The Rolex music protégé Ben Frost is on a high these days. The year has been a highly productive one for him, as this Australian composer is busy endorsing his latest album. Ben Frost is an acclaimed musician, composer and producer, his music is versatile and gives the listener a feeling of mysticism and disturbance at the same time. His genre is compelling and beautiful and millions have been mesmerized by it across the globe.

Ben Frost completed his degree in Fine Arts in the year 2005 in Melbourne and soon shifted base to Reykjavik in Iceland. He co-founded a record label company by the name of Bedroom Community herein. At the moment, apart from promoting his own work, Ben Frost is busy writing music for stage shows, films and dance shows.

The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiatives’ music apprentice, Ben Frost’s style of music is a blend of Classical Minimalism as well as Metal and Punk Rock. In a short span of time, Ben Frost has worked with eminent choreographers like Erna Ómarsdottír, Wayne McGregor and Gideon Obarzanek. His collaborations with these distinguished individuals made him receive great critical acclaim and applause. His musical associations with artists such as Björk, Tim Hecker, Nico Muhly and Amiina have made him more well-known and respected. He also has a close association with fellow Icelander Valgeir Sigurðsson, who is a composer, engineer and producer himself. Valgeir Sigurðsson’s Green house studio produces a great quantity of Ben Frost’s work.

The Rolex music protégé Ben Frost is a member of a contemporary arts society, Cicada. This arts society is known to produce audio visual performances and installations on an enormous scale. The intention of this arts society is to focus on the connection between technology and biology. “MOB, an exploration of human crowd” is one of the examples of biology and technology intersections drawn forward by Cicada.

In the past, Ben Frost has performed live for audiences in Australia, USA and Europe. His performances are usually guitar oriented. Between 2002-2205, he performed in a live band called “School of Emotional Engineering”. The band use to perform works from his album with the same name.

Since 2001 till date, the Rolex music protégé, Ben Frost has donned various hats as a music artist, composer, and producer. He has several tracks under his belt that went on to make records in the music world. Ben Frost is an acclaimed composer in the field of Contemporary Dance and Films. He has collaborated with noted companies like Chunky Move from Australia and the Icelandic Dance Company. He even got a Helpman Acadamy award nomination for Mortal Engine, a Chunky Move production. Ben Frost’s association with choreographer and dancer Erna Ómarsdottír is seen as a stellar achievement in his career.

At the moment, Ben Frost is composing music for an upcoming online game, World of Darkness.  Along with this project he is also associated with several other projects for music and films. He is reworking on Tarkovsky’s Solaris and is composing music for “Flesh in the Age of Reasons,” a Random Dance Production.

This Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative duo may have had the most quirky time bonding as they went off to see the volcano Eyjafjallajokull, which was later responsible for disrupting European flights this year. Brian Eno and Ben Frost are the mentor and protégé for this year in the music category at the initiative. While the protégé, Ben Frost is an Australian composer, the mentor, Brian Eno is a visionary music producer and theorist amongst other things. Brian Eno has had an astounding career in music that has spanned over 40 years. He is not only an accomplished composer and singer, but also a multimedia artist and technological innovator, who has immensely influenced music genres as varied from rock to techno.

Brian Eno has collaborated with a number of brilliant performers over the years. These associations have led him to create unusual aural environments, as he terms the effect of his performances. Gaining eminence in the 1970s, Brian Eno started out as a keyboard and synthesizer player for the glam-rock band Roxy Music. His most significant and influential numbers include No Pussyfooting, the solo hit Here Come the Warm Jets, and the sound featured in Discreet Music as well as Music for Airports. This founder and director of the Long Now Foundation, illuminated the Sydney Opera House with his inventive installations. His musical artwork, 77 Million Paintings uses self-generating software to manipulate drawings.

Ben Frost’s music has been said to be compelling, mystifying, disturbing and beautiful, all at the same time. He holds a Degree in Fine Arts from Melbourne, after which he relocated to Iceland to co-found the record label Bedroom Community. Just as his mentor, Ben Frost has produced some genre-defying work that is as much influenced by Classical Minimalism as much by Punk Rock and Metal. His most accomplished works include Steel Wound, Theory of Machines and By The Throat. Commenting on his mentorship experience, Ben Frost stated that both he and Brian Eno had nothing concrete decided for the year. They both agreed to let the year unfold the process rather than them forcing an exchange. The duo has so far discovered that they share in their fascination with the world that goes beyond the realm of music and art. Ben Frost stated that they have been more comfortable talking about neurosciences even instead of sticking to music or instruments.

