Yo DJ! Spin that wheel!

For around 18 years now I have had the pleasure of knowing Ben Wall. I have watched him grow up from young, impressionable teenager to the fine young man he is today, and at the ripe old age of 34 it sounds somewhat patronizing to say it but he’s like a surrogate younger brother to me in many ways; me, an old git in comparison.

It is on this basis I wish to introduce you to Ben as a source of much inspiration in my world of Electronic music, as if it weren’t for that first meeting way back in 2002 then I would not be as well versed with House, Trance and DJs as I am today. I am still, it is worth noting, many steps behind Ben who is a scholar of the genres as well as a practicing DJ (mostly behind closed doors), and a pretty bloody good one at that, based on the few mixes he has released via Soundcloud to family and friends over the years.

We have in turn been enablers for the enjoyment of our music: me, driver and Ben passenger on our many trips into London with cohort Rick to go to the (sadly now long closed) Turnmills, where we experienced some of the best DJ-ing and club nights that East London used to offer. Ben rushing back from one well-earned holiday with friends to immediately embark on our first experience of Ibiza together for a few short days back in 2007, only to follow it the year after with a longer jaunt back to the hallowed island with Rick and another friend Michael.

We have seen everyone of note in the world of House, Progressive House, Dance, EDM and Trance. We have danced until dawn. We didn’t drop a SINGLE illegal substance in the process, such was out pact to take in and fully allow the music to envelop us in a way that drugs cannot; they simply create false and temporary euphoria. The beats and crowds do not, and whilst they are not present now they are a permanent reminder of how live music can stir the senses beyond a simple spun record or replayed MP3.

I now turn to Ben to both reminisce with me and provide us with insight into his world, and what he sees as the future of Electronic music through his own eyes:

What’s your first memory of Electronic music and how did it make you feel?

My dad is a big fan of Brian Eno and Tangerine Dream, so some of my earliest exposure to electronic music would have been via ambient music, in particular 'Another Green World' by Eno, which is my dad's favourite album. I became interested in club orientated music somewhere around the age of 10-13; initially it was the sort of thing that was doing well in the charts - I would listen to the Top 40 and tape my favourite songs with my brother and sister. Robert Miles - 'Children' was probably the first piece of electronic music I really loved. I remember feeling genuinely gutted when it didn't get to Number one in the charts back in 1996, it was beaten to it by the Prodigy's Firestarter! (it was quite a bit later that the uglier side of electronica would appeal to me).

When did you realize DJs were your aural nourishment and what is it about mixing that intrigues you and pulls you in?

My best friend at high school bought his first set of turntables when we would have been 14, his dad was a DJ by profession. At this point, he introduced me to some of the Ministry of Sound compilations released at the time, which I think would have been my first exposure to mixed compilations. It was really through him that I moved from listening to music in any genre to honing in on electronic music. At that time, most of the club music I was beginning to become interested in was only released in mix sets or on vinyl, so it paved the way to me buying my own set of turntables and getting into it myself. To this day I still prefer club music in mix sets - I love the way each track can be used as a part of greater whole, to build towards the next stage, perhaps even tell a story. I've tried to re-create that through a lot of my online mixes - mostly to give the feeling of a particular month or season through the choice of tunes.

Tell me about the first club experience? What did you learn about yourself?

I was 17 at the time, it was Liquid nightclub in Ipswich. I always looked very young for my age so I remember feeling over the moon that I'd got in! In terms of an underground night club experience, this would have been Turnmills with yourself. I remember Tall Paul walking around the club, he wasn't even playing that night but I felt like I'd seen royalty!

Ibiza: is there a better place on earth to listen to the top DJs of our generation? Who is the best live DJ?

Ibiza has had the ability to attract all of the top club DJs over the same season, so there'd be someone you'd want to see playing every night. And it's been the DJs' priority to play there, and tour everywhere else the rest of the year. Perhaps that's changed a little in recent years, with festivals drawing more and more top DJs in the summer months. But it's still very much the spiritual homeland for club music.

I'm torn between two for the crown of best live DJ. In terms of crowd response, and what was achieved at the peak of his powers (first DJ to sell out his own tour playing on his own, and performing at the Olympics' opening ceremony), the winner would be DJ Tiesto. But the best club DJ there has ever been is Sasha, because he's been at the at the forefront for 30 years. Sasha still releases must-have music regularly, whereas Tiesto's best productions are back in the early 2000s. So on balance it feels wrong to go with anyone but Sasha.

Which is your favourite Ibiza club and why?

Pacha. You really feel that you're on a Spanish Island when you're there, the whole way it's presented. I love the bar on the roof too, it's a really great place to chillout and take a breather.

If you had to pick 5 standout tracks from all of your Electronic catalogue, what would they be?

1) Global Communication - '14:31'

I think I would have to say this is my favourite record of all time. It just has a way of making your stresses completely dissolve.

2) Pantha Du Prince - 'Saturn Strobe'

I have always particularly enjoyed electronic music with classical elements. I think this offering from Pantha Du Prince remains the benchmark of this crossover.

