Ben Abraham is an award-winning L.A.-based singer/songwriter from Melbourne, Australia. His 2014 self-released debut LP Sirens earned widespread critical praise, leading to a 2016 reissue via indie label Secretly Canadian. Featuring appearances from Sara Bareilles and Gotye, the album was hailed by the New York Times as “a debut of remarkable depth.” While Sirens catalyzed his career as an in-demand songwriter – co-writing tracks like Kesha’s double-platinum, Grammy Award-winning smash hit “Praying” – he also experienced the most tumultuous period of his life, including a serious breakup and ensuing crisis of faith. In the thick of all that upheaval, Abraham created his sophomore album Friendly Fire – originally due out August 2021 via Atlantic Records – finally released in March 2022.
Abraham’s album ‘Friendly Fire’ is a stunning body of work, chronicling a massively life-altering period of time in the singer-songwriter’s life. Previously released tracks off the album include: ‘War In Your Arms’, ‘Requiem’, and ‘Like A Circle’, which have amassed millions of streams globally and been met with praise from American Songwriter, Clash and more.
Ben has also become somewhat of a TikTok sensation, gaining fans by posting snippets of his vocal capabilities paired with his sharp and witty sense of humour. His rendition of ‘O Holy Night’ went viral over the holiday break, garnering over 5M views and gaining Ben over 1000K followers from the video alone.
Speaking of the album, Abraham says:
“If a big theme of my first album was finding faith, then my new album explores what happens when you lose it. Runaway was the first song I wrote, and in many ways set the template of what was to follow. I had met the person I was certain I was going to marry but ultimately – during a very difficult time – was unfaithful to. All hell broke loose, and I was forced to re-evaluate everything I’d believed to be true. My new album is the story of an unravelling and the track ‘Runaway’ is how it begins.”
As “Friendly Fire” finally got released, we caught up with Ben again to chat about the album, the inspiration behind it, his recent “Walk & Sing” video series and his hopes for the future.
