About Ben...
Most people sound-tracking their own break-up wouldn't make an album as gleamingly epic as Straight No Chaser, the future-thinking pop album from Mr Hudson. But most people don't have Kanye West throwing down the gauntlet to make a classic, stadium-filling pop record. G.O.O.D Music / Mercury Records artist Mr Hudson is a multi-talented singer/songwriter from Birmingham, UK with a heart for major hooks, soaring melodies, bright new-wave synths and crushing beats, so his break-up album is a document of misery that sounds like total joy; from the gravity-defying anthem 'Supernova,' to the dubwise banger 'Anyone But Him' to the utterly spare headphone-jam 'Instant Messenger.'
Written in just two months in the spring of 2009 after a whirlwind of touring the UK, flights between London, Los Angeles, and Hawaii (where he worked with West on 808s and Heartbreaks), Hudson was in a weird headspace upon his return to his tiny flat in North London. 'My room was full of guitars and keyboards, there wasn't even enough room for a bed,' says Hudson.
'So I got my landlord to sort out a mattress for me, and I'd put it up against the back wall, it was really good soundproofing. When I'd finished recording at like three AM, I'd throw it down on the floor and jump in my sleeping bag. It was a very low point in my life'I'd thrown everything away. I'd moved out, I left my girl, I had nothing.
So I had to make this album work.'
Hudson set out to make an album that both reflected his diverse musical background (raised on the piano and records by The Police, he can 'sort of' play any instrument he picks up) and his then-emotional truth. 'It's about not fiddling around, not over-complicating the message,' says Hudson. 'People have got busy lives out there, they don't want to be bothered by every idea you have squeezed into an album. It's great, it's fresh. I think we're at a stage now where it's all just pop music. There aren't any rules it's just like let's have fun and entertain people.' So he pared down his ideas and got on his grind. He expanded his vocal ability, singing in higher and breathier ranges than he had on A Tale of Two Cities, his somber, glitchy electronic album from 2007.
Photo courtesy of Bianca Barrett
For Straight No Chaser - executive produced by West - Hudson plugged in an expanse of drum sounds, tweaking hip-hop, new wave and reggae influences together for epic rhythms. Deep beats, irrefutable piano melodies and vast vocal harmonies take a record steeped in dire emotional circumstances and launch it into something else entirely: ubiquitous, melodious pop. 'It wasn't so much tapping into the emotion of the breakup,' says Hudson, ' as the pipes bursting, so you grab a couple of buckets and try to collect the water. I'm not recommending to anyone to break up with someone in order to write a good album' but if you do, make sure you get into the studio shortly after.'
Photo courtesy of iTunes UK
That such deep sorrow translates into such a massive record is really only right: it's been the emotional undercurrent in all of Hudson's influences ' from stadium-sized rock to Motown soul, from plaintive reggae chants to R&B balladry. 'To admit to the chinks in your armor, to admit to your sorrow, is actually the most gangster thing you can do,' he says.
Photo courtesy of iTunes UK
So Far...
March 2007 |
Mr Hudson & The Library release debut album, A Tale of Two Cities to strong reviews and received national airplay on Jo Whiley and Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 shows. |
February 2008 |
Took part in the 'MyPenguin' project launched by the publisher Penguin and collaborated with London graffiti artist Mighty Mo to create a cover for Animal Farm by George Orwell.  |
October 2008 |
Photo shoot & interview in New York for the Italian L'uomo Vogue magazine by Photographer Nabil Elderkin  |
September 2008 |
Co-Produced 'Street Lights' and featured on 'Paranoid' on Kanye West's 4th studio album 808s & Heartbreaks |
November 2008 |
Supported Kanye West on the European leg of the 'Glow In The Dark' Tour |
January 2009 |
Editorial feature in Q Magazine  |
February 2009 |
Photoshoot for Pastelle |
March 2009 |
Low top boat shoes known as the 'Mr. Hudson' (constructed from premium white leather & grey suede) designed as part of the |
June 2009 |
Appearance on the Alan Carr Channel 4 TV show "Chatty Man" with Kanye West for interview & perform "Supernova".  |
July 2009 |
First Single from the album "Straight No Chaser" called "Supernova" premiered on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio Show & then later remixed by Calvin Harris in a more electronic fashion.  |
August 2009 |
J.Lindeberg Spring-Summer collection 2010 x Chicago  |
September 2009 |
Editorial feature & Photoshoot for GQ Magazine, US.   |
October 2009 |
Photoshoot with Photographer Rankin  |
October 2009 |
Second Single, "White Lies" released. Performed the song on  |
October 2009 |
Second studio album "Straight No Chaser" released in the UK on 19th October and debuted at no. 3 on the iTunes chart.  |
October 2009 |
Q Awards - Won award for Break-through artist of 2009  |
November 2009 |
Editorial feature & photoshoot for Complex Magazine.    Images courtesy of complex.com |
January 2010 |
Featured on the song "Young Forever" from Jay Z's 11th studio album, The Blueprint 3. Young Forever reached # 10 in the UK singles charts and #2 in the UK R&B charts.  |
February 2010 |
Featured on the song "Playing With Fire" from English hip-hop trio, N-Dubz's second studio album, Against All Odds. Playing with Fire has so far reached #14 in the UK singles charts.  |
January 2010 |
The Fashion Relief for Haiti event organised by supermodel Naomi Campbell. Funds raised at the show will go towards ensuring mothers and babies are at the heart of the Haiti's new health system.  |
February 2010 |
Editorial feature and photoshoot for PlayBoy.  |
March 2010 |
Ad Campaign for Adidas Originals neighbourhood.  |
May 2010 |
Appearance on Saturday Night Live with Jay-Z to perform "Young Forever" Live.  |
Contacts
UK press & management:
JON MAC MUSIC
jonmacmusic@gmail.com
US press & management:
REBEL ONE – Marc Jordan
zsuzsa@rebel-one.net
UK Agency:
CODA
Alex Hardee / Olly Hodgson
alex@codaagency.com
olly@codaagency.com
US Agency:
WME
Cara Lewis
cpl@wmeentertainment.com
Street Team:
mrhudson.team@gmail.com
ps. Click HERE to join the official Digital & On Road Street Team
Find me online:
Myspace
Bebo
Youtube
UStream
