Birth name Benjamin Ely Name Ben Ely | Labels Valve, Warner Bros. Years active 1993–present Role Musician | |
Born 13 September 1970 (age 53)
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia ( 1970-09-13 ) Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter, animator, producer Instruments Guitar, vocals, keyboard, synthesizer, drums Music groups Regurgitator (Since 1993), Pangaea, The Stalkers, Decoder Ring (2003 – 2004), Broken Head Genres Rock music, Alternative rock, Hip hop music, Electronica Albums Mish Mash!, Tu‑Plang, SuperHappyFunTimesFriends, Unit, Eduardo and Rodri | ||
Associated acts Regurgitator, Pangaea |
ben ely performing 'hurricane' (live)
Ben Ely (born 13 September 1970) is an Australian musician and artist best known for his work with Brisbane indie/alternative rock band Regurgitator, a multi-ARIA Music Award winning group which formed in Brisbane, Australia in December 1993.
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Early life
Born in Brisbane, Ely's family moved to the outer suburb of Cleveland. During his high school years he became friends with musicians members Dave Atkins and Jim Sinclair, with whom he would later form Pangaea. He met guitarist Quan Yeomans in 1993, with whom he formed Regurgitator. He claims that meeting Yeomans is the most important thing that has ever happened to him, stating that "I am a big fan of his work. I guess that helps when you play in a band with them". With regard to his musical influences, Ely has previously stated "Metallica and Black Sabbath made me who I am today".
Music
Aside his tenure in Regurgitator, Ely has worked on other music projects:
Ely also co-wrote, (together with Decoder Ring), the music to the 2004 Australian film Somersault, starring Abbie Cornish. The soundtrack won an AFI Award for Best Original Music Score and the song 'Somersault' won the 2004 Best Original Song Composed for a Feature Film, Telemovie, TV Series or Mini-Series Award at the Australian Screen Music Awards.
Personal life
Ely is also a successful practising artist and has exhibited work at The TAP Gallery in Darlinghurst, Sydney, and Flipbook Gallery in Brisbane as well as an exhibition in Fitzroy, Melbourne with his female Ouch My Face band mate.
Game Over! art exhibition.