Ben H. Allen III is an American record producer, mixer and songwriter, based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. He has produced and mixed records by artists such as Soccer Mommy, M.I.A., Deerhunter, Walk the Moon, Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley, Cut Copy, Washed Out and The Big Moon. He is also the owner of Maze Studios ATL, a recording studio in Atlanta, GA.
Biography Early years Born in Athens, Georgia, Allen got his start recording his own and friends' bands on a four track cassette multitrack recorder in his parents' basement. Eventually moving to New York City, Allen's work at Battery Studios and The Cutting Room Studios subsequently led to the position as an engineer with Sean Combs's Bad Boy Records, working on records by Mase, Carl Thomas, The Notorious B.I.G., and others.
Return to Georgia In 2001, he relocated to Atlanta, and began a long relationship with CeeLo Green, recording, producing and mixing records together, including 2006's St. Elsewhere by Gnarls Barkley also featuring Danger Mouse. The album reached No. 4 in the Billboard 200 as well as Platinum RIAA certification and won a Grammy Award for Best Urban Alternative Album.
His reputation for bringing the low-end aesthetics of Hip hop to Indie music led to numerous projects in that genre in the years to follow. In 2009, Allen recorded, mixed and co-produced Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion which received Album of The Year honors from publications including Spin and Entertainment Weekly. That same year Allen released Southern Gothic by The Constellations on his own record label MakeRecordsNotBombs, which was eventually re-released by Virgin Records in 2010. He also co-wrote and co-produced the Asher Roth single "I Love College" during this period and co-wrote "Here to Stay" for the international No. 1 album Back to Basics.
In 2010, Allen produced and mixed Deerhunter's Halcyon Digest, as well as releasing two EPs on MakeRecordsNotBombs by Athens, Georgia band Reptar. He also mixed singles for M.I.A. on her album MAYA. In 2011, Allen mixed Zonoscope for Australian band Cut Copy, as well as Within and Without by Washed Out. The same year, he reunited with CeeLo Green co-producing and co-writing the No. 2 Billboard Hot 100 single "Bright Lights Bigger City", which appeared on The Lady Killer. In 2012, Allen produced Walk the Moon's self-titled album, including the No. 7 Billboard Hot 100 single "Anna Sun".
Personal life and advocacy Allen currently resides in Atlanta, and works out of Maze Studios in the Reynoldstown neighborhood, which was featured prominently in the vinyl sleeve of Belle and Sebastian's Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance. He is known as an avid basketball fan and season ticket holder for the Atlanta Hawks, which created a public battle with notorious Boston Celtics fans Cut Copy over Twitter during the mixing of Zonoscope. He has also been an outspoken leader in the record industry, leading the opposition movement to a proposed ordinance by the city of Atlanta placing restrictions on recording studios to keep them from operating in proximity to residential areas. Allen was vocal about the adverse effects the proposed law would have on the music industry, speaking out at council meetings, in the media and lobbying council members. The ordinance was rejected by the Atlanta City Council on January 16, 2017. Allen has also appeared regularly as a guest lecturer in the University of Georgia music program.
Discography +Ben H. Allen discographyYearArtistAlbum titleLabel2024Maximo ParkStream of LifeLower Third2024Kaiser ChiefsEasy Eighth AlbumV22024Soccer MommyEvergreenLoma Vista2023Girl RayPrestigeMoshi Moshi2021ErasureThe Neon Remixed Mute2021Ron GalloPeacemealNew West2021Maxïmo ParkNature Always WinsProlifica Inc2020ErasureThe NeonMute Records2020The Magic GangDeath of the PartyWarner Records2020Hazel EnglishWake Up!Marathon Artists2020Washed OutPurple NoonSub Pop Records2020SpeelburgPorscheSophomore Slump2020Ron GalloPeacemealNew West Records2019DeerhunterWhy Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared?4AD2019Japanese WallpaperGlowWonderlick, Sony Music2019The Big MoonWalking Like We DoFiction Records2018Wild MoccasinsLook TogetherNew West Records2017GGOOLLDDTeeth EPRoll Call Records2017ChildhoodUniversal HighMarathon2017Dan CrollEmerging AdulthoodCommunion Group2017Magic GiantIn the WindRazor & Tie2016Royal CanoeSomething Got Lost Between Here and the OrbitNevado Records2016The Temper TrapThick as ThievesInfectious Music2016Shock MachineOpen Up the SkyMarathon2015Belle and SebastianGirls in Peacetime Want to DanceMatador Records2015DeerhunterFading Frontier4AD2015Neon IndianVega Intl. Night SchoolOctave2015Civil TwilightStory of an ImmigrantFiction Records2015OberhoferChronovisionGlassnote Records2014Kaiser ChiefsEducation, Education, Education & WarCaroline Records2014Jeremy MessersmithHeart MurmursGlassnote Records2014Delta SpiritInto the WideDualtone Records2013Youth LagoonWondrous BughouseFat Possum Records2013CultsStaticColumbia Records2013DelphicCollectionsChimeric Records2013FlagshipFlagshipBright Antenna2013Washed OutParacosmWeird World2012Walk the MoonWalk the MoonRCA Records2012FanfarloRoom Filled with LightAtlantic Records2012ReptarBody FaucetMakeRecordsNotBombs2012Animal CollectiveCentipede HzDomino Recording Company2011RubikSolarFullsteam Records2011Cut CopyZonoscopeModular Recordings2011CeeLo GreenThe Lady KillerElektra Records2011Bombay Bicycle ClubA Different Kind of FixIsland Records2011Washed OutWithin and WithoutSub Pop2011GiversIn LightGlassnote Records2010DeerhunterHalcyon Digest4AD2010M.I.A.MAYAXL Recordings2010Matt and KimSidewalksFader Label2010The ConstellationsSouthern GothicMakeRecordsNotBombs2009Animal CollectiveMerriweather Post PavilionDomino Recording Company2009Asher Roth"I Love College"Universal Music Group2008Gym Class HeroesThe QuiltDecaydance2007AthleteBeyond the NeighbourhoodParlophone2006Christina AguileraBack to BasicsRCA Records2006Gnarls BarkleySt. ElsewhereAtlantic Records2004CeeLo GreenCee-Lo Green... Is the Soul MachineArista Records2000Carl ThomasEmotionalBad Boy Records1999MaseDouble UpBad Boy Records1999Puff DaddyForeverBad Boy Records
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