Like most musicians who make a splash in their teens, Ben Lee has had a hard time finding his footing in his twenties. First, his American record label, Grand Royal, closed after the release of his 1999 album Breathing Tornados, and then, during the first half of the 2000s, shifting pop trends -- plus a general unspoken consensus that he was no longer a pop wunderkind now that he was in his twenties -- pushed him out of the limelight. He managed to get an album out in his native Australia in 2002, a move that didn't get nearly as much attention in the U.S. as his 2003 breakup with celebrity girlfriend Claire Daines. So, approaching the halfway point of his twenties and the 2000s, Lee was adrift, but he managed to regroup, at least artistically, with his 2005 album Awake Is the New Sleep. Reteaming with renowned indie rock producer Brad Wood, who helmed his 1997 LP Something to Remember Me By, Lee returns to the gently melodic, tentatively introspective indie pop that marked his best work of the '90s, but there is a difference here. Where that record, along with much of his previous work, was marked by a shy innocence, Lee is older now. He's been through the wringer and has had his heart broken, and it's given his music a greater emotional resonance. That alone would have made Awake Is the New Sleep noteworthy, but what makes it stand alongside Something to Remember Me By as his strongest album is that he's written a strong, melodic set of songs and Wood has given them a colorful but unadorned production that gives each tune its own character. It's not a great change -- he's still a gentle, low-key pop singer/songwriter in the vein of Evan Dando -- but the subtle changes in tone and perspective make Awake Is the New Sleep a nice, low-key comeback and an album that proves that Lee is beginning to reach his musical maturation.

Ben Lee delivers a career-defining release built on his belief that the best song in the world should be the catchiest, and should be popular, and should be the cleverest and the most soulful. RIPE, Lee’s 6th album, continues Ben’s trademark pop craftsmanship, sense of humor and uncontainable passion for life, as well as representing a marked maturity in form. The 12-song set includes the exuberant weeping ballad Love Me Like The World Is Ending, the infectious track Blush, an ode to a personal hero in What Would Jay-Z Do?, and the Mandy Moore duet Birds & Bees.

2009 release, the seventh album from the Australian singer/songwriter. The Rebirth of Venus was produced by Brad Wood, who also produced Ben's breakout Awake Is The New Sleep (as well as his critically acclaimed debut Grandpaw Would and sophomore album Something To Remember Me By). Other musicians who appear on the album include Missy Higgins, Cary Brothers, Patience Hodgson of The Grates, John Alagia (producer of Ripe) and longtime collaborators and musicians Lara Meyerratken and Nic Johns. A portion of proceeds from albums sold will be donated to FINCA's Village Banking program. FINCA offers financial services, not charity, to the world's lowest-income women entrepreneurs. This creates jobs, builds assets and generally improves the standard of living in these destitute communities.

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歌手简介转自网络：
一位澳大利亚唱作人。年轻时曾在大学组建名叫 Noise Addict 的乐队，受到 Sonic Youth 的 Thurston Moore 青睐，并在后者自己的厂牌下发表专集，从而成名.
还是在1993年，时年只有13岁的Bee Lee和他的两个同年的校友组建了一支名叫Noise Addict的乐队，并且用简陋的设备为自己录制了一盘小样。在乐队的第一场演出中，一位悉尼音乐圈的“大人物”对这个“童子军”产生了浓厚的兴趣，这就是最初将Nirvana介绍到澳洲的Steve Pavlovic，他同时也是独立唱片公司Fallaheen的老板。后来Steve Pavlovic成了Ben Lee的资助人，并且在他的介绍下这支少年乐队有机会把他们的音乐介绍到更远的地方。而在转过年的春天，十四岁的Ben Lee收到了来自纽约著名摇滚乐队Sonic Youth的吉他手Thurston Moore的回信，Thurston Moore说他很喜欢“孩子们”的摇滚作品，并且答应他们在自己的厂牌Ecstatic Peace为乐队发表一张EP专辑。在这张专辑中收录了Noise Addict的第一首正式主打单曲——《Wish I Was Him》，它歌唱了Ben Lee是多么想成为像自己的偶像——The Lemonheads乐队的主唱Evan Dando一样的人物，后来Evan Dando也听到了这首歌曲，他表示这是一份很有纪念意义的礼物，并且录制了翻唱版本并收录在他自己的专辑中。在Evan Dando的介绍下，Beastie Boys的成员Mike D听到了来自Noise Addict的样带，并且十分满意，于是Ben Lee正式来到了Beastie Boys的私人厂牌—Grand Royal。就这样，Ben Lee在Grand Royal一下子遍度过了4年的光景，从Noise Addict到他的个人事业，直到专辑《Something to Remember Me By》的发表他才离开。
Ben Lee一直就是个傻乎乎的只知道拿着吉他唱歌的阳光大男孩，在发表《Something to Remember Me By》的时候他也只有18岁，从他所歌唱的主题中我们就可以看出真实的年龄，因为那些阳光歌曲唱的全都是快乐和简单的情感。全部的乡村摇滚路线，全部的箱琴吉他，要说Ben Lee离开澳洲来到纽约之后的惟一变化，那就是他的歌曲更加清新和简单了。专辑中的很多歌曲都有着明显的Evan Dando式的创作模式，当然也许是受他的影响太多，Ben Lee无法逃脱那种迷人的纯美气息，在类如歌曲《Deep Talk In The Shallow End》的配器方面，那种在背景处点缀声音的手法太让人怀念90年代的另类摇滚风格了，这比时下那些以“乱”为美的新团体要强的多。
05年在澳大利亚音乐大奖中成为最大赢家，凭借专辑《Awake is The New Sleep》获得最佳男歌手奖、最佳独立创作奖，同时李还凭借 专辑中的歌曲《Catch My Disease》获得本年度最佳单曲奖。

Melding his pop savvy younger days with an assured optimism and matured musicianship, Awake Is The New Sleep breaks definitive ground for Ben Lee.

The title track is back with 'Float On', 'No Right Angles' (Live At Kexp, Seattle), 'Something Borrowed, Something Blue' (Live For KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic) & 'Catch Me Disease' (Demo). Also includes an enhanced section featuring the music video 'Gamble Everything For Love'. Inertia Recordings. 2005.