BIO

“Embodying classical aesthetic, music and culture, Benjamin Skepper is a musician with an extraordinary sense of the contemporary” (M. Pugliese, Director Museo 900 for Rolling Stone Italy).

A child prodigy, who commenced his classical music education at two years of age, Benjamin began touring at seven years old as a solo pianist, boy soprano, ballet dancer and the youngest self-taught harpsichordist in Australia. He embarked on his first international solo piano tour at 10 years old, performing a Mozart concerto with full orchestra in New Zealand. His passion for music continued with studies in the violoncello, and he toured and performed with symphonic and chamber orchestras nationwide.

Alongside his two decade long professional classical career, Benjamin also completed an Arts/Law degree with Honours at the University of Melbourne, majoring in Public and International Law and Human Rights, specfically focusing on Children’s Rights. He has since been actively involved in human rights and children’s policy, working and travelling extensively in Asia and Europe, volunteering with NGOs in Cambodia and donating his work to organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières and The Red Cross Japan. Benjamin moved to Tokyo in 2007 as a litigation and dispute resolution solicitor with an international law firm. All the while, he continued to explore music, contemporary composition, performance and multi media art forms.

Establishing his second base in Tokyo under the umbrella of his creative production think-tank “contrapuntal”, his arts practice encompasses commissions, multi media installations and live performances, composition, recording, and production across multiple genres, juggling independent creative practice with commercial outcomes for corporate clients, record labels, and film makers.

Benjamin has also worked extensively with the fashion industry, presenting at Milan, Paris, Tokyo and Melbourne Fashion Weeks as a performer, creative director and muse.

In 2008, Benjamin launched his independent record label under contrapuntal, releasing five self-produced solo albums, and collaborating with world famous record labels, such as Colombia Music and Ninja Tunes. Notably, he participated in a sound-art exhibition in Tokyo with Yoko Ono on the back of artist features for Rolling Stone Italy and Russia, AMICA Italy, GQ Japan and a recent music video exclusive with VICE I THUMP Australia.

In expanding his practice into the field of contemporary art, he has presented performance art works and sound installations at the Museo del Novecento (Milan), “Culture Warriors”, Australia’s first Indigenous Art Triennial at the National Gallery of Australia (Canberra), as artist-in-residence at “No Mans Land” (French Embassy, Tokyo), “Sight & Sound: Music & Abstraction in Australian Art” at the Arts Centre (Melbourne), “Rooms”, Japan’s premier International Fashion and Design Fair (Tokyo), “Art After Dark” for the National Gallery of Victoria’s exhibition Napoleon: Revolution to Empire (Melbourne), and as a headline artist at MONA FOMA 2013, dubbed a festival highlight by curator Brian Ritchie. Most recently by invitation from The Hermitage Foundation, Benjamin performed for the parallel program opening of Manifesta 10, The European Biennial of Contemporary Art in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Complementing his arts practice Benjamin also works in cultural advocacy. As a Cultural Ambassador to Russia, his first posting was with the City of Melbourne, with a mandate to report on the Saint Petersburg arts and cultural scene, and identify possible collaborations and international exchange opportunities. Since published by the Saint Petersburg City Counil, Benjamin is working with the Australian Ambassador to Russia, to co-develop an artist in residency program, as the first artist in residence in Australian history at the Ambassadors residence in Moscow. The State Conservatory of Music in Saint Petersburg has also offered Benjamin a Creative Fellowship for his ambitious contemporary composition projects.

At the core of his practice, Benjamin is committed to self initiating projects and world travel in order to explore interdisciplinary collaborations in sound, architecture, science, fashion and art, and using these projects to promote global diplomacy. 2015 started with a Space Art commission “Forever Now”, where his audio artwork was transmitted into outer space at MONA FOMA, a sequel to the 1977 NASA Voyager Golden Records mission. This is followed by his next sound art exhibition in Chelsea, New York.

Benjamin Skepper Biography

Benjamin Skepper Artist Biography

“Embodying classical aesthetic, music and culture, Benjamin Skepper is a musician with an extraordinary sense of the contemporary” (Rolling Stone Italy).

