Exclusive: Ben Hackett Signs With Strolling Bones Records, Announces Debut Album

Chattanooga-born, Athens-based producer Ben Hackett has announced not only his signing with Strolling Bones Records (Rose Hotel, Pylon Reenactment Society), but he has set a date for the release of his debut album, Songs for Sleeping Dogs. Due out May 16, the double-LP will feature 12 songs and mixing from Jason Kingsland (Deerhunter, Youth Lagoon). To kick everything off, Hackett has released two singles, “Nylon Bell Pot” and “Loose Changes 2.”

Hackett says of the album, “I started recording Songs for Sleeping Dogs before I knew what it was. I had just moved out of an apartment and into a small house with my partner at the time. We had been there a few months and decided to get a puppy, who we named Tombo. It was liberating to be able to record whenever I wanted to, but I gravitated to recording at night when everyone (including the dog) was asleep. The title Songs for Sleeping Dogs is about as literal as it can get for me. Once I had the title it was easy to put together half a dozen tunes that I had already recorded and then with my North Star of a prompt I filled in the rest of the album, recording most songs in a state-of-consciousness flow, usually finishing the track the same night in which it had started. Woodwinds, keyboards, acoustic guitars, and the softest percussion came together to score the dreams of pets and people. An ode to deep breaths through wet noses.”

“This was one of the first tracks that I recorded for the album,” Hackett continues, speaking on “Nylon Bell Pot.” “I’ll find myself playing guitar or keyboards or whatever while I’m either working on something else or just zoning out and then realize that I’ve been playing the same figure endlessly. Once that happens naturally, I’ll get in front of a microphone as fast as I can and get it down while it’s still fresh and before I have any time to really think about it. This song (and many of the tracks on Songs for Sleeping Dogs) came about this way—with my brain turned off, thinking about something else with an instrument in my hand.”

Speaking about the B-side “Loose Changes 2,” Hackett breaks down his songwriting process: “For most of the songs on the album, I would start and finish the song in the same day, working while the idea was still fresh in my head, trying not to lose the initial spark of inspiration that prompted me to hit record. [‘Loose Changes 2’] was not an exception to the rule, but it definitely stretched the rule to its limit. For the recording, I stayed in my little music room for three days straight, leaving to eat and sleep and take the dog for a walk. This song is both the longest on the album and has the most instruments on it as well.”