benjaminkoll

Beautiful Nothing (2nd Demo August 2015)

As I started to tell you on the 1st demo of "Beautiful Nothing" post, I wrote this song in Madrid the first week of April 2015, then recorded the vocals with Jose in Mexico the last week of the same month.

And I kept those vocals on the hard drive trying to decide what the arrangement would sound like until August 20 2015. We had moved to the coast south of Barcelona to spend the summer and as those last six ...

BK Mashups - Rock With You Tonight

As you can hear on the Dj sets I've uploaded here I sometimes produce special tracks that you can't here anywhere else. Now you're the first to listen to some of these special mashups and remixes.

This first one is a mashup of Michael Jackson's "Rock With You" with "Waiting For Tonight" by Jennifer Lopez, a nice treat for fans of both artists. Both songs acquire  subtle new meaning and musical qualities in this kinda romantic twist. I did this for a special pool party at Beefdip, a...

This week's artwork (Full res W/Wo watermarks)

Hello guys! Hope you're doing well. This are the pics I edited for this week + another I forgot to post last week. Here's a little background on them:

- Goldfinger post: here you have two images, the one with the watermark and yellow bokeh background was the actual post, accompanied by this quote: “...Goldfinger could not have known that high tension was Bond's natural way of life and that pressure and danger relaxed him.” ― Ian Fleming "Goldfinger". And also 2020-07-30 23:52:22 +0000 UTC View Post

You On My Mind (First Instrumental Demo 2018)

There are two elements on this song that I wrote around 1991 (the brass and strings lines and one of the bass guitar patterns). That first demo is only 1:30 and bears little resemblance to this song. I found it just as I was hearing my old demos looking for something to save from them and it set my inspiration on. This was March 2018. In just one day I did this demo you can hear now, a exploration of all the ideas I wanted on the song. Some of them made it to the final version, some had to go...

I Don't Wanna Fight (Music Video Xtras) Pt.3

Thank you so much for your feedback on last weekend's poll guys, it really helps me a lot to improve your experience here. In fact, a comment by Edward Gately reminded me of this pic, this is for you :)

On the previous post about the concepts behind the video for "I Don't Wanna Fight" I shared with you a still of the actual video that never made it to the final version you can watch on Youtub...

At the pool (Part 5)

And here are three more exclusive pics for you. Hope you like them :)

Pics were taken by Martin Cortes the first week of July.

At the pool 4 (Today's social post, full res)

Here's today's #sundayvibes pic in full resolution. Guys liked it out there so I thought you'd like to have the full sized version. Hugs!

Pic was taken by Martin Cortes the first week of July.

What do you think?

Hello guys, as a new month approaches, I'd like to know how to improve this space, so I'm going to ask you some questions, please feel free to add your thoughts on the comments below.

First here's a simple question about the type of content.  hace to admit this is also a learning process for me, and for example, I think I need to change the benefits and tiers descriptions to better match what I'm posting and give a better idea of what they will find those who are deciding if they w...

I Don't Wanna Fight (Music Video Xtras) Pt.2

As I was telling you, the music video for "I Don't Wanna Fight" was in the making for a long time. My original idea was to (in a metaphoric way) talk about sexual energy and how it can define a relationship, the dynamics of it, for good or bad.

I wanted to do a full nude video, starting it by taking my clothes off. I was trying to convey that the couple was going to have an honest conversation, taking masks and everything off. I wanted to also feature "the magician", working with energy...

I Don't Wanna Fight (Music Video Xtras) Pt.1

I had this video on my mind for a very long time, that image with the Keytar is a direct inspiration from the classic photography of Jimmy Hendrix kneeling while his guitar was burning.

It was the product of one of the most valuable pieces of advices I've ever got. It was during Amsterdam's 2014 ADE (Amsterdam Dance Event). I attended with Jose and we had the awesome opportunity of meeting Jean Michel Jarre (amazing guy). I was toying with the idea of stop producing others and start my ...

