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Following the release of opening single ‘Back Again’ ft. Arrested Development & Speech last month, London-based musician Ben Marc releases the first EP instalment of his upcoming album, alongside a video for ‘Love.’ Though conceived as a single body of work, 'Who Cares Wins' will be rolled out in three stages — two four-track EPs arriving in October and November respectively, followed by the full 14-track LP in December. This staggered release mirrors Marc’s layered approach to music-making, allowing each chapter of the album to shine before it comes together as a whole. Despite its contemporary energy, one of the album’s quirkiest inspirations comes from the ’70s detective show Columbo, whose adventurous jazz scores fascinated Marc as much as the character’s swagger. For him, that sense of experimentation is at the heart of music. As Astatke once reminded him, “It’s for the people.” That philosophy defines 'Who Cares Wins': genre-bending, collaborative, and deeply human. Marc had this to say on EP track ‘Love,’ the video of which is out:
“Love is built out of unity and this song reminds me of ambling through a field hand in hand with joy. It brings a circular movement and repetition which enables growth, trust, and renewal—an endless rhythm that carries us back to one another.”
Marc is an artist who’s always blurred lines and criss-crossed boundaries. Over the years, he's has worked with Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, Ethio-jazz legend Mulatu Astatke, Afrofuturist pioneers Sun Ra Arkestra, and grime icon Dizzee Rascal — constantly finding ways to connect distant musical worlds. Marc chose his stage name as a reflection of his dual identity: “Ben,” the nickname given to him in the jazz collective Tomorrow’s Warriors, and “Marc,” from his Birmingham upbringing steeped in hip-hop, reggae, and soul. During the pandemic, while volunteering with the NHS, he began shaping 'Who Cares Wins’ as a project that could hold all those sides of himself. “I ended up thinking, ‘Well, it’s a genre — it’s just me,’” he explains. Raised between Birmingham and the Caribbean island of Carriacou, Marc grew up immersed in diverse musical traditions that made him a natural nomad and a versatile player. Whether on bass, guitar, keys, or cello, he became a trusted collaborator in jazz, soul, and electronic circles. He has played with the Sun Ra Arkestra, toured the world with Astatke, and co-founded the experimental trio Zed-U with Shabaka Hutchings and Tom Skinner — a project that later linked him with Jonny Greenwood and Yorke’s band The Smile.
Marc’s 2022 debut 'Glass Effect' distilled his influences into a madcap, J Dilla-inspired fusion that Pitchfork praised as “evocative and full of integrity.” But he sees it as just a beginning. For 'Who Dares Wins,' Marc set up his own studio, surrounding himself with synths, drums, strings, and guitars, and embracing a freer, more mature sound. “I’ve just grown as a producer and artist,” he says. The album title riffs on the British Special Air Service motto "Who Dares Wins,” twisting it into something cheeky and rebellious. That spirit guides the music, where grooves, samples, and wide-ranging collaborations combine into a sound that feels both restless and rooted. Kay Young, Khazali, Wahid, and Speech each bring distinct textures, while tracks like “The Blues” and “Cheddar Man” highlight Marc’s playful, exploratory production.
'Who Cares Wins’ Pt. 1 Track list
Love
Take Control
Back Again (feat. Arrested Development & Speech)
Get You Gone (feat. Kay Young)
The London-based musician, born Neil Charles, chose his stage name as a reflection of his dual identity: “Ben,” the nickname given to him in the jazz collective Tomorrow’s Warriors, and “Marc,” from his Birmingham upbringing steeped in hip-hop, reggae, and soul. During the pandemic, while volunteering with the NHS, he began shaping 'Who Cares Wins’ as a project that could hold all those sides of himself. “I ended up thinking, ‘Well, it’s a genre — it’s just me,’” he explains. Raised between Birmingham and the Caribbean island of Carriacou, Marc grew up immersed in diverse musical traditions that made him a natural nomad and a versatile player. Whether on bass, guitar, keys, or cello, he became a trusted collaborator in jazz, soul, and electronic circles. He has played with the Sun Ra Arkestra, toured the world with Astatke, and co-founded the experimental trio Zed-U with Shabaka Hutchings and Tom Skinner — a project that later linked him with Jonny Greenwood and Yorke’s band The Smile.
Marc’s 2022 debut 'Glass Effect' distilled his influences into a madcap, J Dilla-inspired fusion that Pitchfork praised as “evocative and full of integrity.” But he sees it as just a beginning. For 'Who Dares Wins,' Marc set up his own studio, surrounding himself with synths, drums, strings, and guitars, and embracing a freer, more mature sound. “I’ve just grown as a producer and artist,” he says.
The album title riffs on the British Special Air Service motto "Who Dares Wins,” twisting it into something cheeky and rebellious. That spirit guides the music, where grooves, samples, and wide-ranging collaborations combine into a sound that feels both restless and rooted. Kay Young, Khazali, Wahid, and Speech each bring distinct textures, while tracks like “The Blues” and “Cheddar Man” highlight Marc’s playful, exploratory production.