Born in Melbourne, Australia, Benjamin Skepper is internationally respected as a multi-talented creator and visionary: contemporary musician, performer and composer, sound and installation artist, creative director, record label manager, art collaborator and Cultural Ambassador.

Hailed a child prodigy, private studies in western classical music from 2 years of age saw him touring internationally by 10, performing piano concertos with full orchestra. Theoretical skills developed through further studies in violoncello, voice, ballet, harpsichord and performances with symphonic and chamber orchestras Australia-wide. Deciding against attending the Conservatorium of Music, Benjamin diversified his artistic practice focusing on contemporary composition, improvisation, music production and sound recording. He soon started working with top record labels including Colombia Music and Avex (Japan), and hip-hop labels Tru Thoughts, Big Dada and Ninja Tunes (UK). He toured his underground trip-hop band around Australia, performing at major Australian music festivals. His compositional ability and passion for film and the moving image also brought him commissions for short film scores, commercials and BGM including Qantas, and Electrolux. In 2014, Benjamin returns to classical musical academia with a Fellowship at the St Petersburg State Conservatory of Music in Russia.

Expanding into Japan in 2007, Benjamin launched his creative production think-tank contrapuntal, since releasing four solo albums, and working extensively and exclusively for  fashion and luxury, brands, contemporary art institutions, private and commercial clients. Specialising in site-specific installation, event concept creation, sound design, performance art and creative direction, his client portfolio includes Electrolux, Yohji Yamamoto, Gucci, FIAT, Dom Pérignon, Laurent Perrier and the French Embassy.  Further afield in Europe, Benjamin is lauded for his site-specific sound installations and sound design in palatial and medieval architectural structures and Art Museums, including Paris fashion week, the 50th Anniversary for AMICA magazine at Serbelloni Palace (Milan), the 20th Century Museum of Art (Milan), and Dandolo Palace at the Venice Carnivale.

In the field of contemporary art, he has presented performance art works and sound installations as artist-in-residence at the French Embassy Tokyo’s “No Mans Land”, in an exhibition alongside Yoko Ono “Dirty, dirty! Sex sex!” (Tokyo), “Rooms” Japan’s International Fashion and Design Trade Fair (Tokyo), “Culture Warriors”, Australia’s first Indigenous Art Triennial at the National Gallery of Australia (Canberra), a sound piece commissioned by The Victorian Arts Centre for “Sight and Sound” exhibition, and as a featured artist at Music at Night for Napoleon: Revolution to Empire at the National Gallery of Victoria 2012 (Melbourne).

TV appearances include iTunes Japan, MTV Italy and Australia’s “Carols By Candlelight”. He has engaged private salon performances for Austrian royalty The von Habsburgs, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Nakamatsu and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

Notable artist features and editorials include Rolling Stone Italy (2011), Rolling Stone Russia (2011), AMICA Italy (2012), GQ Japan (2012) and TimeOut Russia (2013). On the back of a critically acclaimed headline performance at MONA FOMA (Tasmania) festival 2013, Benjamin is focused on Russia: recent headline performance at Midsummer Nights Dream Festival Moscow, sound installation at the opening of the 4 Seasons Hotel for Blancpain in St. Petersburg, and recent appointment as Cultural Ambassador to the City of Melbourne propels Benjamin forward on his global mission to promote international interchange and the exchange of ideas, interdisciplinary collaborations and positive social change through the lens of art and culture.