Learn from the past (2 versions)

I have to admit this has been another trying week. Fake profiles, people trying to scam others with my pics, problems with Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, you name it...

But I'm learning and I'm trying my best to find the best way of keep growing as an artist without betraying myself or you. That's why today my post read: " Learn from the past, look for the future #knowledge #learningfromthepast ". 

Here you have the full res versions of the Black & White pic (posted on soc...

Can Sanç 2015 (Part 2)

And this is the rest of the pics I have from that day. We did some more pics there, I just need to find them and edit them for you, hopefully soon, until then I hope you enjoy this exclusive ones, thank you so much for your support.

Photos were taken by Woofioso Photography on July 18 2015 on the beautiful beach of Can Sanç (near Barcelona - Spain).

Can Sanç 2015 (Part 1)

I did a special edition of this photoshoot for later use here and there. The photos were taken by Woofioso Photography on July 18 2015 on the beautiful beach of Can Sanç (near Barcelona - Spain).

Since I'm dealing with so much objectification on social media this days, I don't think I'll share most of them anywhere, at least not yet. I rather let you enjoy them, my dear patrons :)

More coming soon ;-)

Running In The Night (1st Demo 2019)

I was dreaming about this song about this time last year. I knew what I wanted to achieve and as I usually do, after putting together a very raw demo I could listen on my phone if needed, I put my subconscious mind at work for some weeks. By the end of August I recorded this first demo, undeniably influenced by some 80s production techniques and at heart very close to the end result.

It took me several months to polish and finish the arrangement you can hear now on "All Systems Go" (the...

Marco ByM commission

My dear and super talented friend Marco ByM has opened his own Patreon recently and I wanted to support him, so I commissioned a drawing from him.

Gave him all the freedom do do whatever he pleased and this was the result. The SFW version is editable and his idea is I could use it to promote my Patreon, but I'm still not decided :D 

Last weeks artwork (Full res - No watermarks)

Here are the full resolution / no watermarked versions of some of the photo montages I've been posting on my social profiles this past days.

They usually take hours to make and I usually do them early in the morning, as a trait for my followers. I don't like to plan them in advance, rather make them in sync with my state of mind that particular day.

Here are some insights on each one of them, in order:

- At the library - "Life is a mystery" (published Friday July 7). I've be...

Te Quiero Junto A Mi - Making Of

As Ricardo Concejal suggested me on a message, here's some insight on the making of "Te Quiero Junto A Mi". The idea is to keep sharing with you little secrets and things from each shooting that not always are noticed.

Since the pandemic started we had to shoot everything at home, but by the end of June, as conditions were more favorable to move a little, we asked our friend Gustavo here in the city if we could go and shoot the video at a little apartment he has on the second floor of h...

Magic (Complete Set) (NSFW)

If you have the Listening Companion book for "All Systems Go" you already know two of this pictures, it was difficult to choose just two, but finally you can see here all the photographies that were considered to illustrate "Magic". 

Pics were taken on Vera (Spain) by Woofioso Photography. And as I explained on the book, I chose this set because the song is about letting go and just enjoy the moment, about one of those magical days that happen sometimes in life where you just have ...

SuperStar (DJ Set 2019)

I did this DJ set as a sample for a night party we did on BeefDip 2019, sponsored by Qbo Bearwear. It was a mixture of Disco and pop and you can hear here some of the mashups I did on purpose for this party, such as the "another one bites the dust / le freak" I used to do back in the eighties live on vinyl.

I'm planning a disco house set, you'll be the first to hear it, hopefully before August, when I plan to take a two week holiday, my first in four years! Big hugs!

Running In The Night (Color Set)

A black and white version of this pics can be found on the "All Systems Go" Listening Companion. Here you can see the original full color pics. 

h the video for "I Don't Wanna Fight", and it was too recent in time back then. So I saved this part of the session for the book but later decided to give them a grittier B&W look, more in sync with the song.

