🎸🎤 TURN THOSE GUITARS UP, BUTT! American musician, producer and multi-instrumentalist BEN TREXEL has teamed up with vocalist AMANDA WILLIS-BRICE for ‘One Step’, a female-vocal-led hard rock single that has landed on The Riff Report’s grassroots music radar. With Trexel’s extensive background in guitar-driven music and an ongoing creative partnership with Willis-Brice, this is another independent collaboration we’re inviting our rock-loving readers to discover.
Originally released on 16 December 2024, the three-minute track is part of a growing catalogue of collaborations between the two artists, including ‘Can’t Look Back’, ‘Home’, ‘Nightjar’ and 2026’s ‘Another Life’. And with independent musicians facing an increasingly crowded digital music landscape, we’re more than happy to help give this recording another opportunity to reach new ears.
🎸 Meet Ben Trexel And Amanda Willis-Brice!
Well then, Riff Report crew!
We’ve got another grassroots music submission heading your way.
And this time, it’s a collaboration between two musicians who have been working together across several releases.
BEN TREXEL & AMANDA WILLIS-BRICE!
Their track One Step has been submitted to The Riff Report for consideration, with the music described as female-vocal-led hard rock.
And that’s a combination worth putting on the radar.
Because while rock music has enjoyed generations of extraordinary frontmen, some of the genre’s most exciting and distinctive performances have come from female vocalists.
From the pioneering achievements of ANN WILSON and LITA FORD to the more contemporary sounds of HALESTORM, THE WARNING and countless independent artists, women have played an enormously important role in the development of heavy guitar-driven music.
And that creative tradition continues through musicians working outside the major-label system.
Which brings us to One Step.
A standalone single featuring Amanda Willis-Brice alongside Ben Trexel.
And a useful introduction to a musical partnership with several recordings already available.
🎤 Amanda Willis-Brice – The Vocalist Behind The Collaboration
Amanda Willis-Brice is the featured vocalist on One Step.
Her collaboration with Ben Trexel extends beyond this particular recording.
The pair have also released other tracks, demonstrating an ongoing creative relationship.
For independent musicians, developing a reliable musical partnership can be particularly valuable.
A producer and a vocalist need to understand how their creative approaches fit together.
That can involve decisions about vocal arrangements, song structures, production and the overall musical direction.
And when musicians continue collaborating across several releases, listeners have an opportunity to explore how their work develops.
With One Step, the spotlight falls on a hard rock track built around female lead vocals.
It’s another reminder that the modern independent rock scene contains a broad range of voices and creative approaches.
And that’s exactly what we like discovering here at The Riff Report, butt!
🎸 Ben Trexel – Guitarist, Producer And Multi-Instrumentalist
Ben Trexel brings a substantial musical background to the project.
According to his official website, he’s a recording artist, guitarist, bassist, composer, producer, mixing engineer and MIDI programmer.
That’s a pretty impressive collection of musical responsibilities!
Rather than working exclusively as a guitarist, Trexel has developed a career encompassing different aspects of music production.
His work includes recording, songwriting, arranging and collaborating with other musicians.
And that’s particularly interesting in the context of independent rock.
Because producing a finished recording often involves far more than simply writing a guitar riff.
Somebody needs to consider the overall arrangement.
How different instruments interact.
How the vocals fit within the mix.
And how the final recording translates across headphones, speakers and streaming platforms.
Trexel’s range of experience gives him a broad foundation for developing musical projects.
His recording catalogue stretches back to albums including Wearing A Groove in 1997, Under The Radar in 2000 and Deep In The Mix in 2004.
More recent releases demonstrate his continuing involvement in music.
And his work with Amanda Willis-Brice forms another chapter in that catalogue.
💿 One Step – The Single Details
Detail Information Song One Step Main artist Ben Trexel Featured vocalist Amanda Willis-Brice Genre Hard rock / rock Release date 16 December 2024 Running time Approximately 3:06 Release format Digital single Copyright Ben Trexel Music, Ltd. Streaming platform Spotify
The track is available through the Spotify link supplied to our publication.
