The Goliath Beetle & the Ladybug

Ben Makinen

Eastern European Flavored Funky Electronica - Dance to Edgy Drum 'n' Bass & Chill with Hypnotic Space!

I had a dream in which royal and ancient Butterfly told me the story of two lovers brave enough to challenge the rules of their society and the laws of their elders. The Goliath Beetle fell madly in love with the beautiful Ladybug. Ladybug

Eastern European Flavored Funky Electronica - Dance to Edgy Drum 'n' Bass & Chill with Hypnotic Space!

I had a dream in which royal and ancient Butterfly told me the story of two lovers brave enough to challenge the rules of their society and the laws of their elders. The Goliath Beetle fell madly in love with the beautiful Ladybug. Ladybug had known no truer lover. They shared their joy with their families and community only to be met with violent disapproval. They fled in fear. Together they lived through many adventures both tragic and wondrous. With the help of a sympathetic cousin, the butterfly La Femme Nikita, they were able to find a land in which they were welcome. There they made their home and they lived and loved and raised a family of angels who, to this day, protect lovers of every kind every where. In the dream Butterfly implored me to share this story with the people of today. When I awoke my mind was awash in sound. These sounds became music and this music is the Butterfly's story.

~ Ben Makinen/Bmakin Music

Ben Makinen: Producer, Composer & Performer on Goliath Beetle & The Ladybug

CD COVER ART BY SAN BASE! Please visit this incredible artist's website at www.sanbase.com

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Tenderly

Leslie Brown

Leslie Brown is a jewel among the great singers of all time. With an old soul and a modern vibe Leslie imbues these classics with a smooth, honest and compelling intensity.

Producer Ben Makinen of Bmakin Music introduces the marvelously talented and beautiful Leslie Brown!

Leslie Brown - vocals Ben Makinen - drums & percussion Art Lande -

Leslie Brown is a jewel among the great singers of all time. With an old soul and a modern vibe Leslie imbues these classics with a smooth, honest and compelling intensity.

Producer Ben Makinen of Bmakin Music introduces the marvelously talented and beautiful Leslie Brown!

Leslie Brown - vocals Ben Makinen - drums & percussion Art Lande - piano Mark Simon - bass

Special Guests: Vlad Girshevich - piano & bass on Hotel California Silver Ainomae - cello on Earth Song

ALBUM REVIEW:

  • by Jon Solomon, Westword Save for a rousing take on Duke Ellington's "Caravan," Leslie Brown's Tenderly is an unhurried affair ā€” and that's as it should be, because the singer's relaxed delivery is suited to songs that are slow and slinky, such as opener "He Must Be in Love" and the gorgeous title track. Even the Champs' normally upbeat "Tequila" is slowed down a few notches, turned into a laid-back, swinging groove by drummer Ben Makinen, with some deft piano playing by Art Lande. Elsewhere, the Eagles' "Hotel California" and Pink Floyd's "Welcome to the Machine" get innovative jazzy treatments. Brown is in complete control of her voice, and there's a certain purity that runs throughout the disc, which is ideal for late-night listening.
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Lost Lullaby

Ben Makinen

A Nomad's journey through distant lands. A shaman's dance to dreamsongs from the womb.

CONTACT Ben Makinen Bmakin Music E-mail: benmakinen@mac.com www.benmakinen.com

Lost Lullaby, Debut CD From Drummer Ben Makinen, Is Now Available On The Bmakin Music Label

Lost Lullaby, the debut CD from drummer and percussionist Ben Makinen, captures the

A Nomad's journey through distant lands. A shaman's dance to dreamsongs from the womb.

CONTACT Ben Makinen Bmakin Music E-mail: benmakinen@mac.com www.benmakinen.com Ā 

Lost Lullaby, Debut CD From Drummer Ben Makinen, Is Now Available On The Bmakin Music Label

Lost Lullaby, the debut CD from drummer and percussionist Ben Makinen, captures the soothing, relatively drum-free soundscapes that swirl through his mind in the quiet spaces between gigs.

