10 Seconds: Ben Vize

1. Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - Inca Roads (5'46" - 5'56")

From Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - One Size Fits All (1975)

" Anyone who knows me will know how much of a Zappa fan I am! This was the tune that got me into him around 5 years ago or so when I was second year in college. The last second or so of this snippet has one of my favourite sections ever - where he has condensed an earlier motif, which used to be a

2 bar phrase, into about 1 and half bars. For the nerds out there - it’s two sets of quintuplets, then two sets of septuplets (with a very cheeky triplet squeezed in the last set! Nested tuplets!)"

2. The Brecker Brothers - Some Skunk Funk (1'15" - 1'25")

From The Brecker Brothers - Live In Barcelona (1992)

"This was the first ever tune to really catch my eye (or rather ear!) with jazz. The solo break from Michael Brecker is unbelievable; his time, note choice and sheer ferocity is something I find hard to match from any other sax player. The band supporting is just ridiculous as well. I could go on for days about Michael Brecker and how much he has inspired me!"

3. Allan Holdsworth - City Nights (0'10" - 0'20")

From Allan Holdsworth - Secrets (1989)

“Over the past few years I have really gotten into Holdsworth - and they’re so many tracks that I could choose but this 10 second snippet always comes to mind. The way it slowly speeds up and ends with that beautiful pitch down whammy bar thing gets me every time."

4. The Beatles - All My Loving (0'00" - 0'10")

From The Beatles - With The Beatles (1963)

"I grew up listening to the Beatles and this was and probably will always be my favourite song by them. The melody from the first ten seconds I think is absolutely beautiful and the harmony supporting it is perfect. I also love voices singing in unison and the Beatles always do this perfectly."

5. Yes - The Gates of Delirium (8'05" - 8'15")

From Yes - Relayer (1974)

"Another band I listened to loads as a kid, my dad is a massive fan. Still, I only discovered this album during college, and this section in ‘The Gates of Delirium’ is amazing. Rick Wakeman’s synth slowly buzzing in with this fizzy sound is just so cool."

6. Protest the Hero - The Duelling Cavalier (4'32" - 4'42")

From Protest the Hero - Palimpest B-sides (2021)

"This is a very new song by one of my favourite metal bands - ‘Protest the Hero’. The ending of this is just beautiful. The harmony and rhythm (in 7s) is unbelievably epic!"

7. Devin Townsend - Supercrush! (4'59" - 5'09")

From Devin Townsend - Addicted (2009)

"Devin Townsend has been one of my favourite artists ever since I listened to his Deconstruction album (that album is his all time best IMO), but the ending from this tune ‘Supercrush’ has got to be one of the most epic endings ever! Minor IV to I is always beautiful to hear, but in metal, it’s 10x more powerful."

8. Sergei Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2, Movement 3 (10'31" - 10'41")

From Krystian Zimerman, Seiji Ozawa, BSO - Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.1 & 2

"The climax of this unbelievable piano concerto in the third movement bought me to tears the first time I listened to it properly on my new speakers (back in 2014!) This has been one of my all time favourite classical pieces of music (all three movements are incredible), but this ending is jaw dropping."

9. Meshuggah - Nostrum (3'28" - 3'38")

From Messhugah - The Violent Sleep of Reason (2016)

"Meshuggah - what can i say!! Didn’t get the hype until about 4 years ago. Then more recently I’ve been absolutely hooked. They are the ultimate metal band. The amount of music they have inspired (as they’ve been going since 87!) is insane. This particular section is right in the middle of what appears to be the most insane guitar solo of all time - right after this section the vocals with the same band hits as before is incredible."