Name: B.E.N.
Location: England
Location: England
A career spanning nearly ten years and counting, yet still only twenty two years of age. A DJ renowned on a global scale plus a music producer releasing his works on some the biggest electronic dance music imprints out there - Welcome to the world of B.E.N.
Starting out primarily as a DJ aged twelve, B.E.N. quickly gained great praise for his mixing ability and track selections from names such as John 00 Fleming and Guy Ornadel, and from there on, gradually developed a DJ style combining a range of genres from Progressive House to Uplifting Trance with experimental use of both Psychedelic & Hard Dance styles too. This inevitably was the building blocks of which over the years has enabled B.E.N. to play many events globally and due to his diverse style and versatility, has lead him on to play a wide variety of sets too; whether it be playing before Progressive House act's or coming on after Hard Dance DJ's at rocking BPM's.
Starting out primarily as a DJ aged twelve, B.E.N. quickly gained great praise for his mixing ability and track selections from names such as John 00 Fleming and Guy Ornadel, and from there on, gradually developed a DJ style combining a range of genres from Progressive House to Uplifting Trance with experimental use of both Psychedelic & Hard Dance styles too. This inevitably was the building blocks of which over the years has enabled B.E.N. to play many events globally and due to his diverse style and versatility, has lead him on to play a wide variety of sets too; whether it be playing before Progressive House act's or coming on after Hard Dance DJ's at rocking BPM's.
Building on from being just a DJ, gaining early credit from the likes of Pete Tong, B.E.N. developed a keen ear for music production and the success in that field has created an ever popular production discography with releases on some of the most upstanding labels in the scene, such as; Armada Music, Coldharbour Recordings & J00F Recordings as-well as high profile remixes for many respected artists.
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| Interview is written and conducted by Dimitri Kechagias, Radio/Club dj & Music Journalist |
Dimitri: Do you consider 2011 as a positive, negative or neutral year for the progress of the Electronic Dance Music scene? B.E.N.: I think it’s been a positive year in the sense that dance music has become more accessible to the masses through commercial artists. It’s made people who weren’t necessarily into dance music before, look beyond the commercial stuff and see what real EDM is all about. I guess any publicity is good publicity as far as EDM is concerned.
Dimitri: Do you believe that 2011 was a good , indifferent or bad year for the development of your personal career?
B.E.N.: 2011 has been a learning curve more than anything. Seeing where things are going and developing new ideas and putting them into effect. It’s something, which needs to be done every now and then… especially when you’ve been involved in the scene without a real break for the past eleven years or-so! I’ve had a few months living abroad this year too so that was inspirational for
me.
Dimitri: THE A to Z of the Best of the Year 2011.
a) Best Full Release of the year(original & remixes)
B.E.N.: Alex Kenji & Starkillers feat. Nadia Ali – Pressure …. Any mix of this just has a great vibe about it. Especially the Alesso Remix.
b) Your personal Full release of the year
B.E.N.: Actually, an unreleased one of mine called “Break The Cycle” – had some great reactions already!
c) Best Single track of the year (only original versions)
B.E.N.: Adam K & BT – Tomahawk (Original Mix) …. TUNE !!!
d) Your personal Best Single track of the year
B.E.N.: same as b)
e) Best Remix of the year
B.E.N.: Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus (Eric Prydz Remix) Mute
B.E.N.: Max Go & Chris Lawr feat. Cami Bradley - Captivated (B.E.N. Remix) Fuzion Four Records
g) Best Producer of the year in your style that you play or any other that you may like
B.E.N.: Dimitri Vangelis & Wyman / Eric Prydz
h) Best New Talent/Big hope for the coming years
B.E.N.: Nkoder / Richard Bedford
i) Best Remixer of the year on personal or others peoples tracks
B.E.N.: Dimitri Vangelis & Wyman / Eric Prydz
j) Best Established Label of the year(not started in 2011)
B.E.N.: Perfecto Records
k) Best Newborn in 2011 label of the year
B.E.N.: Night Vision (Simon Patterson’s label)
l) Best dance album and mixed compilation of the year in the style of music that you work with…
B.E.N.: Oakenfold’s “Nevermind The Boll*cks”
m) Best Music Video of the year(this can be personal/you are involved with or from other artists)
B.E.N.: The one Astrix made for his Temper Trap – “Sweet Disposition” remix … check it out on YouTube!
n) Best social network of the year that has been amazing for the promotion of your work
B.E.N.: Facebook / Twitter
u) Best online or ordinary record shop that you used to get your music of the year
B.E.N.: Beatport
v) Best CD player or any other equipment that you use for djing (this can include software for digital mixing)
B.E.N.: Traktor Kontrol S4 – Totally let’s you go crazy with loops and samples to make ‘on the fly’ versions of tracks.
w) Best vocalist in a dance track of the year
B.E.N.: Richard Bedford – His voice is fantastic and his songwriting is just out of this world.
x) Best magazine or web site that you always check out for music related stuff
(to read reviews/interviews/ and learn about technical equipment)
B.E.N.: To be honest I just see links on Twitter mostly. A name that stands out on there with regular gear updates is; @DigitalDJTips
y) Best fan of your music of the year or best crowd in your performance(perhaps you don’t know the name but you can describe when you met or why you consider this person as your best fan of the year)
B.E.N.: The Maltese Trance Mafia !!!
z) Best thing you have done this year in order to support any social movement, charities, or other people that may need your help.
B.E.N.: I’m always helping out up and coming producers who contact me for support and advice – does that count?!
Dimitri: Can you please let us know your plans for 2012 for your djing, productions or label?
B.E.N.:All will be revealed very soon... ;-)
Dimitri: On the other side is it possible to tell us the track, album, artist/dj that you believe were the worst of the year and why?
B.E.N.: I dislike producers who are booked to DJ at shows yet don’t have the slightest knowledge of DJ’ing and think it’s cool to play ten of their own tracks in an hours set without caring what the crowd think.
Dimitri: Please give us your wishes for 2012 and your small piece of advice for anyone that reads this interview and aspires to get into music production, djing, or music production in general.
B.E.N.: Best wishes for 2012 with the radio show… I’m sure it’ll continue to be bigger than ever!!
Many thanks to B.E.N. for replying in my interview questions and always finding time to come back in my requests. Thats what I call a professional dj and producer.
Buy B.E.N. music at Beaport, Click here
Additional info:
http://www.ben.dj
http://www.facebook.com/bdotedotndot
http://www.twitter.com/BdotEdotNdot
http://www.mostwantedglobal.com/
