Vancouver’s finest bringing us his Steel Eyes on Musical Freedom
Welcome to DMCWORLD towers, and what an incredible summer anthem you have brought us with ‘Steel Eyes’ on Tiesto’s Musical Freedom label. The record has been out for a couple of weeks now, talk us through the history of the tune…
“The vocals and lyrics I wrote together with the beautiful and talented Sherry St. Germain and the boys from DirtyRadio with whom I work very closely with. I produced the track after the vocals were made to keep it sounding natural. I personally love to write and record the vocal/idea first and then build a unique track for it after; this gets me the best results.”
Tell us about road-testing the tune, what were the early reactions like?
“I was amazed and humbled by how well received “STEEL EYES” was specially coming from an unknown name. I had some of the biggest influential DJs support it (Tiesto, David Guetta, Afrojack, Pete Tong and many others). Haha – I give it a 10/10.”
The tune has a real indie feel with emotive qualities of Progressive House throughout…who were the early Progressive House producers/DJs that influenced you?
“Most of my influences come from all genres and not exclusively progressive house. Acts like Coldplay, 30 Seconds to Mars, Radiohead, Kings of Lion, Eric Prydz, Carl Cox, Axwell, Tiesto and many others have influenced my sound.”
How important is creating your own style in EDM today?
“It’s very important for me to have my own style/sound. There is so much being released at the moment that you would get lost if you tried to just fit in or sound like something already out there. I think with my first release I have shown that people can expect something new and fresh sounding so… “expect the unexpected” haha.”
You hail from Vancouver in Canada. What’s all this about you getting into music at the age of five?
“I always was fascinated by keys and the fact that you would press something and get a sound out of it. My mother bought me a yamaha when I was 5 for fun and I used to be stuck to it for hours making my own patterns key to key (I guess we call them melodies now…) hehe. Growing up I listed to every form of EDM everything that was made with synths and eventually I got into Djing and producing records. It was all a natural evolution of events.”
What was the record that changed your life?
“It wasn’t just one song, too many to list.”
You claim that the American explosion has been a real blessing for Canada and that your two markets are very similar. In what way…
“Well, due to proximity with the USA, we trade with them and our youth gets a great deal of their media. Many people here tend to be into US trends or at least influenced by them. I think EDM has blown up globally not just in the States or Canada. I think for America to have accepted EDM is a seal of approval. The USA is the home of the global movie scene, pop, country, urban music and now EDM.”
In our eyes, Canada is doing things just right. Great pockets in cities bringing us top producers at your own pace, unlike America where millions have been thrown at EDM which could, to be honest, end in tears. You are keeping dance real. Thoughts on that…
“I think people and corporations that are in EDM for the wrong reasons will end up in tears at the end, but for someone like myself I am not concerned with catering to mass appeal as a first priority. My day consists of me working in the studio, writing new songs and just do what I love without any boundaries. At the end of the day its about the music and weather it connects with people. I think the scene in America is huge but EDM has also grown globally not just in the States which is a good thing but having said that you can’t forget where this scene is from; “the underground”.”
What has been you summer anthem?
“Steel Eyes are fully loaded … du du du hahaha…”
You spend up to ten hours a day in the studio – what is coming next from you release wise?
“I have my next follow up ready titled “Following Me”, more info coming soon and a few selective remixes on the way as well.”
Tiesto has been fantastic with his support. What makes him a great producer, DJ and label boss?
“Tiesto is truly a rockstar and the “King of EDM” (and always will be) I always compare him to our Elvis Presley or Micheal Jackson of EDM. I think one of his main talents is to be ahead of the curve and of everyone else and maintaining his unique sound. He has a good ear to select big tunes and that makes him a very strong label boss.”
Tell us about your studio set up…
“I work on multi DAW platforms but mostly I use Logic to finish projects. I use Apogee converters, set of Distressors, Super analog channel strip, SSL G Compressor, Moog Voyager, Virus C and a lot of soft synths and plug ins. For vocals, I’m using the Neumann TLM 103 with the Avalon 737. I am monitoring on the Genelec 8050s. I have carefully tested and evaluated many pieces of gear and this combination really caters to the Benji sound.”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning?
Benji ft. Sherry St. Germain – Steel Eyes
Benji – Following Me (coming soon)
Alesso ft. Matthew Koma – Years
Mike Hawkins & Jay Colin – Shut the Place Down
Adrian Lux ft. Dante – Burning (Ivan Gough & Fennixpawl Remix)
Topher Jones – Brohammer (Nari & Milani Dub Remix)
David Guetta – She Wolf (Sandro Silva Remix)
Dj Exodus & Leewise – We are your friends
Deorro – Get Up
Showtek & Hardwell – How We Do
Everyone has one, what is the guilty pleasure song you secretly love?
“It has to be the Mixtape from my boys DirtyRadio “CASSETTE” which you can download for free here http://freecassette.com/ . It’s not EDM but a really cool vibey album.”
Not many people know this, but Benji is really good at…
“I am pretty good at BBQ haha.”
Who are your big DJ/producer buddies in Vancouver you hang out with?
“At the moment I am in the studio everyday finishing my original singles but I hope soon we can all get together for a BBQ…”
And finally – what one artist would you love to get into the studio and make some music with…?
“Coldplay!”
