After an unforgettable 2022, the young British producer shares with us a bit of his history, trajectory, and future plans, before beginning one of the most dizzying phases of his prolific career
Supported by media and producers of stature such as Mixmag, BBC Introducing, Anjunadeep, All Day I Dream, Tony McGuinness of Above & Beyond, and Marsh, Ben Pierre is one of those young figures we should keep an eye on every time he takes a step as a music producer.
His organic sounds, accented with melodic and progressive touches, have led him to release singles on renowned labels such as Flug Lab. In addition to having performed in cities like London and Manchester, and soon in Vancouver, Amsterdam, and Corfu.
Now, we are honored to share with you this interview with Ben, where you will learn about his first steps as a producer, the connection of emotions with his music, his daily routine, as well as discover everything that awaits him in 2023. Read it below.
Hi Ben, thank you for the time you give us for the interview. Our first question, as you can guess, what were those moments that made you connect with electronic music? How would you describe the beginnings of your career as a DJ and producer?
Hello! Thank you for having me. When I was growing up, I used to listen to a lot of trance and eurodance, including the old Classic Euphoria compilations which introduced me to artists such as Ferry Corsten, Chicane and Andy Moor.
At the age of 12-13, I began piano lessons which I enjoyed, but I didn’t particularly enjoy playing the sheet music, but rather improvising my own melodies. At the time, I began dabbling with a software called Mixcraft before heading into FL Studio – I found it all fascinating to be able to put my musical ideas down onto paper and followed the route of teaching myself production rather than taking music classes.
Every day after high school, I’d come home and head straight to the computer upstairs to practice. Even more-so after high school in Sixth Form (a pre-university college), where they had a piano room. I’m pretty sure I ended up bugging the receptionists a bit as I’d ask for the room key every day to go in and improvise some chords and melodies that I’d then scribble on piano sheet paper to take home and put into the computer. Suffice to say, I was hooked!
For most producers, musical identity is preceded by phases of learning, self-finding, and often, emulating others. How would you describe the whole process you went through to find your musical style?
Personally, I think that working with different styles played a very large role in finding my sound. Having previously produced trance, ambient and other genres (also including 80s synthwave and trip-hop for filmic purposes), I find that maybe all of these elements played their part in some way and I have found a place now between them. I haven’t particularly been one to emulate, but rather I’ve learnt to tap further into my own creative flow when producing; sometimes it yields great results, sometimes otherwise, but I guess it’s all part of the fun of putting pen to paper in this way.
Sounds are clearly the basis of everything. Today, what is your process for creating, developing, organizing, and implementing sounds into your creations?
Being very much inspired by nature, I like to visualize a place and replicate that through sound, be it the trickling of a forest stream, bird song or waves. Sometimes, I try to replicate it using analog-style VSTs such as DIVA, such as the water drops in ‘Laguna’, but otherwise I search for a field recording that’s as close as possible to what I imagine. Once that basis is down, I begin melody construction, typically in minor chords for more of an emotive, mysterious feel that the listener can tap into to decide for themselves how it makes them feel in the situation that they’re listening to it in. Sometimes, I also like to find a catalyst in the form of a texture or an atmosphere which can help kickstart the melody inspirations and overall project construction.
Let’s talk about emotions, what weight do emotions have in your creations? Do you consider them as an objective in front of the public? If so, what do you want to transmit with your music?
I find emotions are a core driver behind my productions, both the emotion put into making the productions and the emotion from the listener receiving it. I think that the overall objective is to transmit these emotions across to the listener and make them feel a certain way and get taken on a journey by the music. If that happens, then to me, that’s the objective complete!
With experience, trajectory, and obviously the years, we explore and find the ideal tools to create music. What do you consider to be the essential programs, technologies, and instruments for your productions?
Personally, I have been using FL Studio throughout the majority of my time producing but in terms of VSTS, I think my personal favorites have to be DIVA, Serum and Sylenth1 – they are very versatile and cover most bases of the sound design required in this style. Also finding a place to get good field recordings can really bring a track to life and make it sound unique, especially if you can record your own.
