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Press & Critique
Ben Miller-multiphonic guitar/IN THE MOMENT on Detroit’s Two Rooms Records.
"As tasty as stereo prepared guitar improvisation gets. Detailed sonic manipulation in the style of early AMM. Minimal and engaging."
__ Dan Burke/Illusion of Safety, 2023
"There are a whole lot of interesting guitar oddities on IN THE MOMENT and I’m loving every second of it. Repetitious sonic globules weaving through tape glop and elephant trumpeting run headfirst into a minimalist brick wall. Voids appear, scratch out a few steel-cut melodies and saunter back into the luminous divide. Miller can play it all. Sprawling explorations dissipate into hazy webs. Whatever gets left behind is consumed by the woozy plucks stuck between two ghosts fighting for the last seat on the boat. Rhythmic spillage bleeds into an echo chamber that’s being eaten alive by howling scratches. In the Moment is one hell of a trip."
_ Foxy Digitalis April 2022
"This LP collects various multiphonic guitar works by Ben Miller, dating from the mid-’80s to three decades later, and including a few previously released tracks and live performances. The intention of these recordings is to push the instrument as far as it can go, using it as a rhythmic or textural device rather than playing clear melodies or mapping out traditional song structures. His very physical playing embraces all aspects of the instrument, pulling and smacking more sounds out of it than most people would think of. He playfully injects animal sound effects into “The Zoo”, then takes us on a patient avant-pop journey with the 11-minute “In the Skies and in the Stars”. The second side is heavy on electronics but more minimal overall, constructing drones instead of rhythms. Live piece “Glass Worms of the Fourth Stone” is the most alien one, using crackling radio transmissions and shorted electronics (and a Casio SK-1) to project towards another mode of perception."
_ The Answer is in the Beat, May 2022
" ... a rich vein of solo ideas and styles; an unhinged sonic palate."
_ Cary Loren, 2022
"In the Moment is a retrospective of the solo, multi-phonic guitar work of underground rock and experimental musician Benjamin Miller. Utilizing extended techniques, prepared objects and implements, and an array of processing, his approach to the electric guitar on In the Moment is almost like a polyphonic sound generator, fully apart from the tradition of Chuck Berry, Clapton and company. Alien tongues, ambient soundscapes, the sounds of mechanization and technology breaking down all emerge in the masterful manipulation of sound by Miller.
There is a lot for fans of traditional electric guitar to appreciate as well. With the wild technique and complex strand of sounds in the opener, "Statue of Digression," and the pop-song hook of the record’s only vocal performance, "In the Skies and the Stars,"In the Moment is a perfect gateway into experimental guitar music.
A member of significant art rock bands like Destroy All Monsters and The Glenn Branca Ensemble, his first recording was in 1969 as a teenage member of Sproton Layer, with his older brother Roger (later of Mission of Burma) and his identical twin Laurence. Languishing in obscurity until being properly released in 2011, their record With Magnetic Fields Disrupted displayed a guitar sound and overall sonic sensibility that presaged the edgiest rock of the following decade. Miller also recorded with both brothers in M3 and with Roger in M2, and has releases with groups including Nonfiction, GKW and Third Border, in addition to numerous records under Ben Miller/Degeneration."
_ Squid Co, 2021
Early Compositions 1973-76 / Miller Twins
_ Jon Davis December 2023
Interview on music by Ben, Laurence and Roger Miller.
