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Released on Blackout Room Records

Neon\\Haven

Late-night melodic house from an old raver who refuses to go home. Just bones and a heart.

▶  PlayWelcome to the Show · Fri 13 NovOut now
BrisbaneMelodic house50+ releasesWritten and produced by Ben Howat

Press play

Turn it up.
Drive somewhere.

Songs for the drive home. Being a dad, getting through the hard bits, love, and making music at the kitchen table after the day job.

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Neon\\Haven on SpotifyThe player loads here. Open in Spotify
The Neon\\Haven crest in hand-bent pink neon on a brick wall beside an acoustic guitarThis is me now

A note

Fifty-odd songs in, I stopped hiding behind the beat.

These are about the stuff that actually happens. Being a dad. Getting through the hard bits. Love. Making music at the kitchen table after the day job, because I can't not.

Strip it all back and it's just bones and a heart. So that's what you get.

Ben

01 / 04

little hands

Being a dad. School bags, balloons, the walk home, and the bit of you that's always listening for them.

02 / 04

still here

Getting through. The nights you drive somewhere high just to sit for a minute. And then you drive home.

03 / 04

handle with care

Love. Finding it, losing it, keeping it, mending it with whatever gold you've got.

04 / 04

made it anyway

Day job, night songs. Turning up to the door with the guitar case even when every bone says go home.

Welcome to the Show cover: a skeleton in a torn unicorn onesie at a 90s party table, drinking, with Blackout Room Records label tape across the bottom

New single · BRR 001

Welcome to
the Show.

Out 9am Friday 13 November, Brisbane.Out now. The first release on Blackout Room Records.

00Days
00Hours
00Mins
Follow to hear it first

Discography

The records.

Fri 13 NovOut now
Welcome to the ShowSingle · AI-assisted
Re-releaseOne More Try cover: the skeleton in a torn unicorn onesie, shot like a disposable-camera party snap
One More TrySingle · Blackout Room Records
Re-releaseAin't Goin Nowhere cover: the skeleton in a torn unicorn onesie, shot like a disposable-camera party snap
Ain't Goin NowhereSingle · Blackout Room Records
Re-releaseReady for the Light cover: the skeleton in a torn unicorn onesie, shot like a disposable-camera party snap
Ready for the LightSingle · Blackout Room Records
Re-releaseDon't Make This Weird cover: the skeleton in a torn unicorn onesie, shot like a disposable-camera party snap
Don't Make This WeirdSingle · Blackout Room Records
Re-releaseLet It Ring cover: the skeleton in a torn unicorn onesie, shot like a disposable-camera party snap
Let It RingSingle · Blackout Room Records
Re-releaseThe Duel cover: the skeleton in a torn unicorn onesie, shot like a disposable-camera party snap
The DuelSingle · Blackout Room Records
Re-releaseI Made It Here cover: the skeleton in a torn unicorn onesie, shot like a disposable-camera party snap
I Made It HereSingle · Blackout Room Records
50+releases and counting. The whole catalogue lives on Spotify, Apple Music and 150+ stores.

The discography wall

Every song, one photo.

41 songs from the back catalogue, each shot like a night you half remember. Tap one.

Chapter 1 4

Chapter 2 4

Album 1 14

Gym Mix 3

Singles 16

Signing day

Signed to Blackout Room Records.

Ben keeps the name. The label gets the licence, the paperwork and the cheap bubbly.

The pen.
Signed.
The cheap bubbly.
The press photo.
Taking the records home.
The morning after.

Found in the hoodie pocket

Notes from a raver who won't go home. Still here.

Voice memos at 3am, set notes in pen on a hand, a diary on the back of a flyer. Neon\\Haven writes everything down. Reading it back the next day is another matter.

The skeleton in a hoodie and headphones at the kitchen table at night with a cup of tea
Voice memo 2143:47 AM · 0:41
0:03Okay. Okay. The bassline goes dum, dum, da-dum. No. Da-DUM.
0:19Kettle's on. Don't wake anyone. Whisper the bassline.
0:34Note to self: the song is about getting through. Also buy milk.

Welcome to the Show, the week before

MONWrote the chorus in the car outside school pickup. Hummed it into my phone like a lunatic. Got a wave from another dad. He gets it.

WEDRecorded vocals in the wardrobe. The coats did the soundproofing. The coats deserve a credit.

THUFell asleep at 9:40 on the couch. Raver Rave-adjacent. Still counts.

FRIPlayed it to the kitchen boombox. Danced with a tea towel. Nobody saw. Probably.

SATMade it here. That's the whole song, really.

The skeleton in a hoodie sitting on a car bonnet above the city lights at night
  1. Open slow, let it breathe
  2. Drop at 1:12. DON'T rush it
  3. Smile (you have no lips, do it anyway)
  4. Say thank you. Mean it.

The rider

Honest version · signed by the artist
  • One chair. Lumbar support. Non negotiable.
  • Earplugs (for after, not during)
  • A cup of tea at 11pm sharp
  • Phone charger, the right one
  • A ride home by 2. Fine. 3.
P.S. no fog machine near the snacks. Learnt that one.
‹ NotesDone

Reasons I'm not going home yet

Today 1:58 AM

  • One more track
  • They're playing the good one
  • Tired
  • Haven't danced with the unicorn crew yet
  • Work tomorrow
  • Bones feel great actually
Asked after the show

"Why the skeleton?" Because some nights that's all that's left. Bones and a heart. Turns out that's enough.

Neon\\Haven
Asked at the bar

"Why the unicorn onesie?" It was the only clean thing. Now it's the brand.

Neon\\Haven
Asked by the label

"When's the next one?" It's already written. In a voice memo. At 3:47am. Somewhere.

Neon\\Haven

Written by Neon\\Haven between sets, school runs and cups of tea. Spelling fixed by the label. Feelings left exactly as they were.

Launch posts

From Ben and the label.

Eight posts for the run to Friday 13 November. Every one goes to Ben for a yes first.

BenKept every one of them. Friday 13 November: Welcome to the Show.
LabelCounting down. Neon\\Haven, Friday 13 November.
BenVocals recorded in the wardrobe. The coats did the soundproofing.
LabelRelease night. Welcome to the Show is out now.
BenThank you for every play, every share, every message.
BenFirst listen on the kitchen boombox. Still not over it.
LabelThe merch is in. Black, pink and white.
BenThe next one is already written.

Visuals

Out in the wild.

The crest on neon, tees, patches, pins and stickers. Made with AI tools, directed by Ben.

Hand-bent neon
the sign
The tee in the club
the tee
Screen print on the press
the print
Denim back patch
the patch
Stickers on a flight case and laptop
the stickers
Enamel pins card
the pins
The character sheet: four poses in the unicorn onesie
the character
The old Neon\\Haven look
Before
The new Neon\\Haven crest: the skeleton in the unicorn hood with the pink cup
After

How this brand was made

Our first client was our founder.

Neon\\Haven had a look that said nothing about the songs. So the label rebuilt it from the inside out.

  1. The briefRaw, human, about real life. Nothing glossy.
  2. The faceAn actual skeleton in a torn unicorn onesie, hood up, pink cup in hand. An old raver refusing to go home.
  3. The typeHand-drawn chrome-cream capitals with a hot pink glow, a party hat on the A and two amber slashes.
  4. The kitLogo, covers, profile pictures, banners, a brand book and this page.
Start with The look, A$149Ask about a full rebrand

Friday 13 November · 9am BrisbaneOut now · Brisbane

Neon\\Haven

Made at the kitchen table. Released on Blackout Room Records.

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