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Friday, 09 January 2009

Ben Lee wants to be rockin' in his 80s

7/08/2008 11:44:00 AM.  | AAP

Australian musician Ben Lee, who hopes he'll still be rocking in his eighties, says he's looking forward to getting into what he calls the "meat and potatoes" of his life.

Lee, who has just finished recording his new album, The Rebirth of Venus, will turn 30 next month, and has no qualms about it.

"I always felt like someone in my thirties or forties, I think I'm feeling really excited about actualising that dream," Lee told AAP.

"I never felt like a little kid or a teenager."

"I've always felt like the thirties and forties are when you get into the meat and potatoes of your life, so I'm really excited."

"I'm not planning any botox."

In fact, Lee says he can see himself making music into his eighties.

"If you're making stuff that goes against the grain of that rock`n'roll archetype, there's no reason you can't be doing it until the end of your life," he said.

"I think the rules, we're still writing them."

Lee, who lives in LA with his fiance actress Ione Skye and her young daughter Kate, is back in Australia for a brief trip.

He played the Splendour in the Grass Festival in Byron Bay at the weekend, and on Wednesday night performed for the TV show The Max Sessions in Sydney.

He said he felt fantastic to be back in Australia.

"Splendour was great, it was nice to have a bit of a relax up in Byron (Bay)," he said.

"I'm always in favour of festivals that are in beautiful, natural environments."

Lee says he plans to remain based in the United States for a while, but would always be a frequent visitor to Australia.

"Luckily, `cause my music's always done well here, I get to be back here all the time," he said.

"That's a brilliant thing."

Lee credits Skye and Kate for inspiring his positive album.

"I'm getting married this year, and I've got a stepdaughter, so there's a lot of powerful women in my life," he said.

Lee says that fans can expect an album that is "really up".

"When I started, it was just about being kind of abrasive, and being deliberately difficult, and I went through my share of that," he said.

"Now I'm trying more - I actually like pleasing my audience, I love my audience and I'm grateful that they listen to me.

"I want to give them music they like and I want to bring up the things I want to bring up."

Lee also spoke about recording the soundtrack for the Australian movie The Square with Joel and Nash Edgerton, describing it as a "really fun experience".

"Interesting guys the Edgerton brothers," he said.

"I wanted to write songs with that sense of seductiveness and mystery and danger."

"The whole attitude was like `Nash, I don't care how much or how little you want to use, I'm going to make a whole album's worth and you can use what you like."

"So I just got to make a great record that I was proud of.

The Max Sessions: Ben Lee airs on pay TV channel Music Max on September 6.

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