MAY 2007/INTERVIEW/BENJI B

Your radio career began when you worked as the producer of Gilles Peterson's World Wide show. What impact did this have on your development and how was it working with Gilles?

This had a huge impact on my development as it was my first gig in radio and was like jumping straight in at the deep end. I taught myself nearly everything – I learnt on the job while the red “on the air” light was on every week. At this time I was headhunted to produce for an independent radio production company too, so I must have been doing something right. It was a crazy time and definitely gave me a confidence in the broadcast environment that you can’t learn anywhere else. I was only 16, I’ve been involved in radio for over a decade now.


Regular listeners of your show will know that you were a huge fan of the late J Dilla and continue to give his and his associates' work a great deal of support in the UK. What do you think it was that made his music so unique?

God made him unique. I don’t really know what to say beyond that – he was a musician with his chosen tool, beyond the realms of just a beat maker or producer. He had a sound that inspired a generation, but that was impossible to copy. Only he could get the feeling he achieved in his music, because there was, and is, and will always only ever be one J Dilla. May he rest peacefully.


The independent hip-hop scene seems to have undergone a renaissance in the past few years, resulting in an abundance of brilliant records. Can you pin-point what was integral to this happening?

I’m not sure I agree about the abundance of brilliant records, but there have definitely been a handful of very special ones. What was integral? The homogeneity of “mainstream hip-hop and R&B” or in more direct terminology, pop music, the dominance of MTV culture and the further globalisation and merger of major recording companies. There’s definitely been a surge in wonderful beat making talents over the last few years, but there is only a handful of MCs at “independent” level who can consistently kill it. In some ways the counter-culture movement is stronger than it ever has been – in other ways the independent hip-hop scene is dead compared to even 5 or 6 years ago when entire record stores could dedicate themselves to that music. Those stores are gone and no-one is buying the records. If the internet nearly killed hip-hop beyond the mainstream, let’s hope it’s the thing that eventually saves it. I think that this will be the case - I hope so.


Do you have a point of personal reference musically that's been essential in giving you your direction and individual style?

Jazz and my background as a musician; those are the foundations for me. I played sax for 14 years.


Considering the sheer amount of music you must receive and get to hear each week, how difficult is it for you to edit yourself, for the purposes of a two-hour show?

It’s not hard at all to be strict about editing the music. In fact the hard thing is actually finding music that lives up to the extremely high standards I set myself. Often the hard bit is not getting depressed by the mountains of rubbish music that it’s necessary to listen to in order to find the jewels, however when you find the gem it is always worth it. This is basically my job with the radio; to arrive at the station with a box full of music that has been filtered down into just the essentials; the good stuff. Music is like food to me – and I never ever lose my appetite.


You are known for having helped to break some of the best artists and acts of the past few years including Amerie, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Aloe Blacc, Tawiah and others. What are the stories behind their discovery?

It’s simple really – I’m in the privileged position of receiving music direct from labels, studios, A&Rs and the artists themselves, often before it is signed, pressed, or in some cases even finished. If the music fits the show, offers something new, inspires me, or may be of interest to the audience, it gets played. It is not based whatsoever on a notion of what is ‘cool’ or might go on to be ‘big’. Of course if I can break artists that I care about, that feels great to me; if they go on to be huge that’s fantastic, but I don’t seek credit for any of the above. My job is to be early on these things, and although I’m in a position to give the music a platform, ultimately the music will speak for itself.


For a number of years the cult of DJing (where DJing was an art in and of itself) had been relegated in many cases to simply being a promotional/money making tool for producers. How difficult is it to be a good DJ? Can producers be good DJs, and do you think we're returning to a time where the distinction between the two is again relevant?

No – I don’t think the distinction is relevant, often being a producer means that you can bring a different perspective to the decks that a gigging DJ wouldn’t. Likewise, someone who has spent a long time in clubs honing the art of selection and mixing for the right moment and the right crowd might be able to offer experience in the field that someone else couldn’t. It’s pretty simple – either you are a good DJ or not! Asking the question can producers be good DJs is almost a rhetorical question; of course they can! Often they can be more amazing than those who are not musicians or producers; look at some of the biggest DJ names in the world: Louie Vega, Francois Kevorkian, Theo Parrish, etc. All heavyweight selectors, all heavyweight DJs, all heavyweight producers. I hope this answers the question.


What happened to Broken Beat? Did it suddenly go a bit quiet? Why do you think that was?

Broken Beat hasn’t gone quiet, only the hype has. Journalists and fashionistas were on it for a minute and now they are on something else. It might be fair to say that broken beat hasn’t exploded into something bigger than it was – but it would be inaccurate to suggest it had disappeared anywhere. Co-Op in London is still rocking, and the key producers in that scene have just as busy DJ diaries and studio schedules as they ever had. The problem with broken beat is that people (i.e. the media) want to generalise and pin point a “genre” when it’s really just about an approach to syncopated polyrhythmic music and not at all about a uniform sound or beat.


What is your view on the dubstep craze that's taking over the UK underground, is it all hype or do you think some of those artists will be able to evolve outside of the scene?

I don’t really think it’s a craze, again I think the media is just in a craze about it. Next week the craze will be Nu-Rave. Dubstep is another native music of the UK which has been healthy and alive and kicking for well over 5 years. It still will be long-after the ‘craze’ has shifted. Hopefully the new found focus of the media and the unity of the key players in the scene will allow it to grow into something quite powerful though. Forward (the flagship dubstep night in London) has been running for about as long as Co-Op has. People like Skream and Benga and Coki make incredible music. The sonics they achieve in the bottom end are so sophisticated they could test any sound system worldwide and some of these guys are only 20, 21... that’s what makes their music and their development within music so exciting. Personally I love it and I know that the most prolific and talented artists in that sphere already have the skill to evolve into anything they want to.


You've DJed at parties and festivals all over the world from Detroit to the UK, to Holland and Japan, and in June you're coming over to Athens to play at the Black Athena second birthday party. What has been your favourite DJ gig that you can recall?

Favourite DJ gig ever? That’s a hard one. Of recent times, I must say Mercati General in Sicily wins for environment; it’s set in an orange grove in an old wine making building with the volcano Mount Etna bubbling behind. In terms of fun, the Stones Throw party in Miami was a lot of fun, DJing with Madlib and co. was very messy – too many mojitos! Also in Miami I got to do a party with my good friends Geology and Waajeed – we’re calling it the Rocketscience collective. I have to say Japan is always extra special too, last year playing at Unit in Tokyo was a big gig for me, and a highlight of the last 12 months would have to be playing in Brazil for about 5 hours till 8 in the morning with the best dancers I have ever spun for. Amazing.