inthemix | Features | Ben Evans: From innocence to Interview

If there’s one commonality that holds true in the minds of young children, it’s their incredible ability for imagination and fantasy of dreaming. As adults we’re equally capable of wandering into pipedream unreality, though generally not with that same innocent wonderment we encountered as young kids. But what if those early dreams planted the seeds of what was to develop into the opportunities of adulthood? One such lad who held onto his childhood dreams of working in electronic dance music is none other than Melbourne’s Ben Evans.

Having held residencies in many Melbourne dance clubs, and played festivals alongside world renown trance artists like John ‘00’ Fleming, Gareth Emery, Christopher Lawrence, Andy Moor and Infection Mushroom, Ben Evans now enjoys his own success as a local DJ and event producer with his Interview brand. ITM’s MeliJane delves into Ben’s personal life exposing all his EDM influences and encounters.

Your passion for music began when you started school. At what age did you first ‘discover’ music generally, and how did this discovery impact on your desire to take up playing musical instruments?

I think it was something that happens within most people’s childhood, at school the teachers have always had a big thing for musicality and performance as a way of focusing on broadening a child’s horizons and their imagination. Although music wasn’t for everyone, but that was certainly my first taste of it, and I wanted more. So when I became an age that I could learn a musical instrument I jumped on board straight away. Starting with the Clarinet and then slowly progressing to the Saxophone then from the wind instruments I moved onto the more electronic and digital equipment which we were taught the basics in a music class at school.

Was it during your studies of learning to play musical instruments that you also gained knowledge about musical theory, or was it via a separate learning path?

Theory was generally learnt when I took up an instrument, and had to read sheet music. But then again the first time I had ever had to read sheet music would have been at school in the classroom when the teacher explained the basics to us. But more so when I had an instrument in my hand, there were 2 paths: using the instrument and finding its keys and the other path was reading the sheets of music and understanding the keys and fundamentals of sound.

When you were first introduced to electronic dance music, what was it about your previous learning or experiences that had you connect with and fuel your obvious passion for trance?

It was the melody and the uplifting feeling that I got from trance music or electronic music in general at that stage, because as an instrument player that’s the element you look for when you perform, the melodic nature of the music and the way it moves you got me hooked on trance to begin with. And then trance music lead me down all sorts of pathways of alternative music I never thought existed. It’s the headspace that it puts you in that’s the biggest hook of all.

Will you tell us about your experience with ‘Alley Tunes’ and ‘Every Picture Tells a Story’, when they occurred and how they impacted on your passion for everything EDM?

Alley Tunes was a place I spent thousands of dollars servicing my vinyl addiction, even before I thought about becoming a DJ I was addicted to wax. The sound quality was flawless and it was somewhere where I could play with a turntable on the way home from school. Also the guys there, especially Matt McLean who used to run the shop was a really intelligent guy who had a world of wisdom that I could learn from. When I was old enough to properly start up the addiction and get my own decks, that’s when things really kicked off. I was in there almost every day for a long while, picking out all the gems and oldskool treats, sifting though dusty box after dusty box of cheap wax. Good times!

And Every Picture Tells a Story was one of Melbourne’s most amazing raves. They were along the lines of some of the first in the country along with the Hardware events and TRADE events. Unfortunately I was never old enough to get into any of these, but I had posters and flyers and dreams all over every aspect of my life surrounding me in what I will one day get to see. Both of these factors impacted on my love for everything trance/EDM in every way shape and form. Being the seeds of it all, planted in the right place and grown over the years. If it wasn’t for either of them then who knows where things would have headed!

At school you realised you were good at computing and took up studies in IT which landed you in your current line of work. When was it though, that you decided firstly to give DJing a go, and then further pursue this passion professionally?

I keep my life on 2 parallel planes, one being music and one ‘Career’, as much as I would like music to be a 100 per cent full time give-it-everything venture. In this day and age it’s unwise and very risky to jump into a music career without any sustenance from the business world. I found myself very competent on a computer as our generation grew up with computers from the word go. So most of us are fairly well equipped in the computing world and can use them to our advantage. My studies in IT taught me a lot about computing in the business world and the places you can go within; I now work in Display Advertising for realestate.com.au based in Melbourne, and this is my career. I am studying a Bachelor of Business, Music Industry and Event Management part time over 6 years so that’s going to keep me really busy for a while. Starting that section of my life first thing next year, and I hope to develop a business understanding to which I can use my musical path and career path as the one venture and come up with something really exciting. Following my passion professionally is my biggest dream and it will take time.

