Premiere: Ben Auld’s Lemongrass is sweet

UK-based singer/songwriter Ben Auld’s debut, Lemongrass, conveys homespun charm, dazzling melodies, and heartwarming lyrics. A self-taught musician, engineer, and producer, Auld layered the tracks out over four years, writing and learning recording techniques, a big issue.

Utilizing a series of reel-to-reel tape machines, Auld stacked his instrumentation, with the result that some songs have dozens of instrumental tracks assembled on tape. “I’d record three tracks, bounce that over, and then record another three. I did it alone and it took a long time to figure out what was possible,” he said. “I went through two four-track recorders, an 8-track 1/2″ reel-to-reel, and finished the album on a TASCAM 388. One of the biggest challenges of the album was fixing all the broken old gear.”

Our featured track, the lead single, “D4A,” exemplifies much of the talent to be found on Lemongrass. Unvarnished sincerity, bittersweet lyrics and romance define much of Auld’s work. Auld gave Elmore a little insight into his process.

“This song is a folky jaunt. It’s pretty jolly sounding which I think mostly comes from the high strung guitar and quick pace. The narrative is a classic tale of infatuation, and this is just an earnest account of what that feels like, while trying to avoid being too cringey or uninspired. I guess that’s why I wanted it to sound quite merry.

“These sorts of feelings are intense and difficult to navigate in the moment but they’re kinda inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

“As with the other songs on the album, I wanted the song to sound dense and full, despite the brevity. Most of the instruments are double- or triple-tracked and it somehow ended up creating these swells in the music which mimicked the different turns the lyrics take throughout. I spent a fair bit of time figuring out arrangements for the vocal harmonies on other songs but this was the first time it felt like they came together naturally, which was cool.”