Though conceived as a single body of work, 'Who Cares Wins' will be rolled out in three stages — two four-track EPs arriving in October and November, followed by the full 14-track LP in December. This staggered release mirrors Marc’s layered approach to music-making, allowing each chapter of the album to shine before it comes together as a whole. Despite its contemporary energy, one of the album’s quirkiest inspirations comes from the ’70s detective show Columbo, whose adventurous jazz scores fascinated Marc as much as the character’s swagger. For him, that sense of experimentation is at the heart of music. As Astatke once reminded him, “It’s for the people.”
That philosophy defines 'Who Cares Wins': genre-bending, collaborative, and deeply human. “It’s about bringing people together,” Marc says. “I’m just trying to bridge the gap.”
Read more about it up on CLASH: https://www.clashmusic.com/news/ben-marc-launches-new-album-who-cares-wins/
Fresh off the release of his debut full length Glass Effect, London-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Ben Marc has just shared the third clip from a series of live performance clips recorded live at London’s Corsica Studios. “Way We Are” is an easy highlight from the album, and Marc’s crack six-piece band demonstrate an elastic ability to stretch the simmering grooves of the original to the outer limits of free jazz improvisation and bring it back intothe pocket at will. Served as a trio the performance clips underscore the diverse scope of Marc’s singular vision that chart his own musical journey from studying classical music, to becoming a key collaborator in the burgeoning London jazz scene, to immersing himself dance and hip hop production techniques, and on.
“Often classified as a jazz artist, though obviously when you listen there’s a whole lot more going on in his music than that. On Glass Effect he keeps pushing the boundaries, he just keeps pushing out and stretching.” - NPR
"swirling arrangements—which synthesize jazz, hip-hop, neoclassical, and electronic" - PITCHFORK
“The music swirls and floats past like a multi-coloured cloud” - STEREOGUM
"It’s one part Four Tet to Freddie Hubbard, the intersection where Bonobo meets Blue Note, reflective of the contemporary UK jazz scene’s penchant for modern club sounds as well as traditional jazz performance.” - TREBLE
Producer and multi-instrumentalist Ben Marc, a key figure of London’s cutting edge jazz scene, has just released his debut full length, Glass Effect, via Innovative Leisure. A follow up to last September’s acclaimed Breathe Suite EP, the album is an assured and accomplished 13-track realization of a singular vision that unifies a multitudinous profusion of influences (from free-jazz, to broken beat, to hip hop and beyond) into a sublime whole, underscoring his quest for a distinctive sound: lambent and low-key, yet dizzyingly intricate. The album is rounded out by stunning LP artwork and packaging by accomplished designer Vlad Sepetov (Kendrick Lamar, Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, Brittany Howard). As a counterpoint to the album’s meticulously layered production, the last couple of weeks Marc has shared a pair of raucous and soulful live studio videos by his crack six-piece band performing album highlights “Mustard” and “First Batch,” underscoring just how potent his songwriting is.
It’s a rare talent that can link Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke, Afrofuturists Sun Ra Arkestra, and grime legend Dizzee Rascal, but Marc has long blurred musical worlds and criss-crossed boundaries. On double and electric bass, he flits between jazz, classical, and electronic music, whether playing on Greenwood’s award-winning score for the film The Master or touring with Astatke for over 10 years, as well as working with the likes of Matthew Herbert, Charles Mingus, China Moses, and Soweto Kinch – and even joining Tina Turner onstage.
Marc, the alias of Neil Charles, has quite the musical pedigree. While studying classical double bass at the prestigious Trinity College of Music in London, Marc had a chance meeting with Gary Crosby, linchpin of Tomorrow’s Warriors (the crucial London jazz educators that connect the UK new wave luminaries, from Nubya Garcia to Moses Boyd) after which the possibility of jazz shone like a beacon. This began a game-changing journey that led him to play with the jazz group Empirical and then to form the free-jazz trio Zed-U, alongside Shabaka Hutchings (Sons of Kemet, The Comet is Coming) and drummer Tom Skinner (The Smile), whose collaborations ignited a new passion in Marc for electronic music.
One of the reasons that he started writing Glass Effect, says Marc, was going to nightclubs in Ibiza and experiencing the heady sun-dappled euphoria of a summery dancefloor, as well as the beat-driven production of artists like Four Tet, Bonobo, Machinedrum, DJ Shadow, and Madlib. But the album also wears its London influence prominently - on “Jawbone,” there are echoes of broken beat, the genre that came out of house and 2step in the early-2000s, while the Mike Skinner of the new UK scene, Joshua Idehen, intones over the brass-led “Dark Clouds” about the resilience of being a Black man in the city. Ultimately, Glass Effect is an uplifting record. “Keep Moving,” a track Marc wrote in Japan in a hotel room at 4am after a show with Jose James, and which again features Attica Blues singer Midnight Roba on stunning vocals, feels like it’s beckoning a bright future over daintily dancing flute. “It’s hopeful,” says Marc of the album. “We all need as much of that as we can get.”