_ Christopher Porter / Ann Arbor Pulp December 2022
THE FOURTH WORLD QUARTET / 1975
“This CD documents the band formed by the Miller brothers, Benjamin (guitar and alto sax), Laurence (bass clarinet), and Roger (piano, cornet, percussion), with Jack Waterstone (alto sax), a union that existed long enough for two performances followed by this recording, made in the band room of Grand Valley College in Grand Valley, MI in the titular year. Old enough to have first-hand experience with rock’s late ’60s breakthroughs (and in close proximity to burgeoning Detroit), the Miller brothers lost interest in the (rock) genre as it took a creative nosedive in the years before punk’s upheaval. Rather than rocking out, the focus is on experimentation, incorporating elements of avant-jazz (the influence of Anthony Braxton and Cecil Taylor is audible) and Contemporary Classical/ New Music (curious minds enlivened by the possibilities of Stockhausen; notably, all four members are credited as composers) with free improvisation part of the scheme. Similar to the belatedly released work of Sproton Layer (the Millers’ late ’60s-early ’70s psych-rock band), it’s striking how legitimately worthwhile (as opposed to just retrospectively interesting) The Fourth World Quartet’s music is. 45 years later, The Fourth World Quartet remains at the forefront. A-"
_ Cuneiform, June 2021
more Fourth World Quartet Reviews!
Regarding 2020’s In C(ovid) virtual performance by the Miller-Morton Ensemble of Detroit: all tracks were recorded separately from the musicians’ own homes. Post-production mixdown for audio by Ben Miller and video by John D Morton.
In C[OVID] Ensemble: John D Morton electric Guitar Pulse, Ben Miller acoustic-electric-bass guitars, Mike Khoury violin, Molly Jones flute, Kevin Gosa alto-soprano saxophones, Roger Clark Miller jaymar toy piano, Mike List marimba, Thom Monks vibraphone, John Keith wurlitzer, and Clem Fortuna accordion.
Video: https://youtu.be/0SldkN0Mg8Q
EMPOOL was a whacked-out prog-noise combo, that would eventually merge into the rock-band-era Destroy All Monsters. Empool only played three live shows, but they recorded everything. Guitarist Laurence Miller was a constant throughout. Organist Andre Cynkin was generally on hand as well. Laurence’s brothers, Ben and Roger, showed up now and then, as did pianist Rick Scott. The tracks on this album were recorded between December 1976 and September 1977. Structurally, the stuff is far away from No wave, but it has a lot of the same rough structural textures and jumbled sonics, although there’s also crazy tape noise. And stun guitar stirred into the mix. The fact that it’s mostly instrumental gives things a certain prog/experimental thrust that feels a bit parallel to the bands on the Random Radar label, but it runs wildly against the grain of anything else you’d hear in that era – a magnificent head scratcher."
_ Feeding Tube Records, July 2018
"Like a journey through bodies and landscapes living on borrowed time, the story of (Franck Vigroux’s) RUINES is experienced as a sensory odyssey. Inside, very high frequency algorithms collide with hallucinatory experiences in some no man’s lands around Detroit, with body mutations in a spoiled nature, as well as with the aging of objects and landscapes, ... Unlike the ancient ruins painted by Caspar David Friedrich, and however fascinating, our ruins verge on the point of no return."
_ Césaré, 2016 (translation)
Regarding Anne Carson’s "NOX"
“... the electric surges in Benjamin Miller’s score threaten to push past séance into horror-movie territory. Yet the way that a chaotic force seems to break through the classicism of the dancers’ Cunningham training is a fit analogue for the way that grief breaks through Ms. (Anne) Carson’s erudite attempt to contain it.”
NY Times 2012
"Miller leaves no stone unturned in his investigations into what sounds his instrument can be coaxed, seduced or pummeled into making, like an airliner coming in for a landing or a tree being dismembered by a gang of chainsaws - think robot Gort’s eye opening menacingly in The Day the Earth Stood Still. Unlike most free improvisers, Miller’s rhythmic vocabulary isn’t restricted to combinations of fewer than five attacks; he can extend passages with no apparent repetition of grouping and no underlying, constant pulse. This is challenging, rewarding work."
Glenn Hall / Exclaim Magazine 2010 (review Live Performances & Radio Broadcasts, Tigerasylum)
"...resonant with the history created by Kieth Rowe, John Cage, and Glenn Branca; fused together with his own virtuosity and touch."
