A few years ago, songwriter Ben Dwyer AKA Scruffian (a scruffy ruffian) decided to embark on a truly remarkable project – to write a new song every day. Skip forward to today and he is nearly at song number 700, with plans to continue for another year. As well as this incredible achievement, he regularly collaborates with other musicians through several different projects, including as one half of the duo The Mountain Hares with Chris Crompton, where Ben reveals his versatility (and impressive instrument collection) as a multi-instrumentalist.
For November’s instalment of our Discover series, Ben talks to Matt Woolley about his songwriting journey, writing processes and what his plans are for his incredible song collection…
1. So, several years ago you started a project to write a song a day, which is still going on. Can you tell us a bit about this incredible project and what made you want to start?
In 2015 I began writing a haiku every day. I still do this, and I find it a really helpful way of generating thoughts and ideas that can be useful for writing lyrics in the future. Then in 2023 I tried a process called The Artists Way, which encourages you to write three A4 pages of anything you like every day. I found this extremely dull and unproductive, but I stuck with it for a long time. After a while I was so frustrated at The Artists Way that I decided instead to just write a song every day instead, which felt a lot easier!
Around this time I hit 3000 haiku and I came across this quote about Solomon:
“And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.”
I’m not comparing myself to Solomon, but this gave me a milestone of 1005 songs to work towards. I knew I was never going to reach that at the slow pace I had been working at, so doing a daily song forced me to pick up the pace. I’m about two-thirds of the way there now and plan to keep going until I reach 1005 — although I might stop for a break and come back to finish them.
2. Has it been difficult to keep inspiration up for all of these songs, and what advice can you give other songwriters who might like to start a project like this?
At first it was very difficult because my instinct is to be precious about it and to think that every song has to be the best song ever. After a while you realise a few things:
- Songs are cheap. You can make a new song very easily and quickly, and if you don’t like it you can just start again.
- There are more songs out there than you’ll ever discover – the options are so endless that you will never run out of songs.
- Trying harder doesn’t mean you get something better. The songs I am most pleased with came the most easily. This means that to make something good you have to not really care if what you are making is good. Instead you have to just be relaxed and let the song take you on a journey. It’s a bit like travelling down a river.
- It does get easier with practice. One of the biggest benefits for me from this process is that I can easily come up with ideas on demand. For a long time I would cling to every idea I had because I was worried it might be the last one. Now I’m more relaxed about letting things come and go as I know there’s always more ideas out there waiting for me.
- It’s easier to edit your way to something you like, than it is to create something perfect first try. These quotes really help with that:
“Good writing is essentially rewriting.”
(Roald Dahl)
“The only kind of writing is rewriting.”
(Ernest Hemingway)
“Don’t try to create and analyze at the same time. They’re different processes.”
(Sister Corita Kent)
3. Quite a few songwriters I speak to often have a certain area that inspires them, whether that’s something in nature, other people’s stories, or from their own life. Where does your inspiration come from?
My inspiration comes from the overlap between the natural world around me and whatever is going on inside my head. There’s often a big overlap between those things. If it’s sunny, it’s much easier to feel happy; on a cloudy day it’s much easier to slip into feeling gloomy. I find my mood often reflects the weather, and the music often reflects that as well.
Sometimes people hear a sad song and ask if I’m OK. For me writing a song is a form of therapy – it helps me to process whatever is going on and deal with it, so I am OK because of I wrote the song. I also find that listening to other people sharing songs contain their struggles help me to feel less alone in mine.
4. You perform with fellow songwriter Christopher Crompton in a duo called The Mountain Hares, in which you switch between and play so many different instruments! What is the full list of instruments you play, and how difficult is it switching between them during performances (and remembering all the different parts)?
My main instrument is the guitar. I’ve also been playing the piano for a long time. Having these two instruments really opens up a lot of doors. Once you can play the guitar, other stringed instruments are easier to get on with—like the banjo and the bass guitar. Equally, when you play the piano, the harmonium is quite achievable too. Then you have instruments like the harp, which combine the two skills: on a harp, you use the fingerpicking technique from guitar, but the instrument is laid out more like a piano, so you combine the two approaches. I also play a little bit of recorder, which I learnt in school.
For me the hardest thing is singing. I’m still learning how to use my voice and find I get it wrong more than I get it right.
5. Who is your favourite songwriter, and what inspired you to start writing songs?
Favorites are hard, but here is a list of some people I really rate as song writers in a rough order: Joanna Newsom, Nick Drake, Thom Yorke, Judee Sill, Johnny Flynn, Justin Vernon, Kurt Cobain, Avett Brothers, Sufjan Stevens, Matt Bellamy, Regina Spektor, Joni Mitchell, Elliott Smith and The Tallest Man on Earth.
6. Out of all the different styles and genres of music that you’ve written in, what is your favourite?
I don’t really think about genre. A song is like a journey that takes you from one place to another; a good song takes you somewhere interesting along the way. For me that’s all about the combination of melody, harmony, and rhythm.
Everything else — the instrumentation, the arrangement, and even the lyrics to some extent — is interesting, but it’s not the song. My focus is on the song and where it takes me. The genre just feels like icing on the cake -it’s just a vehicle for delivering the song.
7. What are the differences between writing for yourself as a solo artist and writing for other musicians when you are collaborating?
For me the initial creation process is the same – I’m just writing what comes into my head and what I feel like. The difference is in the editing process. If I’m collaborating with someone else, the editing is going to be much more tuned to our combined taste rather than just what I like. Sometimes I would filter out ideas that other people like, sometimes other people don’t like things I like. A lot depends on how you’re feeling that day.
Spotlight and Discovery
Can you recommend one lesser-known artist or band you’re really excited about at the moment and let us know why you like them?
I have an old school friend who has been carefully crafting songs for many years. He goes by the name “Roo” which is incredibly hard to search for, but you can find him on Bandcamp.
(Roo is a songwriter that writes in several different genres and collaborates with a range of different musicians. You can learn more about him by visiting the links and listening to his latest album below)
Finally, what’s next for you — any upcoming projects, tours, or collaborations you’re particularly excited about?
For the last six years I have been building a recording studio in my back garden, made out of straw bales (it’s called the Strawdio!). This project is now finally complete so I can begin recording some of the songs I have been working on during this time.
I just released a new album Relics, made up of all the spare songs I’ve been carrying around for years. I have lots more songs lined up to record. Chris and I are going to record some Mountain Hares songs soon. I also have a 12 song record written and ready to record — one for each month of the year. I also have a lot of the “song a day” songs that I’d like to polish up and record properly.
