play. play. play.

music is play.

there ain’t no right. there ain’t no wrong.

i forgot that.

been making it for so long,

always trying to get better,

i forgot.

music is play.

so i’m here, playing.

some ideas will resonate with you.

some ideas will resonate with me.

hopefully, some with both.

but in the end,

it’s just play.

and i fuckin’ love it.

there is always another idea

I picked up the guitar when I was around ten years old. After learning my first few chords, I wrote my first song. From the very beginning, I was more drawn to creating something new than replaying someone else’s work.

A few years ago, I dove into a lot of songwriting sessions with other artists and producers. It was fun, but looking back, I see what held me back. I was clinging to ideas. I didn’t want to waste a lyric, a sound, a riff.

Now, especially as I’m working on my new album, I’ve realized something different. there will always be a next idea. Another riff, another line. It’s not that creating more empties you out. It’s the opposite. The more you create, the more ideas come to you. The more open you walk through life, the more sparks you’ll notice.

And I think that’s true for more than just music. Take love. If you love more, you don’t run out of it. It multiplies. For people, for nature, for life.

freedom isn‘t escape. it’s surrender

written on an early morning in barcelona, after my second coffee and a head full of plans.

I was always drawn to control. I wanted to control how people perceive me. how I wanted to be seen. not boxed in. not trapped in that self-made prison we all fall into from time to time. built from beliefs, doubts, and the stories we keep telling ourselves, whether they’re true or not.

the quiet temptation of a free life.

one thing I’ve seen and learned to live with are my strong contradictions. life isn’t a straight line toward growth or being better than yesterday. it’s a big playground you get to discover and live in. sometimes it’s dirty and dark, sometimes playful and clear. and in the next moment everything can be different.

in the end freedom shouldn’t be an escape. not a place or a state to reach, but surrender. surrender to life, to the unpredictability of it all, and to oneself. I feel that’s the only way you can truly be free in a non-destructive way. a place of healing, of love, of beautiful existence.

whatever that means.

why i keep writing in a time of AI

it’s a fascinating time for music. and for musicians. this morning i was listening to an AI-generated song while surfing the internet and, tbh, it sounded really good. if i hadn’t known it was created solely by AI, i’m not sure i would have noticed. i don’t know if that says more about the quality of AI or about most music nowadays. and honestly, i don’t really care.

but it did make me question why i want to not only make music, but release it, share it, and try to make a living from it. in the end, it’s connection, i guess. not being alone. sharing your story, and hearing back from people all around the world who connect with it. who see parts of themselves in it, or part of their own story.

for me, that’s reason enough. so i’ll keep writing, performing, and recording. some songs will get a response, some won’t. and that’s okay. i just feel truly blessed to have the opportunity not only to create but to share it and to hear back from you. so if there’s something you’d like to tell me, ask, or whatever it is, write me a message (michael@michael-benjamin-music.com).

in the meantime, i’ll be creating music i love and publishing it for others to make their own, too.

decisions, direction and overthinking

this year i created more music than ever before. more songs. more sounds. more ideas. more versions of myself. i let loose.

but to be honest, it the freedom without any direction felt a bit like drowning. limitations, strangely, always gave me clarity.

the world is still beautiful was recorded live in 3 days. no click track. just me performing with an acoustic guitar and vocals. i recorded 17 and released 12 out of them. the limitation was, record it live. in a room. with a great engineer (yannick sandhofer - who also mixed the record).

but this time i felt i wanted to explore sounds, ideas and new directions. ‘cause i was bored with the way i was creating.

now i’m left with many ideas but no clear direction.

so as i’m writing this i’m wrestling with the idea of just let it go. let it happen. or create a frame of limitations and do it again.

in the end, as are so many things in life, it’s just a decision. there’s no right or wrong. just make the damn decision. and even writing this post is me procrastinating this decision.

the songs are here. and soon enough it will be clear how i’ll present them to the world. to you.