“Worldly, experimental and blurring the lines between visual art, music and other art forms, Benjamin Skepper’s performance at MOFO embodied the festival and the MONA brand” (ArtsHub)

URL                            www.maison-de-contrapuntal.com
Video Links                 vimeo.com/benjaminskepper


ARTIST CHRONOLOGY (SELECTED WORKS)

MUSIC

2014                        The Kelvin Club (Melbourne)
2013                        MONA FOMA Music Festival Headline Performance (Tasmania)
                                    Midsummer Nights Dream Festivial (Moscow)
                                    Bennetts Lane Jazz Club (Melbourne)
The Corner Hotel (Melbourne)
                                    Theatre Royal (Victoria)
2012                        Palazzo Serbelloni x AMICA –Napoleon’s Salon re-opening performance                                             installation for AMICA Magazine 50th Anniversary (Milan)
                                    Venice Carnivale – “The Forbidden Pleasures of Cassnova” (Venice)
Theatre Royal (Victoria)
The Toff in Town (Melbourne)
2011                        Rolling Stone Russia Artist Feature and Interview 2011 Edition #84 (Russia)
Rolling Stone Italia Artist Feature and Interview 2011 Edition #91 (Italy)
                                    Promotional Video for Fabriano Jazz Festival Umbria (Rome)               
                                    “Rooms 22” Japan Fashion and Design Trade Fair Sound Installation (Tokyo)
                                    Chapel Off Chapel “Inimitable” (Melbourne)
2010                        ExperIstanbul at 60m2 (Istanbul)
                                    amfAR Gala Vienna Life Ball VIP private event (Vienna)
2007                        FINA International Swimming Championships (Melbourne)
2006-2007           Meredith Music Festival, Rainbow Serpent Festival, Folk Rhythm and Life Festival, St. Kilda Festival, Tasmanian Forest Festival (Australia)
2003-2004           Environ Sessions with Uberlingua at Loop Bar (Melbourne)
1995 to present  Live performances at Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne Concert Hall, Dallas Brooks Hall, Victorian Arts Centre, National Gallery of Victoria, National Gallery of Australia, Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Northcote Social Club, Corner Hotel, Esplanade Hotel, Evelyn Hotel, East Brunswick Club, Revolver Upstairs (Melbourne), Abercrombie, Beach Hotel (Sydney), Solbar (Brisbane), Mojos Bar, Civic Hotel (Perth)
1991                        International Music tour for Suzuki Music (New Zealand)

SOLO ALBUM RELEASES – RELEASED by contrapuntal RECORDS JAPAN

2013/14                “In The Field” Release at Konno Hachiman Shrine (Tokyo)
                                                                 Release at The Kelvin Club (Melbourne)
2012                        “Inimitable” Release at Konno Hachiman Shrine (Tokyo)
        Release at The Toff in Town (Melbourne)
        Release at Palazzo Serbelloni (Milan)
2010                        “Parnassus” Release at Konno Hachiman Shrine (Tokyo)
2009                        “Eika 詠歌” Release at “Jiyugakuen” by Frank Lloyd Wright/Tadao Ando (Tokyo)

COMPOSITION COMMISSIONS, ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS and FILMWORKS

2012                        “Fairytale in Tokyo” – short film co-producer and Musical Director
2010                        Electrolux “UltraSilencer” vacuum cleaner Advertising Campaign (Japan)
2009-2010           “No Mans Land” Documentary Film for the French Embassy (Tokyo)
2007                        “Boodjarri Business” Documentary Film on Aboriginal Post Natal Depression for the Western Australian Government Department of Health (Perth)
                                    BGM for “Inflight Entertainment” for Qantas Airways (Australia)
                                    BGM for “First Tuesday Book Club” program for the ABC TV network (Australia)

LIVE PERFORMANCE ART

2012                        National Gallery of Victoria “Napoleon: Revolution to Empire” (Melbourne)
2011                        Museo del Novecento sound performances (Milan)
Fondazione Alda FENDI –Esperimenti di Quaresima (Rome)
2010                        Museo del Novecento 20th Century Art Museum Inauguration (Milan)
“Gallery on the Hill” Opening performance installation (Tokyo)
                                    “United Nations Museum” opening performance for the United Nations (Tokyo)
                                    2nd Tokyo Photographic Art Fair - Opening Night Performance (Tokyo)
2007                        “Culture Warriors” at the National Gallery of Australia Indigenous Triennial of Art (Canberra)
                                     “Bright Fires” at Gertrudes Contemporary Art Spaces (Melbourne)

