THE FOUNDER

Ben Craven

I grew up (by choice) completely steeped in big, ambitious 1970s prog rock and orchestral film soundtracks. They got burned into me as a kid, and they never really left. I taught myself guitar and keys and spent my formative years playing in bands that never made it. And none of them sounded much like the music that actually shaped me.

In 2005 I recorded my first solo album, under the name Tunisia (Two False Idols). No label was interested, so I released it myself, knowing the bare minimum about what that actually involved. It came with a 5.1 DTS audio CD, so surround sound was there from day one. That was when Desert Comb Music actually started, and it’s been around ever since.

Every album since then has pushed further into prog and cinematic territory. Great & Terrible Potions went full widescreen, with cover art by the legendary Roger Dean. Last Chance To Hear took more instrumental chances, yet still ended up with William Shatner delivering spoken word on “Spy In The Sky“. Monsters From The Id turned into a pair of vinyl-side-length orchestral epics, also mixed in 5.1 surround – the same commitment to proper immersive audio that started with a DTS disc mixed in my lounge room.

Desert Comb Music is, at its core, a boutique label – a way to release my own work and anything else I get intimately involved in, without answering to corporate budgets, schedules or ideas of what’s commercial. That freedom is the whole point, and it shows up in the music. I’m not chasing the pop charts. I’m just trying to make something good and lasting, that I actually enjoy listening to myself.