Ben Poole

Following on from the success of Ben's critically acclaimed albums, 'Time Has Come' and 'Live At The Royal Albert Hall' The new studio album marks a point in Ben's career where he feels he's really found himself as an all-round guitarist, singer and songwriter.

Jonathan Graham

Ben Poole
Internationally acclaimed guitarist, singer and songwriter Ben Poole released his brand new studio album 'Anytime You Need Me' via Manhaton Records last month, and with an upcoming UK tour scheduled in support of the record, Guitar Interactive Magazine editor Jonathan Graham sits down with Ben to discuss the writing and recording process for the new album, plus we get a close-up look at the blues-rock artist's touring rig for the 2018 live shows.

Following on from the success of Ben's critically acclaimed albums, 'Time Has Come' and 'Live At The Royal Albert Hall' The new studio album marks a point in Ben's career where he feels he's really found himself as an all-round guitarist, singer and songwriter. The best representation on a studio record so far of the attitude, energy and excitement that he brings to his live shows. The album is a melting pot of rock, blues and soul but with a pop sensibility in the songwriting allowing it to feel accessible throughout. The overall sound showcases a lot of grit and a swagger, with special emphasis on guitar tones and instrumental performances from everyone who played on the album.

On 'Anytime You Need Me,' Ben was ready to do something harder hitting and more guitar based than his previous album, 'Time Has Come.' The main focus was still on writing great songs but with far more focus on Ben as an artist. He kept the team small and avoided having too much outside influence on the direction of the music. Ben co-wrote the album with his two writing partners, Wayne Proctor and Steve Wright.

We basically locked ourselves away regularly over a period of around six months at a studio in the hills of North Wales writing and demoing the majority of the tunes on this album from scratch