3) Hybrid - ‘Finished Symphony’

It's the version that closes Sasha & Digweed's 'Northern Exposure 2' that I find particularly inspiring. Me and Sarah (my fiancee) would play this in the car on the way to 10k races we'd take part in. It's so energising and positive, and another masterful example of what electronic music can do when it draws on classical influence. The 'Soundtrack edit' (i.e classical version) will play a prominent role on our wedding day.

4) Solarstone - ‘Seven Cities’

Unusually for someone my age, I’ve never really found the electric guitar especially captivating. Seven Cities is one of the most drastic exceptions. Although simple, the melody is completely spell-binding.

5) Apparat - ‘You Don’t Know Me’

From one of my favourite artists, and favourite albums (‘Walls’). It's built around the cello - melancholy but powerful, it's the single best tune I’ve seen performed live (complete with full orchestra).

What’s the best DJ mix you have listened to?

Best in terms of favourite, I'm going to go with Nick Warren - 'Paris', released in 2006 on Global Underground. It just feels like the summer. There's two discs, but it's the first mix that really shines, which is a downtempo selection. I think this disc could appeal to a wide audience, including those with little interest in electronic music.

Honourable mentions would go to Nick Warren's 'Reykjavik', Sasha & Digweed's Northern Exposure mixes, Agoria's 'At The Controls', DJ Tiesto's 'In Search of Sunrise' series, Michael Mayer's 'Immer' series, and LTJ Bukem's 'Logical Progression'.

What was it for you about Turnmills? Do you think they could ever resurrect that kind of experience in Clerkenwell?

Turnmills was our go-to club for underground music, and it really felt underground in every way. I think that type of environment has gone out of fashion a little in the UK, and with the pandemic I think the number of venues remaining of this kind will become fewer still sadly.

Ministry of Sound….SO many memories!!! What’s your favourite?

The VIP lounge, mojitos, the burger van, staying out all night and catching the first train home. Or sometimes we'd cram into a hotel room and our friend Rick would sleep sat upright in a chair! I have clear memories of us waiting all night for headliner Paul Oakenfold to show up and seeing him walk through the door just as we were leaving at 5am. Also, I think the way you wangled us free entry to see Armin Van Buuren was the stuff of legend!

Which other London venues do you think deserve mention?

I really like Oval Space, it had a friendly atmosphere, clear sound system and decent layout, and the outside decked area to chillout is great too.

When you turned your hand to DJing for the first time, how did you start? What tech do you use to mix? Has it changed much from when you first did it?

It was my 18th birthday, I chose a pair of belt driven turntables. A couple of years on I got a pair of Stanton T120s which I still have now. I've had other bits of kit over the years such as CDJs and various bits of Traktor hardware and software, most of which I have since sold. I use Traktor software and my vinyl turntables only now. Djing as a craft is completely different now to when I started. Vinyl is limited to a few niche genres now compared to being the whole way it was done. DJ consoles are much more common, which can beat match for you, so what you're actually doing is very different. You can dissect music like never before, using technology like STEMs, so literally only one element of a track could be brought into a mix, be looped and sit alongside elements of other tracks. It's more a programming role than mixing in the traditional sense.

How do you feel about the new kids on the block from the last few years like Bedouin, Eris Drew and Sherelle (and I only know a bit about 1 of them!!). Who are your standout artists of the last year?

I’m not really one for following the latest names. I tend to gravitate to the artists and labels I know, and when new artists appear on those labels, collaborate with the artists I like, or their tracks appear in their mix sets, that’s often how I come across them. There’s been some good ones I’ve discovered recently that way, Nicolas Rada and Marino Canal in particular would be the ones that stands out.

Has 2020 been a fallow year for DJ output without clubs to fulcrum around and showcase talent, or is it still finding its way out there?

I actually thought that that lack of opportunity to play live might lead to more online mixes appearing, and more DJs focussing on production. Some have done so, but admittedly a lot fewer than I’d have hoped. Perhaps quite a few have been beavering away in their home studios and we’ve yet to see the fruits of their labour though.

Best 5 albums ever….and they don’t have to be DJ mixes? (But I bet I can guess at least ONE)?

I’ve changed this list a lot of times as I think there’s about 20 worthy of a spot in the top 5! There are so many things to take into consideration but I’m picking the following based mainly on how much these albums have re-defined the sound of electronic music, along with being outstanding and strikingly original in their own right.

Nightmares on Wax - Carboot Soul

Moby - Play

Boards of Canada - Music Has The Right To Children

Burial - Untrue

Global Communication - 76:14

You get a 2 hour set in any venue around the world with 2 other DJs either side of you. Name the venue and the DJs and why?

Nick Warren to open and Sasha to close at Fabric. Nick & Sasha as they’re the DJs I’ve enjoyed the most sets either live, online or as a physical copy on CD. Fabric because it’s the UK’s defining underground club, partly because of the long running mix series it’s allowed DJs to present their craft through. But also because I was very close to playing there when I was at uni, 15 years ago. I joined the music society and we had a night booked to play at fabric but the event sadly fell through.

Thanks Ben! Love you buddy!

Badger x