Ben Lukas Boysen
With a deep curiosity for sound and an ever-evolving approach to composition, Berlin-based composer and producer Ben Lukas Boysen has built a career on transforming unusual sounds into compelling music. Beginning as a teenager experimenting with samplers and tape loops, Boysen released his first album in 2003 before going on to establish his own studio in Berlin. Since then, he has produced many albums under the alias Hecq and released four LPs on Erased Tapes Records under his own name.
Boysen first joined Erased Tapes in 2016 with the re-release of his debut album Gravity, and a new album Spells, both of which were mixed and mastered by friend and fellow Erased Tapes artist Nils Frahm. Spells merges programmed piano pieces with live instruments, combining the controllable technical world with the unpredictability of live instrumentation. This approach has been a defining feature of Boysen’s work, allowing his compositions to feel both organic and meticulously crafted.
Boysen’s most recent album, Alta Ripa (2024), signifies a seismic shift in his artistic journey. It revisits the foundational impulses of his youth, shaped amidst the serene beauty of rural Germany - a bucolic backdrop where his creative palette flourished. It was his move to Berlin in the early 2000s, however, that electrified his sound, infusing it with the city’s pulsating energy and diverse cultural influences. Alta Ripa captures this transformative experience, blending the introspective melodies of his rural beginnings with the bold, experimental tones of Berlin’s vibrant electronic music scene. As Boysen describes it, Alta Ripa is “something the 15-year-old in me would have liked to hear but only the grown-up version of myself can write.”
Boysen’s classical background has also played a crucial role in his work. Born as the third child of opera singer Deirdre Boysen and actor Claus Boysen, he grew up immersed in the arts. His early exposure to composers like Arvo Pärt, Benjamin Britten, Gavin Bryars, and Keith Jarrett laid the foundation for his musical endeavors. While his work leans heavily on electronic production, his compositions still retain the structural depth and dynamic sensibilities of classical music.
In addition to his albums, Boysen has built a reputation as a sought-after composer for film, TV, video games, and multimedia projects. His first film score for Restive premiered in 2011, followed by scores for Sony Playstation game Everything (2016), feature film The Collini Case (2019), and Amazon Prime series Beat (2018), which won the DAFF award for best Television & Film Soundtrack. In addition to scoring two seasons of The Lazarus Project for Sky TV, he co-wrote the score for Aylin Tezel’s feature film Falling into Place (2023) alongside Jon Hopkins. Most recently, he scored the six-part major thriller series The Gathering for World Productions and Channel 4.
Supporting the release of Alta Ripa, Boysen made his return to the stage, taking his energetic live show across Europe and over the Pacific for his first-ever North American tour, including shows in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Montreal, Toronto and Mexico City.
Looking ahead, Boysen continues to explore new directions in music while expanding his collaborations with orchestras and acoustic musicians. His commitment to experimentation and sonic exploration ensures that his work remains at the forefront of contemporary composition.
