News: Gomez’s Ben Ottewell + Ian Ball set for an exciting run of downunder shows in May/June

Independent music collective Love Police have announced that old mates, Ian Ball and Ben Ottewell from Gomez, will be on Australian shores later this month to play a set of intimate live shows, making their downunder debut as a duo. With music spanning the last 20 years at least, fans will enjoy anything and everything from the English indie greats; from Gomez classics to numbers from their accomplished solo careers.

Since their 1998, Mercury Prize-winning debut Bring It On, Gomez have amassed a legendary fanbase along with critical acclaim worldwide. They have toured Australia numerous times, with fans here seen to be among their most dedicated. Featuring multiple, uniquely talented vocalists has always been one of the group’s strengths, and so this stripped-back tour will allow audiences to hear the powerful, soulful voice of Ben Ottewell and the softly sung Ian Ball working their magic in more intimate settings.

Ben and Ian’s respective solo careers reflect their harmonious differences. Ben Ottewell’s three solo albums Shapes & Shadows, Rattlebag and A Man Apart display his effortless ability to combine the singer-songwriter tradition with beautifully bluesy rock, while Ian Ball’s lone solo album Who Goes There explores a more indie pop and folk rock sound. The pair began working as a duo prior to Covid – their hopes to tour Australia in 2020 were shelved – and have recently completed successful tours of the UK and the US that have been nothing short of rapturous for fans.

Fans of Gomez, or even those who’ve yet to explore the iconic band’s lo-fi genre fluidity, will find much to enjoy when Ball and Ottewell undertake their first Australian tour as a duo from the end of this month.