Aisle 9
Aisle 9
a perfect synthesis of sound and style
Artist Bio
Aisle 9 (aka Tim Benson) started his career in music busking on the streets at age 12. His love of music developed rapidly in his mid-teens and after art school he decided to go all in with his music career. Now spanning nearly 3 decades in the industry—working mainly as a record producer—he’s worked with hundreds of artists across all genres.
His love of electronic music started with the trance, rave, and festival scene of the late ’90s before he moved back into playing guitar in Alt Rock bands Seven Seconds Later and The Remedy in the early ’00s. For the past 17 years, he has been touring extensively both in the UK and Europe as a guitarist with Beats Working.
An accomplished songwriter, sound engineer, and musician, his style—although based around Synthwave—crosses boundaries and genres. Experience lush synths, treated samples, text-to-speech voices, vocoders, driving bass, rock guitars, and killer grooves. You’ll find plenty of pop sensibility, Electronica, Synthwave, Synth Pop, New Wave, Chillwave, Rock, Hip-Hop, and even Ambient elements here.
“Miami Knights”
“My debut Single ‘Miami Knights’ is in many ways a love story. Perhaps a lonely one. Possibly a tragedy. Loosely inspired by the incredible ’80s cult film Miracle Mile. It’s kind of a tale of random people thrown together in the face of oncoming disaster. I think it’s so often difficult circumstances that bring us together, that ignite the spark of love.”
The oceans flow
“For me, lyrics tend to come when I start to have a visual. It’s like a film begins to roll in my head. I can watch the movie and describe the characters, the emotions, and the scenes as they appear.”
What is the inspiration behind your music?
“My inspiration calls on diverse influences such as New Order, The Cure, Tangerine Dream, OMD, Kraftwerk, Massive Attack, Jean-Michel Jarre, Orbital, The Grid, The Midnight, Essenger, Pylot, Daft Punk, and William Orbit to name but a few.”
Do you have any favorite instruments in your collection?
“I have a PC running Cubase 12 Pro. UAD Apollo Interface, Mackie HR824s, Neumann TLM103, Fender, Gibson, Tokai, and Ibanez guitars. Mesa Boogie and HiWatt Amps. Plugins from Waves, UAD, Sonic Academy, U-he, East West, Native Instruments, and Cherry Audio, etc.”
What kinds of upcoming projects are you working on?
“My upcoming track ‘Wonderland’ is a wild dark Synthwave ride through the streets and clubs of early ’80s LA. It is inspired by the still unsolved ‘Four On The Floor’ murders of 1981 that happened at 8763 Wonderland Avenue in Laurel Canyon; by life in the fast lane, the death of the Peace and Love movement, and the birth of the Disco era. The end of the ’70s, the beginning of the ’80s with new dreams, new drugs, and the mayhem that followed them.”
Are you planning any live shows this year?
“I’ll be playing on February 25th at Duskwaves at The Fleece in Bristol, UK. Then on June 10th at Synth Wars, Latest Music Bar, Brighton. This will be a live appearance with Chris Keya. More live dates to come.”
What is it about Synthwave that you love?
“My interest in Synthwave and Retrowave peaked just before the pandemic. It seemed to be a perfect blend of nostalgia, retro influences, modern production, synths, and guitars. As for so many others, lock-down was the perfect excuse to start writing, and Aisle 9 was finally born. My debut single ‘Miami Knights’ came out on January 14th, 2022, and was met with a really strong reception, quickly making it on to radio, and featuring in hundreds of that year’s Synthwave playlists. Now with over 120K in streams and a fast-growing social media following, I have finally found a way back to producing my own music once again.”
“I love the width of the Synthwave genre. It has a strong identity and a passionate following, yet it embraces both songwriting and instrumentals, modern and retro sounds. I love that it’s very visual too. The soundtrack to a million movies, it’s the music of our dystopian future and the nostalgic anthem to a golden past. I love that it’s all driven by a DIY ethic. Lots of independent producers making music for music’s sake.”
A Message from Aisle 9
“You can help me by enjoying my music and if you want to help support what I do, you can follow me on my socials, buy some merch from my shop or purchase my music from Bandcamp.”
Support Aisle 9
Music artists rely on the support of the music community. You can actually make a difference in an artist’s life and career by showing your support in these ways!
Website
Spotify
Instagram
Twitter
TikTok
Facebook
Bandcamp
YouTube
Soundcloud
For more cool new music and artists from around the world, stay tuned to this Blog!