Ben Teters has made a career drumming with musicians such as Satsang, Cas Haley, and Seth Walker, as well as founding his own reggae/soul outfit, SunDub. Now, the drummer, percussionist, and songwriter is preparing to release his debut solo album, Palmslap.
The Berklee College of Music graduate—who has worked on the album for several years—wrote, engineered, and produced Palmslap himself. Written about his time spent in New York City as a budding artist, the album is named after his band at the time he began writing.
Teters curated a talented group of artists to help make the album a reality. Dan Africano (Ghost Light, JBB) provides the bass tones while Julian Litwack (Andy Suzuki and The Method) provides both rhythm and lead guitar. Other artists featured on the album include Cale Hawkins on keyboards, Adam Bonomo (BONOMO) on organ, Earl Brooks Jr. on steel pan, and Matt Lavon on saxophone. Palmslap highlights Teters’ penchant for musical variety, filtering classic soul and R&B songwriting through Afro-Latin and other world music styles.
Today, as Teters prepares for the release of his debut album, Live For Live Music is excited to premiere the project’s lead single, “The Greatest Gift”. Africano on bass and Teters on drums dominate the low-end, seemingly locked in a state of synchronicity. A steel pan melody lays atop the rhythm section, highlighted by horns throughout. The lyrics illustrate the artist’s consciousness, delving deep into his thoughts about life and what it means to be human.
As Teters explains to Live For Live Music, “‘The Greatest Gift’ comments on the creative powers of our species, on the ability of man to manifest what we see in our mind’s eye. ‘The greatest gift of man is to create…’ It’s a testament to our ability as humans to create what we want in our lives, and how special a gift that is.”
Listen to “The Greatest Gift” by Ben Teters below.
Ben Teters – “The Greatest Gift”
Ben Teters will perform special Bob Marley birthday tribute show with SunDub at Mercury Lounge in New York, NY on February 6th. Teters will then head out on the road with Satsang for a string of West Coast shows. Visit his official website for tickets and more information.