Marco Benevento Announces New Album ‘Benevento’ & Shares Single

Marco Benevento detailed a new studio album entitled Benevento due out on June 10 via Royal Potato Family. Today, the keyboardist issued the record’s latest single, “Marco & Mimo.”

Recorded at his own Fred Short Studios facility in Woodstock, New York, the album’s title was inspired by Paul McCartney’s debut solo LP, 1970’s McCartney. Marco, in similar fashion to Macca, provided all the instrumentation on the follow-up to 2019’s Let It Slide and produced and engineered the LP himself. The only exceptions are percussion laid down by Mamadouba “Mimo” Camara and backing vocals provided by members of Marco’s family.

Marco used the time off the road due to the pandemic to dig into his archives for beats, melodies and song ideas he had yet to record. Benevento utilized the massive collection of gear he collected over the years and infused each of the 11 tracks on an album inspired by such West African psychedelic musicians as Francis Bebey, Kiki Gyan and William Onyeabor with a keyboard solo.

“This record really acts as a psychedelic window into my studio and my brain,” noted Benevento in a press release. “The studio was a good place to be trapped for the last few years. I was surrounded by tape machines and gear. The album started to become this document of a crazy dude losing his mind in the woods—and maybe regaining it.”

The keyboardist worked with San Diego-based poet Al Howard to write the lyrics for the album’s five tracks featuring vocals. “It was a new thing for me to dive in to—using someone’s lyrics,” added Benevento, who took lyrical sketches from Howard and at points infused some of his own words. “Or, I should say, finding a way to fit someone else’s lyrics into my tunes. I was a bit fed up with my own lyrical ideas, and was immediately drawn to Al’s writing.” Marco previously released singles “At The End Or The Beginning” and “Winter Rose,” each of which features lyrics penned with Howard and appears on Benevento.

As the title implies, the catchy new single “Marco & Mimo” shows off Camara’s percussive handiwork. Hear Benevento track “Marco & Mimo” below:

Benevento Tracklist

1. Like Me
2. Marco & Mimo
3. At The End Or The Beginning
4. We Were Here
5. Winter Rose
6. Polysix
7. The Warm Up
8. Do You Want Some Magic
9. Mountain Cougars
10. Ballad Of A Broken Wing
11. Is This A Dream