Ben Cornel shares his songwriting muse

Ben Cornel was born and raised in Montreal, but has been local to Yellowknife for the last four years.

Last year, at Folk on the Rocks, festival-goers saw him perform with Montreal based band MOOCH — a heavy psychedelic rock act. But this year, Cornel returned with a series of guitar-focused solo pieces and a new project: ‘Big Blue.’

“It was a really great weekend. I started my weekend performing on the Aurora Stage. I felt so grateful for the opportunity to get into the Folk mode, and to have a chance to shake off the nerves that I had. There was a really nice turnout during the day and I was really excited to be able to play on the main stage on Sunday. I felt like I was really able to be in a position to just enjoy and take in that moment and that performance. I felt really settled in the music.

“I had some time and space away from MOOCH [to develop Big Blue] and other musical partners I had been working within Montreal for several years. So it was a very new position for me to be in. It was also during the pandemic when there was a lot of disconnect. I took some time on my own to approach expressing myself musically in a different way, through a different genre. And honestly, being up here and in this new environment, really inspired me and informed the music that I was making to just be what started as an instrumental project.

“Big Blue is instrumental guitar music, that was really just an ode to the open space and water and sky around me. And very different than MOOCH, which is heavy psychedelic rock.

“The Big Blue, especially all the songs I performed at Folk, had lyrics to them. And all of these newer songs with lyrics that I’ve been writing for Big Blue have been some of the more personal introspections, lyrically, in terms of songwriting. All these songs come from a really personal place. Sometimes I’ve even been surprised. 

"There came a time when I was writing songs for Big Blue and I was surprised I was going to be singing about these feelings that I was having and I was like, ‘Wow, am I really going to hang these clothes out for everyone to see?’ And it just felt a bit vulnerable. But then I think I feel like I have the opportunity to connect with what I really deem to be really common, shared experiences of humanity, that you’re talking about, that I feel like people are more likely to be connecting with everything that I’m saying and reflecting upon things they’ve experienced in the same way.

“That’s what I wanted the lyrics of Big Blue to do is just to create these little moments to reflect and heal and share love and positive energy, and show that you’re not really alone in feeling these ways, whether that’s a period of time where you lose a little bit of self-love and get really down on yourself. So I sing a little bit about that, and how that’s felt for me. And, on the other end, getting out of those heads spaces is also a great feeling. I feel you go in and out of those zones sometimes, so, I just wanted to open up and share that with other people in the hopes that they can connect with it. And I’ve been really happy and grateful to see that that’s been the case for certain people who’ve shared that they’ve connected with the music in that way.

“In the writing, I feel like with MOOCH we write these pieces and sometimes they have these certain feelings and vibes of ‘what should this song be about?’ Or whoever takes the mic kind of writes it. But with Blue Blue, as I’ve been sitting down and come across a lick, or a piece of music on guitar, I’ve been finding myself just being like, Well, what am I feeling right now? What’s on my mind right now? And it’s almost like a journal, these songs — whatever’s on my mind that day — I’ll just be like, Let me right about that, and then that feels like the most natural, easy thing to put down into words and onto paper. Just kind of transforming these feelings that are inside me into words and getting them into music kind of helps me process them, in a way.

"And sometimes, I prefer to be writing alone, you know? When I’m singing and coming across these words, sometimes things come out and I’m like, Wow, I can’t believe I really said that. I’ve been feeling it, I guess... but’ to say it out loud, and to sing it out loud feels really different. Yeah, it’s been quite a different process, but I’ve been really enjoying it.

“It’s really rewarding to take those leaps, and to, kind of, pry around and discover and explore. Even if it does feel a little awkward or nerve-wracking. It is really rewarding to do that, and, I think, it can lead to some really great finds and some really great personal development. I think sharing that with people is really important, whether that’s sharing the inspiration with people, like going out to shows is really important. I can attribute so much of my inspiration to seeing other people on stage perform and engaging with their music and their energy and lyrics. [That's] really what inspires and has inspired me, is seeing people on the stage, and listening to their music live. I think live music is wonderful, even though recorded music is incredible and you can do so much in the studio. You can really be moved by live music.

For aspiring artists Cornel advises, “Try to connect with people at shows, for genres and bands that you like to see, if that’s possible. And I know there are a lot of promoters, and always opportunities for maybe pay-what-you-can, or to find a way to get to a show, even if the funds are tight, just reach out and try. I think a lot of people are open to accommodating access to live music. So I’d say live music is a huge melting pot for getting the courage and getting the inspiration to going off and doing something in your way.”