By: Ethan Rogers
Australian musician Ben Provest is set to release a haunting and introspective new single titled “Trying To Be Brave” on November 14th, 2025, a song born from the quiet solitude of Iceland’s remote eastern fjords. Written and recorded in a converted fish factory in the fishing village of Stöðvarfjörður, the track is a meditation on stillness, connection, and courage amid isolation.
Ben Provest spent a month in the tiny Icelandic village as part of an artist residency, surrounded by mountains, volcanic stone, and endless sky. That sense of vastness, he says, was both humbling and creatively freeing. “I lived and worked in this old fish factory with artists from around the world,” Provest recalls. “Each day I’d walk along the fjord for exercise and inspiration. It was quiet and isolating, but something about that vastness made me feel more connected, to myself and to music, than I had in a long time.”
That tension between solitude and self-discovery pulses through “Trying To Be Brave.” The track is built on warm acoustic guitar layers and intimate vocal textures, drawing influence from artists such as Harrison Storm, Garrett Kato, and Woodlock. The result is an atmospheric folk piece that feels as open and raw as the Icelandic landscape that inspired it.
Unlike many modern releases polished in studios far removed from their inspiration, Trying To Be Brave was recorded, mixed, and mastered entirely on-site in Stöðvarfjörður. The minimal production setup only added to its authenticity, capturing the natural acoustics of the old fish factory, the faint echoes of wind against tin walls, and the subtle imperfections that give the song its soul.
Thematically, the single explores what it means to stay grounded when everything familiar falls away. “The song came out of trying to find peace in uncertainty,” says Ben Provest. “In that landscape, you feel so small, but that can be grounding too.” There’s an emotional honesty in his delivery that cuts through the production’s spaciousness, reminding listeners that bravery doesn’t always mean boldness; sometimes it’s simply about being still and facing yourself.
Before this Icelandic chapter, Ben Provest had built a strong reputation back home in Melbourne, producing records for artists such as Nikolas Lee, Noakesy, and Amber Scates. His technical versatility led him across the globe to Los Angeles, where he collaborated with Hollywood film composer Christopher Young. Those experiences shaped his sound, but Trying to Be Brave represents something more personal —a homecoming of sorts. It’s a return to songwriting as a form of therapy, reflection, and self-expression.
Listeners familiar with Ben Provest’s earlier work will notice a shift toward vulnerability. Gone are the dense arrangements and studio gloss; in their place is space, space to breathe, to think, to feel. It’s folk music stripped to its emotional core, carried by sincerity rather than spectacle.
The single has already begun attracting international attention, featured on over ten global folk playlists, including Indie Folk Central, Zoe Konez, and Niche Music (Japan). These early nods suggest that Provest’s blend of gentle melancholy and quiet resilience is resonating far beyond Iceland’s shores.
What makes Trying To Be Brave stand out isn’t just its setting or its sound; it’s the emotional truth behind it. The song feels like a postcard from isolation, written by someone who went searching for meaning in the middle of nowhere and came back with music instead of answers. It’s a reminder that creativity often blooms in unlikely places, and that solitude, when embraced, can be an influential teacher.
With Trying To Be Brave, Ben Provest invites listeners into that frozen, reflective world, one where courage whispers instead of shouts, and where music becomes a bridge between fear and peace. It’s both a sonic journey through Iceland’s quiet vastness and a profoundly human story about finding connection in unexpected corners of the earth.
Trying To Be Brave will be available on all major streaming platforms on November 14, 2025.
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