Pics taken by Martin Cortes on March 5, 2018

Update: I've added a previously  unreleased pic of that same sessi...

Rainbow (1st Demo 2019)

I designed the groove I used to write the melody and the lyrics of this song as I was finishing my first album "Songs For A Better Future".

I couldn't make it work then, but by march 2019 I had an idea and the result is this first demo. We recorded the vocals almost on the fly as I was trying to make sense of the lyrics draft I had and later changed that initial groove and adapted it to the new voice melody. As you can hear, I was a little lost with the bass line at first. Hearing it no...

Disco InFURno (Promo DJ Set 2019)

Here's another DJ Set. This is the one I did on 2019 preparing for that years BeefDip and as a request for the organization of BiggerVegas. You'll find plenty of disco here, it's a showcase of what you may hear on my Disco Infurno nights, only more thought to enjoy at home than in a club.

Hope you like it, please let me know :) Big hugs

Songs For A Better Future (Vault Part 1)

When we started taking pics for what would be the artwork of my first album, I wanted to toy around with the idea of retro futurism, so we took several pics that I later processed to make them look as old as possible. The inspiration for them were mostly painters and early photographers of the XIX century, and we took hundreds. These are a few of them, enjoy!

Pics taken by Martin Cortes on June 1st 2017.

Te Quiero Junto A Mi (Behind the scenes)

Our friends from the Growling collective in Colombia invited us to participate in their special Pride celebrations. Jose did for them an interview followed by a Dj set that was broadcasted last Friday July 26th and I did a quick music video for "Te Quiero Junto A Mi" (included on my second album "All Systems Go".

We went to a friends home to shoot it on Thursday July 25th. We got there at 17:00 and shot the clip in six takes. The original idea was to sing it live, but we didn't want to ...

Tell Me Why (Unreleased Pics) Gallery 2

Well, this is scary LOL

It's the first time I'm sharing this part of the video. Some of this stills belong to the unrated version, some of them are behind the scenes moments. The idea was to show bears in a beautiful environment and build an aspirational piece, something fellow bears around the world could look up to, a fantasy of our own.

And at the same time I thought we could send a nice message along, that's what the last still is about and what the third gallery will show, co...

At the pool (Part 3)

I edited this pic form last week's photoshoot by Martin Cortes and I thought it'd be great you had it before everyone else. This is the full resolution version. I still don't know when I'll make it public, enjoy!

With or without glasses (tbt)

Here's the full resolution pics from today's throwback thursday on my social media profiles. Pics were originally taken on 2014 by Woofioso Photography over a black background. I did the red background and lights editing today. I love to do this kins of "invisible" edits, were I add something to the picture that usually would be the last thing you noticed. I think it's a fun use of today's design tools. More exclusive content coming soon, hugs!

Love Is All That Matters (1st Demo 2019)

I began working on this song around this same day last year. I had a feeling of coziness I wanted to transmit in a song and notes began to flow. I felt I needed a song like this on the album, a glint of hope.

I drafted the first notes and left the song sitting down for a month, until July. As sometimes happens, that day it somehow came to life fully formed :) In one morning I had the music and lyrics, and the next day I recorded the demo vocals. Then on the third day I did this demo mix...

At the pool (Part 2)

Here are three more pics from last Tuesday’s photo shoot. I’ve shared cropped versions of two of them already on Twitter and Instagram but here are the full res versions plus a exclusive one just for you. I’m still editing pics from that day, so expect some more this week. Hope you’re having a great weekend, hugs!

Somebody (1st Demo 2014)

It was September of 2014 and I was just starting to rediscover old demos and getting excited about singing again. I recovered the demo from 1993 I shared with you last month and after hearing it I did this first draft. 

As you can hear it retains some of the classic elements but it's a draft of what the final album version would turn out to be. I have a third demo I want to share with you soon so you can have a glimpse at the full process. It's one of the things I most enjoy, diggi...