Some producers consider that instruments and equipment are more important than creativity, others think the other way around and others believe they go hand in hand, what do you think about it?
I think it can work both ways – you can have minimal equipment and softwares, yet still make beautiful music, but also have all the instruments conceivable and not necessarily have the creativity when applying them within a production.
I think having a select number of software/hardware equipment as a basis is important as it gives you something to work with, but, as cliché as it sounds, it also has to work in tandem with the best instrument you have – your mind.
2022 was a great year for you, you played at Egg London, lived the Anjunadeep Explorations experience in Albania, and more, can you tell us more about these milestones in your life?
The year began quite uncertain, but then developments came about that I wouldn’t have even dreamt of back in 2021. Releasing on labels such as Flug Lab, playing shows and above all, finally meeting artist friends, long-distance friends and fans made it incredible and I’m so grateful for it.
Playing the show at Egg London was a big highlight for me, being one of London’s more iconic electronic music venues and it was great to see the crowd enjoying the music.
You recently released the ‘Stormchaser’ EP on Flug Lab, how was the process behind the creation of the organic and progressive release?
The ‘Stormchaser’ EP was very much inspired by nature and different places I had imagined while producing the tracks. For example, in Talisman, it was a rainforest – I pictured traveling along the river, deep in the rainforest, taking in all the surroundings, sounds and mysterious places. The production process was great fun with these tracks and I’m very grateful for the support they’ve had since release, including from Above and Beyond’s Tony McGuinness most recently.
If we could open your Spotify playlist right now, which 5 songs are you listening to the most?
I am a big fan of Budakid’s works, so his release ‘Silent Summer’ certainly takes the top spot, with ‘Over not Over’, ‘A Molten Arrow’ and ‘The End’ coming close behind. I love music that tells a story and takes me on a journey and, at the time of release during the lockdown period, it really took me to a different place. I’m also enjoying Jim Rider’s works at the moment, especially tracks such as ‘The Cypriot’. Wassu is also producing some great tunes at the moment with his new EP called ‘Dusk’.
Take us through a day in your life, from the time you wake up until you rest for the next day. Describe your routine, please.
I wake up in the morning around 8am and in the studio by 9am, working on some new or existing projects. I usually take a two hour break from midday until 2pm, where I have lunch and then head out for a walk in the countryside or at a local nature reserve to refresh the headspace, get inspiration and return to the studio with fresh ears. I then work on the music until dinnertime and then head to the gym to let off some steam, see some friends and workout, before I head back home and go for another short walk, sort out the admin aspect of music – emails, socials and promo until 10-10:30pm and then sleep!
On June 6th comes a big milestone in your prolific career. You will be playing with Joseph Ray, Michael Cassette, and more at the Burmuda Corfu Boat Party, what are your feelings about it?
I can’t wait! Having been fortunate enough to have experienced it last year, it was incredible. The sun, the sea, beautiful music and people, it was honestly an amazing experience and I can’t wait to play my set on the outbound boat journey, with some new music included too!
Covering all your facets as a musician (releases, events, collaborations, etc…), what can we expect from Ben Pierre for this 2023?
I have some incoming releases that I can’t wait to share with you on labels such as Flug Lab and 3rd Avenue which I really hope you’ll enjoy! In terms of events, I’m also having my North American debut which I’m very excited for, as well as performances in London, Amsterdam and other places I can’t give away just yet. I’ll also be kickstarting my The Organic Journey live shows with the first being in Brighton on May 27th.
Finally and from your own perception, how do you think the electronic scene will do this year? What changes or evolution do you notice within the electronic scene and what is your opinion about it?
I think it’ll continue expanding and diversifying, with some fantastic new artists coming onto the scene and some great tracks and performances from current mainstay artists getting even more coverage. I notice that a lot of the more underground sub-genres are expanding, with close-knit communities within the fanbase which is really great to see – it’s always great to see music bringing people together and that’s what I hope for in 2023.