When and where did you make your professional DJ debut (ie. a proper paid gig), and will you further elaborate on how your DJing progressed from there?

My first gig was at a massive warehouse party in Coburg, with a crew called Electric Bliss. I played the morning set as the sun was creeping through the rooftop and onto the dance floor! It was something I was really looking forward to and had a huge impact on my passion and lust for more of the same. From there I was playing regular gigs with 5AM and some of the other trance nights around and doing a lot with Room680; but before I was a DJ I was heavily into promoting and understanding club culture, the industry and people within it, which was the key factor in getting somewhere with my DJing. From then on I launched Interview which took off very quickly with all these new ideas and good mates to help out. We then worked hard with Interview which took a lot of us to a whole new level collaborating with all of Melbourne’s best clubs and crews. Working closely with Totem industries (which is Pharmacy, Hardware and Killrockstar) and Future Entertainment, Gatecrasher and much more; and furthermore also the psychedelic regions within the Rainbow Serpent, Earthcore and Tribeadelic groups. Covering all spectrums of the trance sound and never getting tired of new music and new artists that we come across in our travels.

You must have idolised some big names in the EDM scene, but more importantly who did you personally look up to or have as your mentor?

A lot of people I looked up to in Melbourne whilst I started out, namely Scotty Bateman, Jules Plees and Matt Promo, all of which showed me the ropes and the ins and outs of the industry. All of which shared the role of ‘mentor’ through various stages of it all. And still do of course!

As a DJ with a background in musical training, where does crossing over to EDM producer come into the scheme of things for you?

It’s been something that I have always wanted to wrap myself around but such a massive procedure to kick back and take it all in. Producing is like undergoing a law degree, and you need to have the time and patience to take all of it on board. It’s been a gradual thing for me especially with the time restraints it has. But it’s also something that you can never stop learning and that’s what I love about it. I am slowly getting involved in more and more of it and have knuckled down with Melbourne producer WAVEMOTION and we have completed a couple of projects so far. I’m loving the creativity you can apply to the software and hardware. I can’t wait to be able to fly solo on a few things when I get the skills up to put my ideas into action. So all in good time! These things are best when they are not rushed.

You’re co-founder of the Melbourne based Interview party crew with Bill Hunter; how did the Interview concept come about, and what does Interview mean to you now?

Interview is our baby, started off in a small bar in the city late 2005 and has been at the forefront of our attention since then, trying out all sorts of dance music concepts across so many different playing fields. The concept came about when there was a massive rut within the Melbourne scene, the clubs started dying out and there was no middle ground between the events and the people, the events were coming in thick and fast and soon took over all the smaller trancey nights, so our aim was to launch something where we could all catch up and that idea flourished and soon became a regular thing amongst us all. It’s like a blank canvas that we can paint on each time we have an idea. Best part about it is that everyone is involved in one way or another and it’s created a family within itself full of open-minded, fun loving people who adore their dance music in the best environment it can be in. Today Interview is all about bringing new sounds and dynamic productions to our audience, introducing them to the many talents of the Australian music circuit, with international guests and a bunch of different party ventures like boat parties, warehouses and club gigs.

Melbourne seems to have such a thriving trance scene that appears not be waning but continually thriving, can you enlighten us as to why you think this maybe?

Melbourne has always had a thriving EDM scene, on a large scale though. The club trance culture has been a very difficult ride trying to find itself amongst popular culture. It seems to be stuck between two spectrums of popular music, namely electro house and hardstyle. Kids these days choose one or the other (softer vs. harder). But I’m sure this is just a phase as is every other music policy. They all have their ups and downs and each one comes back as resurgence to the last time it was popular. So it’s always a well-rounded cycle of genres that come in and out over the years and the seasons. But the 2am lockout will no doubt bring all the states closer together and more laws will be made to stop the fun throughout the course of our existence. But that’s not going to stop the city that never sleeps! I’m not sure why it’s not as popular in other states, maybe because the larger promoters and events companies are mainly based in Melbourne and are pushing the sounds we want to hear. You never really know, it’s all just as risky no matter how you put it.