SOUND ART and ART EXHIBITIONS

2011                        “Dirty, Dirty! Sex, Sex!”ArtGig Tokyo Group Exhibition with Yoko Ono (Tokyo)
2010                        “Sight & Sound: Music & Abstraction in Australian Art” at The Victorian Arts Centre: curator Steven Tonkin (Melbourne)
2009-2010           “No Mans Land” at the French Embassy: curator Helene Kelmachter (Tokyo)
2009                        “requiem d’une marionette” at PLSMIS Art Gallery (Tokyo)
                                    “requiem d’une marionette” at Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Jiyu Gakuen” (Tokyo)
2007                        National Gallery of Australia 25th Anniversary (Canberra)
                                    Gertrudes Contemporary Art Spaces (Melbourne)

ARTIST RESIDENCIES and FELLOWSHIPS

2014                        The State Conservatory of Music St Petersburg (Russia)
2009-2010           “No Mans Land” at the French Embassy (Tokyo)

FASHION

2013                        Paris Fashion Week Installation for A Brand Apart (Paris)
2011                        Phillip Treacy Private VIP Fashion Show for Christines (Melbourne)
                                    Rooms 22 International Fashion and Design Trade Fair – 3 day sound exhibition and live performance art installation (Tokyo)
2010                        Paris International Fashion Week for The Viridi-Anne (Paris)
2009                        Tokyo International Fashion Week for Yohji Yamamoto (Tokyo)

CORPORATE AND LUXURY EVENTS

2013                        Opening of the 4 Seasons Hotel St Petersburg in collaboration with Blancpain and Tourbillon (St Petersburg)
2012                        Dom Perignon installation and composition commission for MHD Japan (Tokyo)
2011                        FIAT 500 by Gucci “Chicnic” VIP Launch at the Italian Embassy (Tokyo)
2008                        Claska Hotel (Tokyo)
2007                        Australian Greens Federal Political Party Campaign Launch (Melbourne)
                                    Government of Victoria Department of Environment Conference (Melbourne)
1997                        National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne)
1996                        Mercedez Benz (Melbourne)

TELEVISION

2010                        MTV Italy Interview (Milan)
2009                        Tokyo Television Morning News (3 December, Tokyo)
                                    iTunes Japan “Versus” TBS Television Network (Tokyo)
1990                        “New Faces” Channel 9 Television Network (Melbourne)
1989-1991           “Carols By Candelight” with The National Boys Choir (Melbourne)

CHARITY EVENTS

2010                        “Black Wave: Help Haiti” Charity Event for the Japan Red Cross (Tokyo)
                                    “Mode for Charity” for the White Ribbon Alliance and W.H.O (Tokyo)
2006                        Fundraising event for the Gyuto Monks of Tibet (Melbourne)
1996                        Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria (Melbourne)
1994                        Malcom Sargeant Cancer Fund Appeal (Melbourne)

 PRIVATE PERFORMANCES AND PATRONS

2010                        Friends of Le Centre du Pompidou (Tokyo)
2009                        Archduchess of Austria TB-A 21 Chairwoman, Francesca von Hapsburg (Tokyo)
                                    Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Nakamatsu (Tokyo)
2007                        The Gyuto Monks of Tibet (Melbourne)
1995                        Welcome Ceremony for His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet (Melbourne)
1990                        Sir Sidney Ballieu Myer (Melbourne)

MUSIC CONFERENCES AND MASTERCLASSES

1994-1996           Melbourne String Ensemble directed by Mr. Fintan Murphy (Melbourne)
1994-1995           Melbourne Youth Music (Melbourne)
1990-1991           “Studio Appia” directed by Mr. Richard Owen (Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney)
1990                        Suzuki Music at Cambridge University (New Zealand)
Adelaide University with “Carinya Strings” directed by Mr. Andrew Schellhorn and patronised by Sir Sidney Ballieu Myer (Adelaide)
1989-1991           “The National Boys Choir Australia” directed by Mr. Peter Casey (Melbourne) 


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