Interview: Ben Coleman

From 1988 to 1994, Ben Coleman’s distinctive violin playing graced multiple No-Man releases and live shows.

What made you pick up the violin in the first place?

In the first place… was walking with my dad, downtown near the coast and heard a sound I never heard before.. it was a fiddler on the street corner, when I looked all I saw was a scroll .. I was captivated by the image and the concept of the violin as my future instrument was born.. I was 4 years old.

Who would you say were your influences

Stephane Grappelli & Jean Luc Ponty all the way dude. Couldn’t get enough of these guys in my teens. In the 90’s I met Nigel Kennedy who is a great guy and now friend who also totally influenced me as well.

How did you first hear about No-Man and what were your first impressions of Tim and Steven?

I saw an add in the Melody Maker that was looking for a violin player to join a writing duo, I found that very interesting and made contact.. and as they say: the rest is…

I found the lads very creative and was quite impressed with Tim’s voice. I enjoyed the combination of sounds we created together.

What did you see your role as in the creative process for No-Man and how did that change over time?

My role in the creative process was to enhance melody lines and come up with the occasional solo to nudge the piece in the direction it naturally dictated. This was first and foremost my role and didn’t really change as they were the original writers. I came last into the equation at that early stage.

How did “Housekeeping,” “Heaven Taste” & “Sweetheart Raw” come about and can you go into detail about the recording process for the tracks?

The 3 tracks you mentioned were played to me and I obviously liked them a lot and was trying different ideas on them until we all decided upon the ones that worked the best for the tracks. As usual for me the songs naturally suggested what is likely to come, and what could possibly enhance and define. It was very enjoyable working on the songs and sounds and taking them in the direction they ended up as.

What were the early No-Man live shows like?

Early No-Man shows were fairly standard and not terribly exciting for me as we were all young and not very experienced doing “live.” Let’s just say they weren’t overly animated. As we progressed we found our feet so to speak and became  naturally much more comfortable on stage hence giving shows that were better received.

Working with JBK was a little bit difficult for me personally as these boys have come from a very rich background of live performances and knew each other very well. So jelling with them wasn’t an overnight thing and I believe that had a  some what knock on effect on the live shows, the recording process with them was much more comfortable as we had the time to tweak away and present the compositions in a much more relaxed & favorable way.

Both Tim and Steven have expressed some misgivings about Loveblows & Lovecries along with Lovesighs and the singles from that period. Do you feel the same way? In your eyes how has the material held up?

I don’t have any special memories about Loveblows. I think we tried to please One little Indian and that compromised our output somewhat.

Flowermouth turned 20 last year. What are your feelings about the album as a whole? Are you happy with how the material has held up over the years?

For me personally, I believe this record held within it the “classic No-Man spirit” and we stuck to our musical vision in a much stronger way. Fripp & Carr enhanced the music no end and it was very exciting experience for me personally at the time (even if I was on tea duties). The material held its own in my opinion and I believe it stood the test of time, a testimony to a bunch of well written & well produced classic songs. A good moment for No-Man.

The track “Things Change” from Flowermouth ends with a fearsome solo from you. How did that come about? Was that originally part of the demo or something added on the fly?

The solo on “Things Change” was playing in my mind after listening to the track a few times. When I finally recorded it, it was like it was there already and all I had to do is put the actual notes down .. a somewhat weird and wonderful experience.

You departed the band shortly before work on Flowermouth finished? How did that come about?

My departure from the band at the time came because of artistic differences. We were all much younger and full of artistic passion which ran higher that it probably should have. That was then and now things would have probably been solved differently, I’m quite sure of that.

What are your impressions of No-Man’s later albums like Returning Jesus and Together We’re Stranger?

The later albums that came after my departure have a sense of melancholy About them I find, beautiful with an air of sadness 

How did your involvement with the Porcupine Tree track “What Happens Now?” come about?

My involvement with “What Happens Now?” came about as I was asked if I could contribute to the composition by Steven. I loved the drama and ambiance of it and found the track very interesting and it inspired me to do the solo. The track suggested a certain flair & feel and I did my best to accommodate it.

How did you end up working with the Italian artist Alice?

Regarding the tour with JBK and Alice.. I was asked by them if I would like to tour and This was quite an exiting prospect At that time and a great opportunity to travel Europe and meet other musicians. It was a lovely interesting experience..

You made an unexpected return to the stage with Steven and Tim in 2008. What was it like performing with them for the first time since 1993? 

My 2008 guest performance with the band was interesting as I found the sound changed lots in the live context, it was louder and rockier obviously. It was a good experience.

You worked with David Gilmour (former Pink Floyd guitarist) for a bit. What exactly did you collaborate on him with?

Regarding D. Gilmour, I was in a band with Nick Laired Clowes (Dream Academy lead singer/songwriter) at the time who is a close friend of David,( the bands name was Trashmonk). It was around 2002 and David had a tour planned and I cheekily suggested Nick should ask David if we could be the warm up band to which he said yes. We later did a few more musical endeavors and collaborations on some other projects that Nick was working on at the time.

Tim recently expressed interest in touring No-Man in a radically different format than the 2008 and 2012 tour. Would you be interested in performing as part of No-Man again?

Of course I would be very happy to collaborate on a future live show with Steven & Tim again. After all this time and our gained musical experience, I feel it could be very promising .

(Special thanks to Anil Prasad, Jakub Kurek, Mike Bearpark and Richard Smith for their assistance)