Despite both you and Bill being rather young, have experienced overwhelming acclaim with your Interview branded nights; this type of success doesn’t happen overnight. Why do you think your events have been so well received in Melbourne? What planning advice would you give others who share your passion for hosting EDM parties?

We both knew that the Melbourne scene was completely unforgiving and that if you were going to start something up that it would have to be from grassroots up. No point in sacrificing heaps of cash and doing a straight out massive production which you could risk loads doing so. When I started Interview, it was myself and Matt Belleghem from Canada who used to live in Melbourne, and we shared the same thoughts about the scene and where it was currently sitting, so we caught up heaps and made a go for it in a small bar in the city and ran with the “if you plant it, it will grow” theory; so we started as small as we could and learnt every little piece of the puzzle, party after party until we found our niche. Bill came onboard when Matt returned home to Canada. Since then, we have had some massive parties all over the place, and still keeping within our traditional format brought quality music to quality people with a quality production. The best part about it is that its fun. So much fun that we keep doing it! I think the Melbourne crowd enjoy the party as much as the music, which has been our best factor within Interview. It’s wild and untamed, and brings a whole lot of great people together who love to rock out! And that’s the best ingredient for any party.

What does the future hold for Interview?

We like to build our brand when the need for it arises, and as much as our discussions about Interview’s future are raised, it’s really only talked about as what is possible instead of pipedreams, ie. when I have an idea, it’s mostly a pipedream. We have loads and loads and loads in store for the future of Interview; the elements themed events and all sorts of crazy left-of-centre party ventures. Incorporating a wide variety of music and people and production, always open doors for new artists and DJs, and a lot of secrets I can’t discuss on a public interview. But, with each event we learn more about ourselves, the sound, the night and the people, and build on that knowledge through our events. We have 2 parts left in the Interview elements party series, both of which we will be preparing for a long time, but just you wait! They are going to be monsters! Well worth the wait. With our new home at Miss Libertine in the City, it is very comfortable and reassuring to work with professional people directly involved within the industry that can view our ideas and take on board what we want to set out to achieve.

By all accounts the launch night of Interview at Miss Libertines was a great success. For those who’ve not yet experienced an Interview party, what can they look forward to come June 13, 2008?

Upon entering Interview you have to go through the front bar first where there will be vast arrays of progressive, live & experimental tunes being played by a selection of artists we think understand what we set out to achieve at Interview. These artists hone directly into the psyche of our crowd knowing exactly what we want to hear… Through the doors to the main floor you will be splashed with the craziest audio and visual equipment and displays that you don’t generally see in a smaller club environment; a couple of full colour lasers firing out above the console, massive lighting rigs, décor and wall hangings, all sorts of trinkets and goodies all over the venue getting the very most out of it. To top off the visual feast the NEXO line-Array Sound System delivers the cleanest club sound we have heard in a very long time and fills the room with a full, lush sound, tuned perfectly to the acoustics of the space… The music policy on June 13th will begin with more progressive trance, floaty and dreamy, perfect way to kick off the night, then it will change gears as Mojo showcases the brand spanking new Pioneer SVJ Audio & Visual Mixer and his signature sound of the phattest techno and progressive around. Then up next we will have Scotty Richardson from Sydney playing a widely anticipated uplifting melodic trance set which will unite the dance floor and cause frenzy! From Scotty onwards, we start to pick up the pace a bit and myself and Mr Peculiar will take you on a journey through the atmospherics and melodies between trance and psy trance, blasting peoples minds and showing them some of the true colours of the sound of trance, big sound scapes and deep basslines. Slipping into morning mode we introduce Tetrameth (LIVE) who will be performing one of the most spectacular morning sets of our time.

Interview returns to Miss Libertine’s this Friday June 13th, and you can also catch him at the following shows…

21st June: Substance
27th June: Transmission (QBH)
18th July: Stargarden @ Viper
26th July: BTR Party, Ballarat

Pendulum says...

on June 12th, 2008

go Benny! Bring on tomorrow night!

analog feedback says...

on June 13th, 2008

Great interview about a truly lovely young man. Ben Evans represents the best in EDM. His Interview parties are always so much fun and there are a few reasons for this: a) The music is superb, b) The crowd are there for the music, c) The Interview Crew work extremely well as a team. Can't wait until tonight!