OpticalLight Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) Just heard an interview this morning on Triple J - Ben Lee's been delving into the world of ayahuasca. The interview will be up on the podcast later today. It was only a short interview, and Ben didn't go into that much detail.... it sounded like Tom and Alex didn't really know how to react when Lee started discussing ayahuasca. They did ask Ben if he had ever taken it, and Ben said yes; he had been working with Ayahuasca. Looks like Ben Lee also published a brief article on Ayahuasca when he was guest editing Magnet Magazine last year- From The Desk Of Ben Lee: Ayahuasca October 11, 2011 Ben Lee had barely cracked the puberty code when he fronted renowned Aussie alt-rock combo Noise Addict, and as a well-weathered 16-year-old, he began his debut solo album, the mature yet still naive Grandpaw Would. Lee’s third album, Breathing Tornados, garnered best male artist and album of the year nominations in Australia. After 2002’s big-selling hey you. yes you., Lee started his own label and released the most upbeat album in his increasingly dark catalog, 2005’s Awake Is The New Sleep, requiring him to compose acceptance speeches for best male artist, best independent release and single of the year wins at home. Lee’s impressive string of successes continued with 2007’s Ripe, but the streak stopped with 2009’s The Rebirth Of Venus. The quasi-concept album of Lee’s ruminations on women was almost universally derided as half-baked philosophical twaddle set to a weirdly diverse pop soundtrack. Simultaneously, he was also examining the inherent power of dreams with Dr. Jan Lloyd, whose death last year inspired Lee to again brave the concept-album waters with Deeper Into Dream (Dangerbird), a loosely threaded set about the mind movies our brains script, direct and discard every single night. Lee will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him. Lee: There is something truly remarkable occurring in the Western world at the moment, and that is the increasingly widespread ceremonial use of ayahuasca, a medicinal psychotropic plant from peru. It is referred to reverentially by people that use it as “the medicine” and the experience of being under its influence as “doing the work.” It’s hard to describe, but it’s important to note that this is in no way a “party drug” and seems to have little chance of being taken in a recreational direction. I have experienced it several times, and each time, it was like every cell in my body and every fibre of my being was being examined and stretched and cleansed and taught. In the amazon it is sometimes referred to both as the “death vine” and “the grandmother,” as it takes you through a death and rebirth experience with a loving touch, pushing you to reach the potential of your being. http://www.magnetmag...-lee-ayahuasca/ There's a documentary showing on ABC1 tonight about the life of Ben Lee, at 9.30pm; I doubt there will be anything about aya in the doco... - haven't seen it yet myself... - still sounds interesting though! Ben Lee: Catch My Disease IAN CUTHBERTSON The Australian January 30, 2012 10:27AM AN official selection at the 2011 Melbourne Film Festival, this documentary presents Lee as a minor deity, a view, you sense, that he would agree with completely. I never did catch his disease. I find him hard to like. The normally not terribly outspoken Bernard Fanning once described him as "a precocious little c. . .". It is eye-opening, though, to see beautiful women such as Winona Ryder and Claire Danes fighting over the singer-songwriter. I could well have done without the sustained footage of Lee and Danes making out with tongues, and ditto the shirtless moments in bed, in New York, in 1997. Actress Michelle Williams, it seems, was touched by Lee's power and beauty, as were Jason Schwartzman (Bored to Death), Zooey Deschanel (New Girl) and Sean Ono Lennon. Some people would have had the grace to retract the statement that their own album was the best Australian album ever, with the only competition being AC/DC's Back in Black. Not Lee. Danes insists he was playing the character of an arrogant guy at the time. Great move if your objective is to annoy people and leave an everlasting impression of smugness. I don't think this program will win Lee many new fans, but I suspect that the beautiful women who love him, the established artists who admire him, and the fans he already has will lap it up. Ben Lee: Catch My Disease, Monday, 9.30pm, ABC1 http://www.theaustra...l-1226257033009 Anyone checked out his latest album, Deeper into Dream? Edited January 30, 2012 by OpticalChatpie 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seldom Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) edit: edited. Edited January 30, 2012 by bulls on parade Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chnt Posted January 30, 2012 i'd watch it if he did indeed discuss aya Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
