Ben Lee dedicates his seventh studio recording to Venus, the Goddess of Love and Beauty. A bold move for a man, but Ben recognizes that the strongest feminine qualities “such as compassion, nurturing, creativity, spontaneity, intuition, playfulness, tenderness and warmth…are qualities that we all, men and women, need to cultivate.” The Rebirth of Venus (February 10th, 2009) was produced by Brad Wood, who also produced Ben’s breakout Awake Is The New Sleep (as well as his critically acclaimed debut Grandpaw Would and sophomore album Something To Remember Me By). A portion of proceeds from albums sold will be donated to FINCA’s Village Banking program. FINCA offers financial services, not charity, to the world’s lowest-income women entrepreneurs. This creates jobs, builds assets and generally improves the standard of living in these destitute communities.
The album’s cover re-creates Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, but with a rock and roll twist. Ben is featured in the clamshell with fiancé Ione Skye and band mates as angels above him. Other musicians who appear on the album include Missy Higgins, Cary Brothers, Patience Hodgson of The Grates, Nic Johns, John Alagia (producer of Ripe) and longtime collaborators and musicians Lara Meyerratken and Nic Johns.