🎧 Listen To One Step On Spotify
Official Spotify track:
We encourage readers to explore the original recording through the artist’s official streaming release.
If the song connects with you, consider saving it to your playlist or sharing it with somebody who enjoys female-vocal-led hard rock.
For independent musicians, discovering new listeners can make a meaningful difference.
🔥 More Than One Song – A Growing Musical Partnership!
One of the most interesting things about this submission is that One Step isn’t the only recording featuring the two musicians.
Their catalogue includes several collaborations released between 2024 and 2026.
🎶 More Music From Ben Trexel And Amanda Willis-Brice
Song Release year Can’t Look Back 2024 One Step 2024 Home 2025 Nightjar 2025 Another Life 2026
For new listeners, this offers a useful opportunity.
You can begin with One Step and then explore the other recordings to discover how the collaboration has developed.
Their 2025 release Home is categorised as metal on Apple Music.
Meanwhile, Nightjar is listed within rock.
The 2026 single Another Life demonstrates that the musicians have continued working together beyond their earlier material.
That variety of releases makes the collaboration worth exploring beyond one song.
And it’s particularly encouraging to see independent musicians continuing to create and distribute original material.
🤘 Why Female-Fronted Hard Rock Deserves More Attention!
Let’s talk about something close to our hearts here at The Riff Report.
SUPPORTING WOMEN IN ROCK AND METAL!
Because while the music industry has historically placed enormous emphasis on male-fronted rock bands, female musicians have been creating powerful guitar-driven music for generations.
And they continue helping shape the future of the genre.
Think about some of the most recognisable voices in rock.
Ann Wilson helped establish HEART as one of the most important American rock bands of the 1970s and beyond.
Lita Ford became a celebrated guitarist and singer following her early work with THE RUNAWAYS.
Lzzy Hale has helped establish HALESTORM as a major force in contemporary hard rock.
And Mexican rock trio THE WARNING continue reaching enormous international audiences with their powerful performances and energetic songwriting.
But those established names represent only part of the story.
There are countless independent female vocalists working across rock, metal, alternative and progressive music.
Some perform with full bands.
Others collaborate with producers and songwriters.
And some develop their own recordings from home studios.
Each contributes something different.
And each deserves the opportunity to reach listeners.
That’s why submissions such as One Step are worth covering.
They’re another route towards discovering musicians who might otherwise remain outside the mainstream spotlight.
🎛️ The Importance Of Production In Modern Hard Rock
One aspect of the Ben Trexel collaboration that’s particularly interesting is his background in production and mixing.
Because recording rock music involves an enormous amount of creative decision-making.
And those decisions can influence how listeners experience a song.
🎸 Guitars
Hard rock relies heavily on guitar-driven arrangements.
But achieving a convincing guitar sound requires more than simply turning the amplifier up.
Producers need to consider tone, distortion, balance and how the guitars interact with the bass.
🥁 Rhythm Section
The relationship between drums and bass helps provide the foundation for heavy music.
A carefully constructed rhythm section allows the guitars and vocals to sit within the arrangement.
🎤 Lead Vocals
For a female-vocal-led hard rock recording, the vocal presentation is particularly important.
The producer needs to ensure that the singer’s performance remains clear and expressive without losing the intensity of the surrounding instruments.
🎚️ Mixing And Mastering
The final stages of production help bring those different elements together.
And with music increasingly consumed through phones, headphones, streaming services and portable speakers, creating a balanced mix can be particularly challenging.
Trexel’s experience across production, instrumental performance and mixing makes that background an interesting part of his work.
It also provides another reason to explore his wider catalogue.
🇺🇸 Independent American Rock – The Grassroots Scene Keeps Moving!
The United States has an extraordinary history of rock music.
