Hi Ben, great to have you join our podcast mix series. Please introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Ben aka DJ BenG & I have been DJ’ing since I was 14. I started as a hip hop fan (still am) on a pair of direct drive turntables until I was old enough to get a loan for a set of 1200s & never looked back.
Talk us through your DJ style and how it has developed.
During the late 90s, I began to look back at the samples & artists that hip hop had exposed me to. Discovering funk, soul, jazz & eventually disco, this journey led me to garage, the electronic music of the 80s & then on to house music.
Playing clubs from Cornwall to Manchester, I took my music from the dancefloor to the airwaves when I launched ‘DJ BenG Presents’, a radio show & podcast.
The two-hour show aired for several years, on multiple stations around the globe. It consistently delivered the freshest house music & featured a guest DJ each week.
Alongside this, I later produced a second podcast known as ‘The Rebirth’: an eclectic mix of future beats, hip hop & old funk & soul. The Rebirth was heavily influenced by my past musical experiences, all dug deep from my extensive record collection & drawing on my wide musical knowledge.
Today I’m enjoying playing a mix of disco & house for music lovers in bars & bistros, but I still love to take it to the clubs & entertain the dance crowds.
How has 2019 shaped up for you?
I took the decision to get back into my music following long break for personal reasons. I had to opportunity to kick start it all again so I’ve made an effort to produce more mixes for my social network as well as guest mixes for various radio stations. The aim is to build up the following again & take joy from hopefully entertaining like minded folk. When the time is right I would very much like to launched the radio show again.
I have also taken it upon myself to enrol in a music produce course. I am very excited about this as I’ve always wanted to either put out my own music or to perhaps put my take on a track with a BenG remix.
Any stand out experiences you would like to share?
There’s one amazing time always sticks in my head which happened back in the mid 90s. I was selected as one of only a handful of UK DJs to be part of Tim Westwood’s Big Dawg Record Pool. A friend of mine knew one of the producers on his Radio 1 hip hop show & he pushed to get me on the supply list as I was putting out plenty of hip hop mixtapes at the time. This, for the few months that it lasted, gave me so much vinyl to play with which I still have today.
Talk us through your podcast tune selection.
I’ve selected a sample of what I am all about, which in this case means disco influenced house music. It’s got a little more of the club feel to it in parts as I like to make sure people’s toes are tapping. I’ve gone for a mix of one or two big tunes with a few little gems bringing them all together. I’ve also included a little re-edit at the end from myself as the cherry on the top.
I really hope you guys enjoy it.
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