Ben Wheeler

Ben Wheeler (1986) is a musician, musicologist, and educator based in Tbilisi, Georgia. He is the co-founder of Mountains of Tongues, a project dedicated to preserving and promoting lesser known music from the Caucasus region. He has made hundreds of recordings of the music of ethnic, religious, and minority musicians and played an important role in the international popularization of Azerbaijani guitar music, with releases via Bongo Joe and the co-produced documentary film Gitara. His solo project Bneleti/ბნელეთი (‘Land of Darkness’ in archaic Georgian) carries elements from Caucasian polyphony, Azerbaijani guitar music, and metal influences from the Pacific Northwest. He is the founder of Caucasus All Frequency, a composer's residency in the highland of Georgia facilitating knowledge exchange between contemporary composers and folk music communities. Ben is a resident and team member of Tbilisi's Mutant Radio and teaches synthesis at Creative Education Studio.