Words-Art Jefferson
Photography-Jorge Rougés, Jan Schünke and courtesy of Ben Mono
Berlin based Ben Mono is not simply just an electronic producer and DJ but an all around musician. During the early 2000’s he was among the group of producers fostering a sound that many people considered to be the intelligent side of music which would later be known as Broken Beat and Future Jazz. This was the next coming of musical visionaries who prided themselves on pushing sonic boundaries in the vein of legendary Jazz musicians such as Roy Ayers and Herbie Hancock down to the techno sounds of Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson and Juan Atkins. To understand Ben Mono’s relationship to music is to delve back into a bit of his history. Growing up in Munich, Germany, he taught himself how to play the keyboard as well as drums and bass. Ben Mono went on to study bass at Munich’s Conservatorium of Music and by his early 20’s he had already released 12 inches on Compost Records which garnished him praises in big magazine publications such as i-D. His first debut album titled “Dual” fused various elements of downtempo, nu-jazz and breaks which were embedded with musical complexities that immediately put him in the premiere league of electronic producers. With a string of releases on Compost Records, Ben Mono has also worked with entities such as Ed Banger Records, Boysnoize and Gomma just to name a few. Diplo and Justice have cited enthusiasm for his records, he plays bass in the Munk live band and he has even scored major commercial and film work such as the original soundtrack to “Lautlos” on Island Records and the “Deutsche Krebshilfe” advertising.
Always one for a change of sound, Ben Mono went on to create the ‘Bit-Hop’ sound, meshing Hip-Hop and electronica together not to mention exploring electro grooves with Boysnoize artist Strip Steve. His latest work leans towards house, techno, disco and UK Garage. With his new recording “The Feel” EP dropping, Ben Mono proves that as a producer he will always continue to evolve and simultaneously elevate.
AJ-You’re originally from Munich but are now living in Berlin. How would you compare the two scenes musically and what prompted you to head over to Berlin?
BM-Actually those scenes are quite different compared to each other. In Munich people basically do music because they always wanted to and also to stick out a bit of that middle class scenario that Munich is so famous for. In general there is a more naturally grown subculture which has rather been fed from inside then from international acts adding their flavour to the local scene. In Berlin your music is so much more a crucial and very defining attribute for you as a person in general (because you just moved there and no one really knows who you are besides your profile page on Facebook)but it is also your only ticket into the scene.
And since here in Berlin everyone is so specialized, a certain sound already defines your rise or fall within the Berlin producers ranking or might be the reason why you would not get a record deal. Besides that, sometimes I am quite impressed to see producers change their music (not always for the better) just to be part of the game.
I personally felt living in Munich was a bit too easy and I needed a bit of a challenge again to find out where I am really at. Now I even got into Techno. I could have never imagined that while living in Munich.
AJ-Many people know you as one of the key producers and DJ’s during the Broken Beat and Future Jazz period but from day one you have always had quite an eclectic sound, not to mention you’re also a full blown musician. What initially led you to producing futuristic jazz and electronic music?
BM-That decision was rather a process than a properly planned way of living. I mean who seriously wants to become a DJ one day? At some point I just got tired of rehearsing with a 9 piece band and always fighting over little details regarding the songs’ structures etc… I thought working on my Atari made it easier to fulfill my ideas of music on a more linear way and in a shorter amount of time. That electronic music sometimes follows totally different laws, ideals and structures then the “written” music which was something that took me another 15 years to fully understand.
AJ-Also talk about the tech and house side of you because you have produced some amazing sounding deep house rhythms, not to mention you have “The Feel” EP which is forthcoming, which also has some great 4×4 patterns to it.
BM-The problem that I always have is that I immediately get bored of things once I have done them. So whenever I would move on to a new genre a year later or so, I see scenes of which I used to be part of getting bigger and expanding enourmously. The same with some remixers I chose. They were mostly, totally unknown when I asked them for a remix and they took off not too much later (Siriusmo and Moullinex for example). And now look at Hip-Hop; it has become so much more electronic these days or Disco (which) got revitalized again! But I never thought that I would end up making House music. Anyway, at the moment I am really into the feel of UK Garage and I know that this stuff is gonna get bigger soon. Actually (at least I think so) there is no one else producing Garage influenced tracks anywhere in Germany so far…another challenge.
“The Feel” will be my contribution to what I think Garage should sound like today and I hope I will stick with it for a bit longer than just for this and the next release.
Also I consider London still being a much more influential scene than the one I have here in Berlin, so now the plan is to connect better with the forefathers of what shaped my ideal sound.
AJ-After the release of your album “Dual”, you have worked on many different musical projects but unlike many producers, you haven’t changed your name or used different monikers. I’m curious to know why.
BM-That is a question I started to ask myself recently. I always thought that those people who were into my music would totally go for all of those changes and would follow me on that journey. This did not always happen but at the end I ended up with some true fans and supporters that would always provide me with a platform for whatever I was just up to and kept on going for my music.
That carefully grown network is something that I really appreciate today, but I also became aware of the fact that it isn’t always wise, changing the pattern too often. So right now I started a super undercover project together with a partner which just had releases on 2 of the biggest dance labels worldwide.
AJ-What’s your opinion on the new music technology such as digital DJ software and production software vs. hardware? Are we moving in the right direction with the changes?
BM-Yeah all that stuff is amazing. I have always been a big fan of latest technology and I really see the quality of productions rising enormously thanks to the latest plugins and even greater software (watch out for Bitwig!). Sometimes I am almost intimidated by the engineering skills of 18 year olds. It´s good to see all that evolving because it makes you work on your own skills even harder. And one crucial thing became obvious to me recently. Since the quality of sound systems and PAs has improved so much over the last 10 years, mixing demands much more expertise and suddenly super low 40 Hz as well as almost ultrasonic 15 Khz are becoming an integral part of the engineer´s life. It sometimes appears to me as if analog environments are even becoming obsolete soon since it can´t handle the demands of today´s club scenarios anymore.
I started Djing with Traktor in 2005 (quite often being just terrified by sudden error messages and weird unexpected behaviours of my electronic DJ environment) but now I can´t imagine not having my carefully selected music library with me at all times. Actually it would freak me out having to play a DJ set just using CDs!
AJ-What is your approach to music when working on a remix? Do you study the original first and then give it the Ben Mono touch or do you prefer to only hear the minimal parts first? I ask this because when listening to your remixes, you manage to give the songs new life in a sense.
BM-Thank you. You would be suprised how often a layout you are already working on matches with single stems of other producers’ tracks. Also, this is when some musical knowledge comes in handy. Quite often we all just use the white or black keys to find out which ones at the end is the key.
AJ-Finally, “The Feel” EP will be released soon, are there any other projects that we can expect this year or early next year?
BM-Actually I spent some time working on tracks with Strip Steve (hope Boysnoize will pick it) as well as another EP coming out from me and Lars Moston.
Then there is also Undertones, that label from Buenos Aires, which I have been working with lately. Going to Argentina feels like you are coming home to reunite with you long lost family.
More music together with Idiotronic is about to come out there soon with me singing and even going falsetto!