Ben Harper's Relentless Band

Despite eight studio albums, years of industry experience and a fiercely devoted following, Ben Harper is again ready and willing to start from the ground up with his new blues rock outfit, Relentless7.

"I want us to earn it," Harper says of the new band. "I've hit the reset button officially.

"I'm making no presumptions and not trying to force this music down anybody's throat. This band has to go out and earn it one song at a time."

To do that, Harper & Relentless7 will play material from White Lies For Dark Times (due out May 5) at small venues that befit a new group.

"I want these songs to have a fighting chance in the world of rock music," says Harper. "I think this band deserves an objective look and listen, so we're taking baby steps and starting where a new band should start."

Harper met guitarist Jason Mozersky in 1998, when the lead singer of Mozersky's band at the time, Wan Santo Condo, played Harper a demo that impressed him so much that he helped them land a record deal.

Although Wan Santo Condo broke up after one album, Harper remained friends with Mozersky and brought him in to play on a track on 2006's Both Sides Of The Gun. Mozersky brought along his two bandmates, drummer Jordan Richardson and bassist/keyboardist Jesse Ingalls, and the chemistry was undeniable.

"I've done a lot of things and played with great musicians, but this was something new and unrecognizable," Harper said of their recording sessions. "Things were happening fast and furious and urgent and anxious."

White Lies For Dark Times marks a stylistic departure for Harper, showcasing a hard rock sound with a blues edge that's distinctive from his past work. He chalks it up to the band's unique chemistry.

"The sound really formed itself through the improvisation and wordless expression of the players. We never spoke, we just latched on to whatever was in thin air at that moment in the studio and directed it into the song. It was unheard of."

While Harper names optimistic anthem "Shimmer And Shine" and the more introspective ballad "Skin Thin" among his favourite tracks on the record, he talks glowingly of the whole thing.

"This has really been the musical and creative time of my life," he says. "I'm just so proud of this record.

"I think we've done something different and really smashed through to something that's going to be musically significant for a long time to come."

You can see Ben Harper & Relentless7 here:

April 9 Sydney, Australia @ Metro Theatre
April 11, 13 Byron Bay, Australia @ East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival
April 19 London, England @ HMV Forum
April 20 Paris, France @ La Cigalle
April 21 Bourges, France @ Le Printemps De Bourges
April 30 New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
May 1 Memphis, TN @ Beale Street Music Festival
May 2 Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
May 4 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
May 5 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
May 8 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg
May 9 Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre Of Living Arts
May 10 Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
May 12 Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
May 13 Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
May 15 Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
May 16 Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
May 25 George, WA @ The Gorge Amphitheatre (Sasquatch! Music Festival)
May 27 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
May 28 Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern Theatre
June 13 Manchester, TN @ Great Stage Park (Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival)
June 19 Neuhausen Ob Eck, Germany @ Southside Festival
June 20 Scheessel, Germany @ Hurricane Festival
June 22 Berlin, Germany @ Columbiahalle
June 23 Munich, Germany @ Tonhalle
June 25 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
June 26 Brussels, Belgium @ Couleur Cafe Festival
June 27 London, England @ Hyde Park (Hard Rock Calling)
July 11 Masontown, West Virginia @ All Good Festival
July 18 Commerce City, CO @ Hile High Music Festival