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ARTICLE
Since then, Ben has enjoyed solo album success and the biggest selling Grandmix ever. And to this day he still produces multi-format analogue and digital releases of ground-breaking productions – all unique and highly collectible.
Recently, Ben sat down with Paul Dakeyne to discuss his career. Look out for the second half of this fascinating interview in our next issue (i127, September/October).
Q: Looking back to the late 1970s, what was it that lead you into the world of DJing and production and kick-started your career?
A: As a young guy, I was very interested in electronic music – Kraftwerk, Jean-Michel Jarre, Tomita – all the electronic stuff.
I also had a real interest for the combination of electronics and music, so its creation was something that really fascinated me. Then, one morning in 1976, the clock radio flicked on and the DJ was playing the B-side of a Donna Summer single. The song was ‘I Feel Love’ and it kind of melded through me. For me, that was my first musical revelation. It really set me on a path following what Giorgio Moroder was doing and led to my huge interest in dance music.
Another interest of mine was putting amplifiers together and getting old tape machines to work and recording stuff. Around 1978 or '79 we went on holiday to Italy and I visited a club called the Yellow Cat. The DJ there was playing things like Gino Soccio’s ‘Dancer’ (well, the whole album actually), Peter Jacques Band, Revanche, and Macho ‘I’m a Man’. I ended up buying a whole stack of records whilst there, probably from the same record store the DJ got his stuff from.
Back home, I would just take my cassette deck and use the pause button to join all the best parts of these tracks. I wasn't even keeping track of the BPM, just taking the best parts of all these tracks – the beautiful breaks and percussion – and throwing all that stuff together to make a kind of Reader's Digest of what I’d bought in Italy. That happened to be my – let’s call it – ‘edit’ of dance. So again, that sparked another level of interest in pursuing that and seeing what more was possible – synchronising rhythms with tracks I already had, but also synchronising stuff which was wildly different from each other.
Q:There was no internet, no manuals, no ‘how to’ guide or courses back then. Were you self-taught in every aspect of DJ and studio recording/mixing? And where did you work on your early productions?
A:Everything was done in my bedroom – and that applies all the way up to 1988. I had gold and platinum production awards hanging on my wall while still working from my bedroom.
But regarding being self-taught, back then...
To read the full article, you’ll need to have a physical copy of the magazine which you can sign up for here for 6 issues delivered to your door from just £16!
https://store.promobile.online/products/pro-mobile-magazine-6-issue-1-year-subscription
You’ll also get full interactive access to this and the last year of magazines via the Pro Mobile Magazine App which is available from both the Apple App Store and Android PlayStore
Recently, Ben sat down with Paul Dakeyne to discuss his career. Look out for the second half of this fascinating interview in our next issue (i127, September/October).
Q: Looking back to the late 1970s, what was it that lead you into the world of DJing and production and kick-started your career?
A: As a young guy, I was very interested in electronic music – Kraftwerk, Jean-Michel Jarre, Tomita – all the electronic stuff.
I also had a real interest for the combination of electronics and music, so its creation was something that really fascinated me. Then, one morning in 1976, the clock radio flicked on and the DJ was playing the B-side of a Donna Summer single. The song was ‘I Feel Love’ and it kind of melded through me. For me, that was my first musical revelation. It really set me on a path following what Giorgio Moroder was doing and led to my huge interest in dance music.
Another interest of mine was putting amplifiers together and getting old tape machines to work and recording stuff. Around 1978 or '79 we went on holiday to Italy and I visited a club called the Yellow Cat. The DJ there was playing things like Gino Soccio’s ‘Dancer’ (well, the whole album actually), Peter Jacques Band, Revanche, and Macho ‘I’m a Man’. I ended up buying a whole stack of records whilst there, probably from the same record store the DJ got his stuff from.
Back home, I would just take my cassette deck and use the pause button to join all the best parts of these tracks. I wasn't even keeping track of the BPM, just taking the best parts of all these tracks – the beautiful breaks and percussion – and throwing all that stuff together to make a kind of Reader's Digest of what I’d bought in Italy. That happened to be my – let’s call it – ‘edit’ of dance. So again, that sparked another level of interest in pursuing that and seeing what more was possible – synchronising rhythms with tracks I already had, but also synchronising stuff which was wildly different from each other.
Q:There was no internet, no manuals, no ‘how to’ guide or courses back then. Were you self-taught in every aspect of DJ and studio recording/mixing? And where did you work on your early productions?
A:Everything was done in my bedroom – and that applies all the way up to 1988. I had gold and platinum production awards hanging on my wall while still working from my bedroom.
But regarding being self-taught, back then...
To read the full article, you’ll need to have a physical copy of the magazine which you can sign up for here for 6 issues delivered to your door from just £16!
https://store.promobile.online/products/pro-mobile-magazine-6-issue-1-year-subscription
You’ll also get full interactive access to this and the last year of magazines via the Pro Mobile Magazine App which is available from both the Apple App Store and Android PlayStore
The full review can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 126, Pages 58-62.
