRz44JUOqJ
- @mauro_adrian getting to know my Harmony & his freshly re-ribboned G & E mic @ Above The Law http://t.co/nlVUH8cwra
- Hoolio @wearethewest @ somewhere in Arizona http://t.co/C2sehvWmnN
- Heading west again @ Sandia Mountain http://t.co/SgtihlSPvD
- This guy! @wearethewest @ Plaza del Centro http://t.co/TNjp0jIj9s
- Santa Fe hipster jaguar @ Plaza del Centro http://t.co/H35dOEiaUp
- G'day Santa Fe! See you soon @wearethewest @ Santa Fe County Municipal Airport (SAF) http://t.co/HViN042Cb1
- Gettin in the zone with @mauro_adrian! @ Taco Zone http://t.co/EHCND3wMjZ
- @cpmusings bringin it to LA! @ The Satellite http://t.co/b0CKdyLh1r
- @PrintInCursive Did Jessica bring some warmer weather with her to SLC?
- RT @melaniehorsnell: Album review by Bernard Zuel in todays sydney morning herald http://t.co/dRK8AvmlEb
- @alpineband owning it at the Bootleg with some Abba moves! #nextbigthing @ Bootleg Theater http://t.co/bWC2amiOlo
- @HeathCullen @pledgemusic I think this link isn't workin buddy.. I wanna be part of your new album update!
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