Mr. Benjamin Speed is an acclaimed Adelaide film composer. Once he may have been part of hip-hop outfit The New Pollutants. Here and now, however, he’s an everyman guru casually rooting higher order philosophical concepts to global grooves. He’s demonstrating total Zen-like poise with regards to not only beatcraft but also life. He’s someone who understands that each day is an opportunity to manifest destiny. He’s living his dreams through until they are firm reality. Both streetwise and spiritually profound, The Dreamer comes across like some kinda guidebook for a blissed-out urban lifestyle. From the cheeky, up-tempo love letter ‘Miss Bitty’ to the classically massive hop-step of ‘On The Edge Of A String’, Speed’s positivity outshines whatever flaws are present in his slacker flow. He’s simply charming.

Immediately accessible affirmations are spat throughout – the mantras Speed delivers embrace worldwide consciousness and are healthier than your morning coffee. Sonically, the kicks don’t stop. The ill directive ‘Don’t Waste My Time’ features pristine pizzicato string plucks straight out of the 36th Chamber, whereas ‘Come On!’ is a bristly 8-bit slam, its over-compressed square wave bursts reminding that sometimes in order to reach higher consciousness one must first raise the roof. Transcend!

by Adrian Trajstman