When Ben Seigel’s relationship ended last year, he was devastated. Not knowing what to do with himself, he channeled his heartbreak into music.
“I broke her heart, and mine broke in the wake as she left,” Seigel says. “Without somewhere to put my feelings and grief, I’m not sure I would have made it through that year.”
Seigel, whose day job is in web development at Versa Studio, released a five-track EP, All The Light, in December 2017. He titled his studio project Heartmath, and he tapped some of the best session musicians in town to help bring his compositions to life. The album features Louka Patenaude, a UW-Madison jazz professor and one of the best guitar players around; Dave Adler of The Gomers on piano; Paul Ester on saxophone and piano. Daniel Zamzow, the cellist from Cloud Cult, also plays on one track.
“I view myself more like a director and a producer of a movie rather than an actor,” Seigel says of his approach. “I wanted to assemble people who were better than me in order to get the sound in my head.”
A hobbyist musician since high school, Seigel recorded and self-released a prog rock album in 2009 titled Welcome to Flyover Country. His new project takes him in a totally different musical direction, drawing from pop-rock influences to chronicle the life cycle of a relationship. The joyous opening track, “Every Color You Are,” has an almost Elton John vibe, featuring driving piano rock and a male-female vocal duet. The upbeat “Come Out And Play” gives way to a moderate-tempoed “Confession,” which hints at elements of betrayal. The lush piano ballad “Erase,” the best song on the album, is an ode to regret. Closing title track “All The Light” channels indie-rock reminiscent of Ben Folds Five and Destroyer.
Although it’s a studio project, Seigel hopes to eventually put together a group to play live. But at this point, with his heart still healing, he finds it difficult to listen to the music he’s written. Still, he says he’s glad he made the album. “I’m someone who believes in bold gestures, and I make them,” he says.
And as for the girl?
“She has heard it,” Seigel says. “Unfortunately, it did not sway her.”
