British singer-songwriter Benedict Cork has revealed a stunning new song ‘Wild One’, and its release completes his latest EP, the intimately personal ‘Piano Tapes Vol. II’. The five track collection is the latest in a series of EPs, following ‘Letters To Strangers’ in 2019, and ‘Piano Tapes Vol. I’ in 2018. Benedict will play a headline live show at London’s Jazz Cade on December 1.
“‘Wild One’ is about releasing someone you cherished, back into the wilderness. I feel like it’s acknowledging that you never truly have ownership over someone’s soul, even when they’re the person closest to you in the world” Benedict explains. “I wrote this song in LA in the midst of a pretty challenging time, and then performed it on tour last year, and it kept coming into my psyche. In a similar vein to One Last Song, it feels to me like I’m finally finding closure on a really formative experience and saying goodbye to someone really special.”
Mixing classic piano balladry with heartfelt storytelling, Benedict’s music has found an audience both at home and abroad. After launching a headline residency at London’s famed Fiction Studios last year, Benedict toured with Duncan Laurence across Europe, supported Brit Award winner Tom Walker, Grammy nominated Emily King and performed alongside Stevie Wonder and Lionel Richie at the British Summertime Festival. As well as critical acclaim, he also attracted the attention of Elton John, who called him ‘sensational’ and ‘a name to look out for’.
‘Piano Tapes Vol. II’ is the result of Benedict “hibernating” over the winter after last autumn’s tour with Duncan Laurence. He explains: “I had a collection of songs that I loved, some that I’d be trying out here and there at shows on the tour, and they felt really good with just piano and vocal. I decided to make Piano Tapes Volume II, a continuation of my first Piano Tapes EP project – which was a completely live record – but with more experimentation in production layers and sounds. I spent the winter months adding and taking away different layers of choirs and vintage organs mixed with more modern synths and filmic beats. The songs on this EP are really vulnerable and honest, so I wanted the sonics of the record to reflect that vulnerability, and to really have the purity of just the piano and vocals at the forefront of it all.”
