Prolific avant-pop artist Ben Gregory has today revealed details of a new live to vinyl album, Live From Metropolis, releasing on 8 December via Transgressive. Shared from the album today is new track ‘Same Mistakes’ along with a new music video.

Fans will need to be quick off the mark as there will be a very limited pressing available here. With all tracks recorded live and cut straight to vinyl, the nerve-wracking process leaves no room for mistakes. However within these self-inflicted constraints, Ben has shown the world his control and clarity of musicianship. Taken from the upcoming record and shared today is the first track ‘Same Mistakes’. 

Joined by esteemed musicians such as Blaine Harrison of The Mystery Jets (who also co-produced Ben Gregory’s debut solo album episode) and indie icon Marika Hackman, Ben has cut 7 brand new tracks straight onto vinyl, no breaks, no edits, no overdubs – the results are thrilling, intimate and disarming. With the sheen of studio production wiped away, the tracks on Live From Metropolis sparkle with their own kind of magic, the live experience captured directly on wax, Ben Gregory playing straight to the listener.

Offering more insight into the process, Ben says:

“This was potentially the prangiest day of my life — the fully legitimate live carving of a vinyl disc, upon which even the most grotesque of errors would live forever. Thank god and all his friends that I had two total geniuses by my side. Mr Blaine Harrison and Marika Hackman: you two are the bees knees and i love you forever. It was an extraordinary and awesome day at Metropolis making this record, twiddling away and singing in chorus as we’re mixed and mastered live into the wax. it’s all in there! (except for one disc which we had to throw straight into the bin)”

Shared from the album today is new track ‘Same Mistakes’ along with a new music video.
A poignant, heart on sleeve song, the track’s melancholy is punctuated with a hopefulness for the future. The video takes the form of a mini-documentary, with footage of the recording and vinyl cutting process spliced together. With Ben on guitar, Marika on bass and Blaine on keys, the result is an intimate snapshot of a very special moment caught in time.

Live From Metropolis is the 3rd body of work from Ben Gregory in an inspiringly creative 2023. In October, Ben released Bodied, a thought provoking EP navigating the universally relatable concept of our physical selves. Bodied followed on from his majestic, multi-faceted and emotionally wrenching debut solo album episode, which received critical acclaim from a multitude of publications, with DIY calling the album ‘mind-boggling in its scope and scale’, while Loud & Quiet labelled the project a ‘beautiful account of illness and recovery’. Other press highlights included Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, Notion, Clash, and The Line Of Best Fit.