Ben Fleury-Steiner
“Fleury-Steiner’s ambience is evocative stuff in the best sense, great ringing droughts of sonic wash that reveal tonalities within tonalities, high-frequency drones that shimmer and vibrate like jeweled curtains that reflect piercing sunlight . . . Fundamentally, Fleury-Steiner’s sound is filled with contradicting emotions, denoting both introspection and excitation, pat “drone” music this is not, and the fact that it confounds any such glib categorical baggage makes it even more compelling.”
-Darren Bergstein, e|i Magazine
Ben Fleury-Steiner is proprietor of Gears of Sand Recordings; since 2001 he has released nearly 30 recordings by accomplished and lesser known artists from around the world.
An accomplished Wilmington, Delaware-based musician and sound artist, Fleury-Steiner began his sonic journey in the early 1990s engrossing himself in jazz saxophone with Jeff Harrington (Berkeley College of Music). However, a roommate studying classical composition introduced him to Arvo Part, Steve Reich and Brian Eno; three legendary composers that completely changed his perspective of sound.
Since that time, Fleury-Steiner has released a number of works under his own name and numerous aliases (Paradin, eneg, and Light of Shipwreck) on his own Gears of Sand label, Dissonance (Maryland, U.S.A.), Mystery Sea (Belgium), Umbra (Italy), Taâlem (France), Dharmasound (Italy), White-Label Music (U.K.), and Cyclene (Detroit, U.S.A.).
In second-half of 2007 and into early 2008, Fleury-Steiner has a number of new reocrdings coming out on labels from around the world. The forthcoming collabration, "Second Week of the Second Month" with Canadian experimental guitarist, Aidan Baker is set for release in July on Kikapu (U.S.A./Swizerland). The summer also sees a new collaboration of moody, textural ambient music with Matt Borghi, "What the Night Leaves Behind," set for release on Gears of Sand. Fleury-Steiner's first release under the alias Light of Shipwreck, an ambient metal noise work entilted "From the Idle Cylinders" is set for release on the classic Crucial Blast Records (Maryland, U.S.A.).
Early 2008 sees two new 3" releases on the French Taalem label ("He Dreams in Rivers") and the Texas-based drone syndicate Los Bango Sound ("The Nephelauxetic Series") and the full length collaboration "Nautilus with Wings" with Danny Kreutzfeldt will be released by the Belgian "night ocean drones" series, Mystery Sea.
Perhaps his most realized work to date, a new Fleury-Steiner cd that really captures the artist's musical approach as a study at the intersections of noise, droney melody, and deep swells of emotion is also set to be released in the new year. More than two years in the making, the engimatic "Keep a Weather Eye Open," will be issues by the consistenly excellent Infraction Records (Ohio, U.S.A.).
Fleury-Steiner has performed live throughout North America, including performances at The Gate music series and electro-music festival in Philadelphia, Eye Drum Art Center in Atlanta, GA, 311 Florida (Washington, D.C.), Mojo 13 (Wilmington, Delaware), and Toronto’s AMBiENT PiNG. He currently resides in North Wilmington, Delaware with his wife Ruth, two twin daughters, Anna and Robin, and three cats.