A bohemian childhood in west London, with early memories of a house full of the music of The Beatles, Barrett-era Floyd and David Bowie; a move to north London; a latent interest in songwriting slowly realised in his teen years; tentative gigs with friends; a move to Cambridge; musical partnerships with Noisettes’ superb drummer Jamie Morrison and future founder of Clor, Max Taylor; a seemingly endless search for the right musical collaborator... then, as often happens, things snapped into place: after creating the nom de plume Mozzy Green, a series of recordings were made, with Ben and co-composer and cellist Anna Scott the only permanent fixtures. A clutch of demos alerted label interest, and 360 Degree Music signed the band and Ben as a solo artist. In December 2010 the first Ben Sommers solo single ‘Hillary, Oh Hillary’ was issued as a digital only release. In April 2011, Mozzy Green – now a three-piece featuring Ryan Thwaits on drums – released their debut EP ‘Robots’ as a limited edition four track 12” and download. These were followed by performances at the Secret Garden Party, the Cambridge Folk Festival and scattered regional dates. October sees the release of Ben’s first solo album ‘Avocado Chip’, a sprawling meditation on the current dystopian malaise of 21st century life. ‘Avocado Chip’ is a place; a state of mind; a dark vision of villains; political axe-wielders; Stepford wives, husbands, sons and daughters; con men and women; evil deeds and all manner of shenanigans, fully realised with consummate poetic vision and gloriously melodic panache.