Jordon Schranz / Tigerasylum Records 2010
"...initiates a stark boldness pertaining to his meticulously modified instrument, forgoing easy novelty for a demanding and rousing execution of pleasantly cryptic resonance. An exceptionally obscure venture into immaculate and subtle clamor."
_ Paul Haney / Obsolete Units 2010
"This warped, questing music is sometimes like a game of blind man’s bluff in a rotting warehouse: you feel that Miller has set things up so that he too doesn’t quite know what’s going on...he stays firmly in touch with the instrument’s sound, so if spokes are being forced through strings, that’s what you hear."
Clive Bell / WIRE Magazine 2008 (review Sirens of Phobos, Living Records)
"If new expressionists closed their eyes and painted what they saw then Ben Miller must be taping shut his ears and playing what he hears; blood thrashing through arteries, nerves popping, synapses burning,..doors knocking, feet bounding up echoed stairways...Formerly a part of the ’anti-rock band’ Destroy All Monsters, Miller takes the ’anti’ idea a step further."
Melissa Giannini / DET Metro Times 2001 (review Intercom, Living Records)
"...a genre-defying album (Intercom), no chord progressions or standard picking techniques are displayed here, a mesmerizing effort from one of the most progressive guitarists around."
Reckless Records, Chicago 2001
"...this mad scientist claws at a modified, tabletop Gibson. Its squeaks, croaks, frequency disruptions and energy fields assassinate Dirty Old Man River’s compositions, knocking them sideways and diluting their cabaretish flair."
Jordan Mamone / NY Press 2000 (Ageless, Radiao)
"...Miller’s chainsaw hum sputters almost subliminally, lurking in the shadows of the mix."
CMJ / 1998 (Dirty Old Man River, The Saddest Movie Screen, Radial)
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"Veteran experimental pop artist records faithful yet fresh-sounding covers of 2 of the trippiest Beatles songs backed by an ensemble of saxophone and percussion players lead by Ben Miller. You may think you never need to hear another Beatles cover in your life, and you may be right, but these covers are both truly fantastic. The songs themselves are both obviously masterpieces, but the saxophones are arranged creatively, with some backward effects and all manners of panning and dynamic control. And the thundering drums on “Strawberry Fields Forever”. And is she saying “I buried Paul” at the end? Awesome."
_ The Answer is in the Beat, 2015
"A wonderful saxophone orchestra." _ Terry Riley, 2013 (regarding Cloud 11 cdr)
"...fully embracing the spectral melodies and otherworldly timbres that emerge in multi-instrument settings...a haunting dissonant swoon like that of battling church organs, or a swarm of bugs." _ Christopher Weingarten / Village Voice 2009 (regarding Glow White)
"I’m sure this will be a first for saxophone orchestra." _ Ann Riley, 2009 (regarding In C)
"...reminiscent of The Microscopic Sextet. An interesting piece of work with chamber proclivities and many happy associations."
_ Size Matters, WIRE 2007 (regarding Every Room 45 rpm)
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Ben Miller interview regarding his time in Destroy All Monsters.
"Ben Miller played alto sax for Ann Arbor legends Destroy All Monsters during the group’s second incarnation with Niagara and Ron Asheton at the helm. As the driving force behind Third Border, however, Miller’s talent as a writer and performer becomes clear, and what leaps out is not without its own quirky charm. Rather than simply replay Miller’s art punk past, THIRD BORDER mix Prog with 60s UK psychedelic pop. Their timely version of Syd Barrett’s Jugband Blues is a fine example of the latter, an eccentrically orchestrated tribute which goes out in fine style with a mad marching band of saxophones and kazoos."
WIRE magazine Oct. 2006
"While not as well known as the Stooges or the MC5, DESTROY ALL MONSTERS were another Ann Arbor band whose influence far outstretched its life as an active band. Combining art punk, free jazz, garge rock and lead singer Niagara’s histrionics, Destroy All Monsters were the hidden link between the Velvet Underground and no-wave bands like Sonic Youth."
Josh Steichmann / Ann Arbor Current 2004