While both mentor and protégé have had a jam packed schedule for 2010, they state that there would be more room for interaction between them in the coming year. However, in the little time they have spent together, the duo has felt a connection. Ben Frost is currently working on the score for a 1972 psychological drama, Solaris. Ben Frost stated that the involvement of his mentor helped his composition by making him look at the bigger picture. After discussing the possibilities for the score, Brian Eno presented Ben Frost with an elegant idea for the video work. The protégé appreciated the input by stating that it was an elegant solution for a complicated problem.

Ben Frost, composer, musician and producer, has been selected as protégée to master musician Brian Eno under the 2010 Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative program. The philanthropic program, a Rolex initiative, aims to promote artists who have shown great potential in their chosen field by putting them under the tutelage of master artists for a six month program.

The Australian composer, Ben Frost has earned accolades from critics and fans alike for his music which has been described as compelling, mystifying, disturbing and beautiful. The artist left for Reykjavik, Iceland after earning his degree in fine arts from the University of Melbourne. In Reykjavik he co-founded the Bedroom Community record label.

Ben Frost is known for his music which is a blend of Classical Mysticism, Punk Rock and Metal. His three most critically acclaimed works includes the Steel Wound (2003), Theory of Machines (2007) and By The Throat (2009).  He has collaborated with well known choreographers and artists of this era including Gideon Obarzanek, Erna Omarsdottir, Wayne McGregor, Amiina, Tim Hecker, Nico Muhly and Bork.

Currently he is working on several projects including a reworking of Tarkovsky’s Solaris and a composition for the new Random Dance Production, named Flesh in the Age of Reason.

The program will open a new world for the protégé as he will be able to learn the finer nuances of the art from the maestro who is considered to be one of the finest musicians in the modern age. The program involves sharing, collaborating, learning on the job with the protégé observing the maestro at work. The type of interaction between the protégé and the mentor is left to the two, with Rolex taking care of the logistics and travelling and lodging expenses.

Ben Frost’s mentor, Brian Eno, 61, visionary musician and theorist, composer par excellence, singer, multimedia artist and technological innovator, has influenced the world of music with his ground breaking work for the last 40 years. He has collaborated with some of the greatest artist of his generation, describing his work as an odyssey in unusual aural environments.

Brian Eno earned widespread acclaim for his work in the glam rock band Roxy Music in the early 1970’s. His work included groundbreaking scores like No Pussyfooting and the hit singles Here Come the Warm Jets. Later he branched into ambient music where he made a name for himself, composing music for Discreet Music and Music for Airports.

He has also collaborated with some of the greatest artists of the modern era including Paul Simon, U2, and Coldplay. He has also composed music for the forthcoming film, the Lovely Bones.

Ben Frost, 29, musician, composer and producer, is one of the three shortlisted for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative.  The artist, born in Australia, came into prominence after the release of his album, Music for Sad Children in the year 2000. He is also known for his work with other Australian artists like David Bridie and the rock band Something for Kate.  His work draws its sustenance from several genres like minimalism, post-punk, black metal and noise. His command over several genres became evident in his 2007 masterpiece Theory of Machines.

The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative nominee received a lot of praise for his creative masterpiece Music for Sand Children. Pitchfork Media described the experiment as an exemplary work of art. His critically acclaimed LP Theory of Machines also generated a lot of interest and stamped his authority on the global music scene. Boomkat described the album as one of the most interesting albums of its time.  Further acclaim was to follow from the reputed journal “The Wire Magazine” which described the music as an extraordinary piece of work.

Ben Frost has also collaborated with internationally acclaimed artists such as Bjork, Nico Muhly, Amiina, and Ghostdigital and so on. The multitalented artist doffs several hats including that of a composer of film and contemporary dance. His collaborations with other artists like Chunky Move, the Icelandic Dance Company and Erna Omarsdottir has brought him widespread recognition in the artistic community.

The Rolex Mentor and Arts Initiative is a philanthropic program that aims to promote outstanding talent in the field of dance, music, theatre, visual arts, film and literature by pairing them with the masters of the trade.

The program invites applications from all around the world. These are sifted by an Advisory Board comprising of outstanding artists and distinguished personalities. The shortlisted are handed over to the Mentor who selects the most suitable protégé. Once selected the protégé remains under the tutelage of the mentor for six weeks. This incubation period is often increased by mutual agreement. The program is collaborative in nature and involves much sharing, learning and growing on the job. The mentor by virtue of his expertise over the craft is in position to teach the finer nuances of the trade, helping the protégé to learn more about the craft.

The type of interactions is left to the protégé and the mentor. Depending upon each other’s comfort level the interaction may involve collaborating on a project or getting access to see the master at work. Either way the protégé is able to learn the nuances of the trade from a master of the trade.