From blues-inspired hard rock to glam metal, alternative rock, grunge and modern metal, American musicians have helped shape countless styles.
But beyond the biggest artists lies an enormous independent music community.
Musicians producing original material.
Working with collaborators.
Releasing singles.
And trying to introduce their music to audiences who may never have encountered them before.
And that’s a challenge.
Because the modern digital music landscape is incredibly crowded.
New songs arrive every day.
Streaming platforms contain vast catalogues.
And independent artists are competing for attention alongside major international names.
That’s why grassroots music journalism remains important.
It creates opportunities for discovery.
Not every submission is going to become somebody’s favourite song.
And not every independent artist will eventually headline enormous festivals.
But every worthwhile musical discovery begins with somebody hearing the music for the first time.
And sometimes that happens because another listener shared a link.
That’s how the music community grows, butt!
🐉 From America To Cymru – The Riff Report Supports Independent Music Everywhere!
Here in Wales, we know how important grassroots music is.
From Cardiff and Newport to Swansea, Wrexham, the Valleys and beyond, independent musicians continue developing their own sound.
And the same thing is happening across the Atlantic.
One of the best things about modern technology is that musical discoveries are no longer restricted by geography.
A musician can release a track in America.
Someone can discover it in Wales.
And suddenly that recording is reaching an audience thousands of miles away.
That’s pretty remarkable when you think about it.
And it’s why The Riff Report will always make space for independent artists alongside major rock and metal news.
We love the legendary bands.
We love enormous festivals.
And we certainly love a properly loud guitar solo!
But we also appreciate the people creating new music without enormous promotional budgets.
The artists putting in the work.
Developing collaborations.
And taking chances with their musical ideas.
Because supporting independent music means giving those artists opportunities to be discovered.
And that’s what this feature is about.
🔥 The Riff Report Verdict – One Step Towards A New Musical Discovery!
Well then, Riff Report crew.
We’ve got another collaboration to add to the grassroots radar.
One Step brings together American musician and producer Ben Trexel with vocalist Amanda Willis-Brice.
Released in December 2024, the song forms part of an ongoing creative partnership that has continued through 2026.
Trexel’s extensive experience in production and instrumental performance provides an interesting background.
Meanwhile, the collaboration’s focus on female-vocal-led hard rock gives fans of the style another artist to investigate.
And with additional recordings including Can’t Look Back, Home, Nightjar and Another Life, there’s more material to discover.
A quick editorial distinction: this is a grassroots music spotlight, not a scored firsthand listening review. We have verified the release details and artist information, but haven’t independently auditioned the complete Spotify recording. Rather than invent descriptions of its riffs, vocal range or production, we’re inviting readers to listen and form their own opinions.
And that’s an important part of music discovery.
We can introduce the artists.
Share the recording.
And provide information about their wider work.
But ultimately, the music needs to speak for itself.
So get those headphones ready.
Open the Spotify link.
And give Ben Trexel and Amanda Willis-Brice an opportunity to earn a place in your playlist.
BECAUSE SOMETIMES DISCOVERING YOUR NEXT FAVOURITE ROCK SONG STARTS WITH JUST ONE STEP! 🤘🎸🔥
💬 Have Your Say, Riff Report Crew!
Right then, you wonderful bunch of rockers!
Have YOU listened to ‘One Step’ by BEN TREXEL and AMANDA WILLIS-BRICE?
What do you think of the collaboration?
Would you add it to your hard rock playlist?
And have you explored any of their other releases?
We’d also love to hear your recommendations for independent female-fronted rock and metal artists.
Perhaps there’s a singer you’ve discovered recently.
Maybe you’ve found an unsigned band that deserves more attention.
Or perhaps there’s a grassroots act from Wales that everybody should know about.
Tell us!
Because The Riff Report is always interested in helping new listeners discover independent music.
SUPPORT GRASSROOTS ARTISTS. CELEBRATE WOMEN IN ROCK. KEEP THE RIFFS LOUD!
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