I wrote my first song at age 11. I had this feeling of high – like I was walking on clouds and  it lasted for a full week. Discovering my creative muscle was so amazing. To capture the search for that thrill. I believe the purpose of life is to connect to your own conscience – kind of a Star Wars type of force. One pathway to this is our creativity in general and for me music in particular. For me the  big goal in life is to live as close to my conscience as possible and to discover the beauty of life through the beauty of art. 

The first song I wrote was about an old man whom at the end of his life is looking back. It’s a somber, rather unusual place to sit as an 11-year-old. That has stayed with me as a writer. The fact that we will all die is a beautiful framework, because it sets up every minute as important. Life gets quickly filled up with things, to – do lists, deadlines and goals. Through art and music I have discovered that life has a deeper meaning.

“I would step outside our house and try to get people’s attention – I would scream and bang sticks together – I didn’t even understand English but wanted to express that energy.”

Ben Lorentzen at Age 5

Inspirations and Evolutions

My parents had a black and white TV when I was 5 years old. We were watching flashbacks of music from the last 10 years and there was Elvis. He was just exploding on the screen – sliding down the fire pole while singing Jail House Rock. What got to me more than anything else was his energy. That’s the energy level I want to reach. Not a physical, muscular energy, but rather an energy inside. A spiritual experience.

I grew up in Norway. But because of my parent’s interest, I became exposed to some of the great American and British artists. Artists including Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and The Beatles. I fell in love with America. American cars. Our house was on the Atlantic Ocean and I would look over and dream of the Mekka on the other side where Rock and Roll was born.

As I got older, I discovered and began to explore a bit of a darker side to music. Music can serve as a mirror to your darker or more serious self. It can help you dig into the bigger questions in life.

Artists that inspired me to seek a little deeper would be Nick Cave, Chris Cornell, A-ha, Soulsavers and 16 Horsepowers.

On this journey I learnt to look for music that was more than moment centered, that had a deeper goal, that helped me see a deeper self. I’m a hopeless romantic, but I recognize through my personal growth that building real, deep relationships is what I want, first and foremost.

Music, art, culture all play a role in that. In a wider perspective I believe culture can have a healing role and give people with opposing views a platform to talk about common sense issues, such as the human condition, our path forward as a big human family, and in so doing help create a platform so we can solve environmental issues, racial issues, economic issues, divisions and unrest.