Rich Bennett, who operates under the alias Roman Angelos is a New York-city-based musician whose latest album titled “Supermarkets, Underwater” was released recently on the 19th of May, 2023. Teaming up with mixer and producer Scott Solter, “Supermarkets, Underwater” brings you wistful melodies and a dark ambience that deliver pure sonic bliss to the ears. Curious to understand their creative process, we reached out to Roman to gain further insight into the method behind his musical mastery!
Rich, Thanks for taking the time out to chat with me. Let's start at the beginning. How did you first end up playing music?
My father used to play records around the house all the time when I was younger, so I had an early love and obsession with music from a young age. But it was when I heard “Layla” by Derek and the Dominos for the first time that I really wanted to play guitar. That intro lick just blew me away; I couldn’t imagine being able to play it on guitar! After I started learning a few chords I got involved with a local band, started playing some gigs, and did a little home recording on my 4-track. After that, it was all music and nothing else for me.
Where do you live, where are you from and would you say that either of these places have somehow shaped the music you create?
I’ve lived in Brooklyn for the last 20 years, but I grew up about 5 miles away in Staten Island, the “forgotten borough". I don’t think anyone listening to my music would guess that I’ve spent my entire life in New York City, but it has influenced me in a very indirect way. When I was younger there were far more empty and mysterious spaces all around the city, and I always loved to dream up what might be going on in those places. So I think part of my imagination and creativity comes from imposing stories on places that seemed to be nothing much at first glance.
Imagine that you meet someone who has never heard your music and doesn't have the opportunity to listen to it, for whatever reason. How would you describe your music to him or her?
Without using musical references, I would say that my music is extremely wistful, nostalgic, and intentional, with a hint of ambience and darkness hanging out in the background.
What would you say is your favorite and least favorite thing about being a musician?
My favorite thing is the act of creation. It’s an amazing thing, and the older I get the more and more astounded I am by the whole process. It’s astonishing to watch things go from a little germ of an idea to a full blown record. My least favorite thing is the absolute decimation of the music industry. I’ve learned to accept it at this point, but it’s hard to keep putting yourself out there to a system that feels like it doesn’t value what you do.
Your new album 'Supermarkets, Underwater' is out now via Happy Robots Records. Please tell us about this release.
It’s a full remix/re-imagining of my record “Music For Underwater Supermarkets” by musical wizard Scott Solter. Music For Underwater Supermarkets is a joyous and blissful record, so for this remix record, I wanted it to be a totally different vibe - dark, immersive, and foreboding. Scott has a range of abilities but I knew that this would be something that he would knock out of the park, and he did.
How did you connect with and come to collaborate with Scott Solter on this album?
Scott and I met each other at a show back in 2010 and we had an immediate rapport. I asked him to mix an album my wife had recorded and I had produced, and I was astounded by what he did. He’s always so invested in the music and he doesn’t have any pretensions when talking with you about what you’re envisioning. We’ve worked together on numerous projects, and I trust his musicianship implicitly.
How do you nurture your own creativity? What makes you happy apart from making music?
I often reach a point where I’ve run out of gas on a certain idea or project, and at that point, it’s always important for me to find something new to explore like a new instrument, a piece of recording software, whatever. I often say that there are 10-20 songs hiding out in any new guitar or keyboard I purchase, and there usually is for me
If you could collaborate with or perform together with any other living artist, who would it be? And who would it be if you could've done so with any artist who has already passed?
I would love to have a song (or record) of mine mixed by Bob Clearmountain. I’d just love to see his process and see how he does things; he seems like a musical sorcerer to me, I really can’t conceive how he does what he does.
The music landscape has changed so much in the past decade - it would be hard to fathom for artists living, say, 20 years ago. Do you see any rising opportunities or obstacles for new or seasoned musicians starting to appear on the horizon?
I’m probably at an age where I don’t see the new opportunities as clearly as younger folks but it seems as though people are starting to get the message that you should be paying performers and artists *something*, and I also think people are really keen to see music live again after being locked inside for 2 1/2 years.
What does the next year or so hold for Roman Angelos? Anything separate for Rich Bennett as a music producer?
I just finished tracking a new record with producer/musician extraordinaire Shawn Lee and I’m super excited about it! It’s a similar instrumentation to Underwater Supermarkets but with a little more Brazilian percussion and perhaps a bit more contemplative and moody. I’m hoping for a late fall/early spring release!
Discovered via https://app.musosoup.com #sustainablecurator