Benjamin Lew

"Benjamin Lew was an enlightened amateur, in the noble and almost Renaissance-like sense of the word: he dabbled with equal grace in photography, writing, visual arts ... and worked part-time as a cocktail mixer in a tropical bar which was one of the favourite watering holes of Brussels thriving artistic community of the early 80s. Tuxedomoon had just moved to Brussels, and Steven Brown was among the many musicians, designers & artists who patronized the bar. Benjamin had a secret passion: he wasnt a musician, but had acquired a small analog computer, with which he had started creating these strange mysterious little pieces. Benjamin played them to Steven and asked him if hed agree to record with him. Steven was taken with them and accepted. The Douzi�me Journe was largely created in the studio by both protagonists, with the help of Gilles Martin and myself, in the spring of 82. Listening to his albums (he went on to record four more with Crammed) is like embarking on a dream journey to the Sahara or the Far East. Youd think that some of the pieces feature non-European musicians or samples but: no... this is just Benjamins imagination, his synths, and his friends."Marc Hollander, Feb. 2019