This email comes with a sad announcement… Our guitarist Ben has decided to leave the band so that he can concentrate on his other projects. Ben reached out to Chris and I a few days after the London show to let us know that it would be his last show with us and although it was a bit of a shock we can understand that he has his own ambitions and limited time to chase them. It’s sad to know we’ll no longer be working with Ben on a regular basis, but we remain close friends and are grateful to have created so many incredible memories in the 7 years we’ve travelled the world playing music together; from south west London to SxSW festival.
The truth is; being in an independent, self-managed band really can take its toll mentally, physically and financially and without the breaks coming soon enough, eventually something has to give. In 2019 we were named in the artists to watch list alongside Phoebe Bridgers in US top industry magazine ‘HITS magazine’, since then it’s been less of a traditional path to success for us than for Phoebe… signed, dropped, cancelled tours, parting ways with management, pivoting our approach from major label to independent band. Having jobs and other gigs outside of the huge commitment of Belle Mt. sometimes means finishing a full work day and then heading to rehearsals until midnight, not to mention regular livestreams, shows, demos, social media, photoshoots, driving ourselves around europe and having to rearrange weeks and months around unpredictable last minute opportunities. Even when living your dream it can be a lot and it isn’t very compatible with a regular job or lifestyle when there are a limited amount of hours in the day!
Not breaking up… As for the future of Belle Mt. I’ll be continuing to work with my favourite drummer in the world Chris who is currently out on an arena tour, session drumming for a band that are supporting Niall Horan, the grind never stops! We’re excited for the next part of the adventure, I have new plans for getting the album out into the wider world and for writing and demoing lots of new music this year. We’ll be sharing the behind-the-scenes of this transformative time on Patreon with the community whose encouragement and support helps keep us going no matter what. I've always seen Belle Mt. as an epic, cinematic creative outlet in the mold of Bon Iver, that won't be restricted by the box that solo acoustic guitar singer-songwriters are often put into. A music project that can evolve and change over time and an outlet without limitations. I intend to take this big change and turn it into an opportunity to realise that evolving vision again and I'm super grateful to still have Chris to call on for the best drumming a guy could ask for. We hope you'll continue to join the Belle Mt. journey as we evolve and grow. Check out the Patreon and join for as little as £4 per month if you’d like to help us keep the dream alive in testing times. Patreon is like a fan community which allows you to go deeper into the journey, hear new song demos first and join a monthly livestream and group chat!
Send your love to Ben, we want to thank him for the best ride together.
Ben, go show the world what we already know! ✨🖤
-Matt
As fans of one another we can’t wait to hear what Ben will create next. We encourage you to follow his journey and to show him your support and love on Instagram 👉 here! 👈
Vinyl Pre Order
We’re waiting on an exact delivery date for our debut album on vinyl but the last estimate was about 8 weeks from now. It’ll be worth it we promise! We have some news, as all but 2 of the orders were for the coloured vinyl record we’ve decided to solely make this run a coloured vinyl delivery, if you were one of the few customers that opted for the cheaper classic black vinyl we’re upgrading your order totally free! Haven’t ordered yours yet? Click the image below to check it out…
BECOME A PATRON OF BELLE MT.’S NEXT CHAPTER?
There are now close to 80 members of our fan army The Mountaineers, hosted across Patreon, Discord and MusicNFT’s. If you’d love to see and hear much more of our process and enjoy the benefits below then check out our Patreon!
As a Patron you’ll get access to the the original song demos for the album, +the instrumentals, and coming soon the song Lyrics & Chords & a photo/video vault from the album sessions // you’ll also get instant access to an existing catalogue of 40+ posts of content including unreleased songs, a monthly livestream hang with Belle Mt., a full live show video, livestream concert recordings and entry into a discord chat group where we share all the info first and more!
We’ll miss you, Ben. Your harmonies and guitar playing are a real gift to Belle Mt. Good luck in all you do.
Matt and Chris - I’m with you on this ride!! I trust that new doors will open and surprises are on their way. Thanks for sharing your amazing music.