Lost Lullaby is about exploring the unknown with a calm spirit and encountering the unexpected with an open mind.

The mostly improvised tracks took shape on the keyboard somewhere between midnight and dawn during his wife's pregnancy with their first child.

"There's a side of me that can't just stick to the drums," Makinen says. "Don't get me wrong. I love playing live--the energy, the crowds. Starting a couple of years ago, when I came home after a gig, I started needing to find a quiet place to chill, to let tranquility work its magic on me. When I finally found that place, the compositions just started to flow. With our daughter, Dakota Anne, on the way, I became totally inspired. The compositions on Lost Lullaby were my first gift to her." Ā  As a leader and sideman, Makinen has performed on nearly two dozen CDs, five of which he also produced: Lost Lullaby (2005); Tom Ball's Fishleather Jacket (2005) [Winner of the 2006 Excellence In Recording Award froom the ITEA];Clay Cabe's December (2004); Area 15(SM) Live (2002), and Rekha Ohal's Rekha (1996).

Finding that quiet space has fueled Makinen's creative energies, which have led him right back into the studio. His plans for the rest of 2005 include producing at least three more CDs: The Goliath Beetle and the Ladybug Jam and Quizzical Glance, both featuring his own compositions; and Clay Cabe's second CD, The Underworld.

Before becoming a full-time father, Makinen toured the world for nearly two decades with r&b, funk, and rock bands, jazz trios and big bands, avant-garde electronic ensembles and Broadway shows, on cruise ships, and with opera troupes and symphonic orchestras.

Lost Lullaby can be heard in rotation on the Internet radio stations streetblast.com and bandradio.com.

Makinen also performs live in the Denver area with the high-energy jazz trio Area 15 (cdbaby.com/area15) and with his experimental group Sponge.

Ben maintains a busy schedule producing and performing. He recently landed a role in the zombie movie Lucky Stiff. He is currently writing music for television and film. One of his many goals for 2006 is to complete production on a documentary film he has shot.

Makinen intends to compile a Best Of...CD. "Obtaining the rights is a big hoop to jump through", Makinen laughs, "but the wait will be worth it. There are so many talented musicians in Colorado and I have fun playing with them. The collection of songs will appeal to a diverse audience-From Blues to Bop, and from Folk to Funk!"

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Live

Area 15

DIGITAL SALES ONLY:-) Reversed-engineered Jazz-Spontaneous electrical improvisation. The members of AREA 15, use their guitars, bass, and drums to explore an explosive combination of hyper-space Rock and improvisational Be-Bop. Mad scientists on a Jam

AREA 15(TM), LIVE is the result of three talented sidemen who burned out on performing

DIGITAL SALES ONLY:-) Reversed-engineered Jazz-Spontaneous electrical improvisation. The members of AREA 15, use their guitars, bass, and drums to explore an explosive combination of hyper-space Rock and improvisational Be-Bop. Mad scientists on a Jam

AREA 15(TM), LIVE is the result of three talented sidemen who burned out on performing homogenized, cookie cutter, cliched music for uninspired band leaders.

AREA 15(TM), takes its influence from Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix and Led ZeppelinĀ  and will use any song as a vehicle for improvisation - employing reverse engineering and extreme dynamics...

While packing up their equipment one night after a lounge gig, they mutually agreed that they should get another gig together and play with reckless abandon - no musical restrictions.

The drummer, Ben Makinen, scored the gig. The guitarist, Mitch Chmara, inspired the naming of the group with his sensitivity towards the outer limits. The bass player, Eric Thorin, had a mile-wide grin that challenged anyone to throw any chord and any groove his way at any time.

The first four tracks on AREA 15 LIVE happened in one take, on one night, after no rehearsal. The fifth track happened the same way-only three months later at a different night club.

With Mitch's originals (the first two tracks) he simply told the guys what he had in mind, a couple chords and a feel, and then he said,"Just follow me..."

The standards were treated as launching pads for contemporary improvisation/conversation.

Email the guitarist @ mitchchmara@hotmail.com

Email the drummer @ benmakinen@mac.com

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