The Wirral-born, Nottingham-based experimentalist Ben McElroy is on a roll. He’s released three major pieces of work this year alone: A new studio album, Elkwort, which took his ambient drone-folk visions to new levels; an innovative, puppet-based film project, Widdershins & Deosil; and most recently, a live album, Wrens In The Wall, which in many ways is the pick of the bunch, capturing the full scope of Ben’s improv-led imaginings in their most immediate, unfettered form.
Ben’s creative opulence, while very much of his own design, has been blessed with the power of collaboration. Funding from the PRS Foundation enabled him to add new dimensions in the studio, roping in the talents of Nick Jonah Davis, guitar, Debbie Armour (of the group Burd Ellen) on vocals, and Elinor Rowlands, spoken word.
Ben: “It was fantastic. The process of making spontaneous music together is a lovely thing. I approached the Elkwort album with a pretty open mind, but still, there’s always a bit of an unknown working with new people, whether you would gel, especially as I tend to work in a pretty improvisational way, which some people aren’t comfortable with.”
The compositions on Elkwort evolved from long improvisations on pump organ and cello, and they proudly bare the visceral marks of that organic, raw approach. The nicks, foibles and creases all add character. That said, there is plenty of purpose throughout. Opener The Howling is arguably the standout. Remarkably, its centre melody could almost be categorised as indie-pop, but the volume of eccentricities that coalesce around it, floating and mutating like a lava lamp, transform it into something far more magnificent.
As well as embellishing the songs on Elkwort, the PRS funding led Ben to collaborate with inter-disciplinary artist and filmmaker Benjamin Wigley. They headed to a disused old quarry in Derbyshire in late summer 2024 to capture a narrative based around two figures, Deosil – meaning clockwise, or ‘sunwise’, representing growth and positive energy – and Widdershins – meaning counterclockwise, or ‘against the sun’s course’, often used for banishing or releasing energy. Shot on 16mm, the project was a very new kind of challenge.
Ben: “I’ve wanted to add a visual element for some time. Ben was recommended to me by Martin at By Our Hands We Make Our Way, a woodwork studio in Nottingham. It was really cool. We had a lot of similar reference points, such as the book Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban. We were limited to 10 minutes filming time – that’s literally how much film we had – so we had to be pretty clear what we wanted to shoot. I thought of the puppets as a focus. Once I’d made the Widdershins puppet it became a bit clearer. His vibe kind of directed the story. That said, the ending just appeared while we were shooting, it wasn’t planned, which resonated with the way the music is written.”
Improvisation and passion have always been at the heart of Ben’s craft. He joined a band at school – as a drummer – before he even had an instrument. As a teenager, he consumed music with gusto, spending all his paper-round money in the record shops of Liverpool, exploring loads of old stuff – “the weirder the better”. He studied Music Tech in Nottingham, but always gravitated more to those doing performance as “they seemed to be having more fun.”
Very much self-taught, Ben started to try his hand at a broad span of instruments, including the fiddle. He met Tom Manning and Al Judkins and joined them in the band Seas Of Mirth. A high-energy, genuinely genre-bashing outfit if ever there was one, Seas Of Mirth mix wonky disco, funk, psych and prog-folk to a backdrop of UV lights, bubbles and LED sea creatures.
Ben: “I wasn’t brought up in any folk tradition, or anything like that. I’ve tended to identify more with bedroom musicians messing with 4-tracks and listening to The Velvet Underground, Beefheart and Lee Perry. Then, about 10 years ago, I started to get into artists like Laura Cannell, Richard Skelton and things like Gavin Bryars’ The Sinking Of The Titanic, which led me to exploring more textures over songs. I realised that I didn’t need to aim to be a ‘classical’ style player but could express myself authentically with all the scrapes and squeaks inherent in my playing.”
Even the title of Ben’s latest studio album – Elkwort – is characteristically oddball – and entirely unique. Run a Google search on it and you’ll return nothing.
Ben: “Ha. No. It’s a made-up word that I just liked the sound of. I guess it could be some kind of undiscovered herb. Spell-checks hate it.”
Given Ben’s leftfield, experimental leanings, it’s not too surprising to hear that he’s forged a connection with the Calder Valley. And Todmorden, in particular. His sound and sensibilities are a very close match to those of local labels Basin Rock and Folklore Tapes, as well as multi-sensory event-makers resonance.calder.
Ben played at Todmorden Folklore Centre last year and, hanging out at The Golden Lion after the gig, he was “blown away” by the scene he stumbled upon.
Ben: “We went for a pint and some food. My friend was talking to me about The Clash album Sandinista! Then, a few minutes later, we found out Paul Simonon was DJing there that very night! Since then, I keep seeing artists who are from Todmorden, especially more leftfield, folky ones – Bridget Hayden & The Apparitions, dbh. I’m really excited to be heading back to the area.”
Elkwort was written without any concern for how it might be played live. As such, there are many nuanced touches and layers within, which could present problems in a live setting, but Ben sees it very differently. The songs, he says, take on new form when he performs them but, coming from a centre of deep improvisation anyway, they are true to the spirit of the record. And you have to say, it works.
The real evidence comes in the shape of his latest release, a live album called Wrens In The Wall. Featuring three tracks recorded at the site of the Widdershins & Deosil shoot, plus a couple recorded at Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre in Glasgow, it is a shimmering delight of a record that sucks you in with its tantric drone base and noodles into your brain with emotive pulses and shamanic timbres.
But for the real thing, of course, you’d best seek out a Ben McElroy live show.
Follow Ben McElroy on Instagram and take a look at his website.
Autumn 2025 tour dates:
21/09 – PUZZLE HALL INN, SOWERBY BRIDGE
24/09 – GREEN NOTE, LONDON
26/09 – THE JAM FACTORY, HEREFORD
08/10 – THE GROVE, NOTTINGHAM
24/10 – BISHOPS HOUSE, SHEFFIELD
02/11 – ZAPATO, MARSDEN
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