Ben Wheeler is a musician, composer, and ethnomusicologist based in Tbilisi, Georgia. A graduate of the University of Oregon and Tbilisi State Conservatoire’s program in Georgian Folk Music, Ben has also studied ethnomusicology at the University of Illinois and spent the last year as an international student in Tbilisi State Universities’ anthropology department. He is the co-founder of Mountains of Tongues, an organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of the diverse musical traditions of the Caucasus region. Ben has traveled throughout the South Caucasus, recording and interviewing musicians from diverse backgrounds; compilations of his project’s field recordings have been released internationally in multiple forms (LP, CD, Tape). As a composer and musician, he has performed and written for a diverse selection of bands and released multiple solo albums under his own name. He is heavily involved with the experimental music scene in Tbilisi, performing regularly both as a solo performer and in collaboration with local musicians at venues and festivals around Georgia. Ben is also the host of the radio program Caucasus All Frequency on Radio GIPA 94.3 in Tbilisi.  

LINKS

Recordings:

https://benwheeler.bandcamp.com/track/8-bit-gamelan

https://benwheeler.bandcamp.com/track/guzheng-guitar

https://bneleti.bandcamp.com/

Live at:

Aqtusheti: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MwCqwvrC9g

11^th: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-kpCg2089M&t=341s

Collaborations:

W/Vazhmarr: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo8D5SS_QUg&t=164s

W/Tetenoise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz_4vp-_0Lw

Workshops:

Freespace: https://www.facebook.com/FreeSpace.Tbilisi/videos/962702113866294/

Interviews:

https://www.facebook.com/FreeSpace.Tbilisi/videos/958969294239576/

http://1tv.ge/ge/videos/view/183478/179.html