Benjamin Francis Leftwich is a singer/songwriter whose melancholic brand of acoustic folk-pop has drawn comparisons with the likes of Jose Gonzalez and Iron & Wine. Born in York in 1987 to South African and Australian parents, Leftwich lived a nomadic childhood, spending just as much time in Sydney as in his native U.K.. Inspired by Elliott Smith and Bruce Springsteen, he taught himself to play the guitar at age ten, and fronted indie pop outfit the Nicoles in his teens before embarking on a solo career. After recording his first EP, A Million Miles Out, in Southern France, he supported I Am Kloot, Fionn Regan, and Lisa Mitchell on tour, and attracted attention for his cover version of Arcade Fire's "Rebellion" on Dermot O'Leary's BBC R2 Saturday Sessions show. In 2011, his first single, "Pictures," taken from his second EP of the same name, was declared "The Hottest Record in the World Today" by influential R1 DJ Zane Lowe, with his debut album, Bleeps, produced by Ian Crimble (Mumford & Sons) scheduled to follow. In a departure from his usual sound, Leftwich also penned Euro trance-pop outfit Cascada's "Hold Your Hands Up," with former Fame Academy runner-up Alistair Griffin.

2011 album Red Planet made Rolling Stone's 'Best Under-the-Radar Albums of 2011'

Mojo Magazine: "Glowing, Warm, Triumphant"

Arborea is a musical duo from Maine, formed in the summer of 2005 by wife and husband Shanti Curran and Buck Curran.
Since 2007 they’ve toured extensively throughout the US, UK, and Europe, curated two various artists compilations; We are All One, In the Sun: A Tribute to Robbie Basho and Leaves of Life, and released several full length albums.

Their latest Red Planet made Rolling Stone's Best Under-the-Radar Albums of 2011 (David Fricke), Top Vinyl Pick in Mojo, Portland Phoenix Top Ten Albums of 2011, Uncut Magazine’s Top 100 Albums of 2011, and Editors Top Pick in Guitar Player Magazine.

”If you could take a shiver and slow it down so that it lasted for 50 minutes, you’d have Red Planet, the fourth album from Arborea. It’s folk music that runs through your veins ice cold, but in a way that’s so compelling and irresistible you can’t help be moved by it. Red Planet is released by Portland label Strange Attractors Audio House, but Arborea actually hail from a spot much closer to the other Portland; the husband-and-wife duo of Shanti and Buck Curran live in Maine, a state of rugged beauty, endless forests, summertime bugs the size of hummingbirds, and a cold and rocky coastline. Shanti’s voice rises above sparse instrumental backing like a cool fog, and while the pair has earned comparisons to acts like Pentangle and Alela Diane, to me Arborea sounds utterly unique and entirely captivating.” - Ned Lannamann, Portland Mercury