Ben Harper Gets Relentless

A new band, a new sound and a new president are all adding up to one great year for Ben Harper.

"I'm having the time of my life," Harper says of his new band, Relentless7.

The group's first album, White Lies For Dark Times, just came out and showcases a hard new blues sound. The band came as a surprise to Harper, who says he wasn't looking to embark on a new project.

"The whole thing blindsided me. It's a refreshing reminder that in the creative process — and in life in general — there's a place and time to let things happen. Had I gone out and tried to make something like this happen, I think I would've failed miserably."

As it happened, the band came together quite naturally after a chance meeting between Harper and guitarist Jason Mozersky, who played Harper a demo by his band, Wan Santo Condo. Harper liked their sound so much that he helped them get a record deal.

Although the band broke up shortly after their first album, Harper remained friends with Mozersky and brought him in to play on 2006's Both Sides Of The Gun. Harper refers to their chemistry in the studio that day as "thick," and was so affected by it he invited Mozersky back the next day.

Mozersky returned with a few of his musician friends — drummer Jordan Richardson and bassist Jesse Ingalls — and the quartet that's become known as Relentless7 was complete. That day's session yielded the single "Serve Your Soul."

"That chemistry was just so real, so thick," Harper says. "I always hoped we'd get back in a room together and reconnect with what that was and is.

"Five weeks after we entered the studio, we stepped out with an album we felt very strongly about. We felt the music commanded a statement from the band."

Harper wants fans to decide for themselves, despite his confidence in the band, and is emphatic that they be accepted on their own terms and not because of his name. To do that, Relentless7 will tour clubs and small venues.

"I think it could fill up any arena in the world, but you don't start there," Harper says. "We're taking baby steps.

"I don't want to force any Ben Harper accomplishments on Relentless7. We're starting where a new band should start."

The group already have some touring under their belts, since they've performed at several rallies for Rock The Vote, which encouraged young people to vote and get involved in the political process.

"For a long time, we've been suffering old world politics in a brave new electrical world," Harper explains. "It's been old boss same as the new boss for a long time.

"If America and the world want to move forward, they're going to have to rethink the way they do business and politics. It's such an amazing feeling now, to live in a nation that's at the forefront of that push for change."

For Harper, the political evolution is another inspiration in a year that's been rife with change.

"You could really feel it," he says of the Rock The Vote rallies. "Just being a tiny whisper in that huge shout for change.

"It was like a ground level swell, a tidal wave. It was another reminder that in culture and politics that change is there for the taking."

That inspiration is reflected in one of his favourite tracks on the new album, "Shimmer And Shine."

"It's sort of saying just shimmer and motherfucking shine, leave all that other dumb shit behind and just step up and glow. Celebrate now and be glad you even have a now to refer to."

Harper's happy with the now he's living in, and excited to bring his new sound to fans.

"It's taken everywhere I've been, every country I've been, every show I've played, every song I've written and every record I've made to be ready and able to make a record like this," he says. "This record is the celebration and accumulation and accomplishment of everything I've ever done."