This interview originally appeared on DJ Mag Canada where I used to work as a Staff Writer and was lucky enough to be assigned to interview Benny Benassi before his last set at The Guvernment Nightclub in 2015.
Interview:
When talking about legends in the dance music industry, Benny Benassi is one name that always comes up in the conversation. He has stayed relevant for years and has toured around the world and back. He has scores of hits. He has played in the biggest clubs in practically every major dance music hub the world over. He is a complete class act, remains very passionate about his craft, is extremely down to earth, and a very personable guy. DJ Mag Canada had the pleasure of sitting down with him before his last set at the final anniversary event at The Guverment. We chatted about his current tour, favourite times in Canada, personal life, journey to the top with his cousin Alle, and the DJ scene in Italy.
How was your recent set at New City Gas? 
“My set was really good, but the special thing about [the set] was the production in the club, the sound system was huge, the lights, the LED screen, my light guy does the whole thing live. All the lighting is manual not automatic: if there something in the music he hears, he can put it into the lights! New City Gas is really good for DJ sets, the club has great dimension, it is very big and long, with blue lights along the roof.”
Are you excited for your set at Guv tonight?
“Oh yes, very excited! I heard the Guv is closing?”
Yes, this will be the last Anniversary party. Some 18 years in the making.
“This will be my last set at the Guvernment. I am really excited because I remember the first time I came here, I didn’t realize the big Italian community in Toronto and at The Guvernment. There were so many Italian flags and people – it was crazy. I love the scene in this city and of course The Guvernment, they did a lot for me, especially in the beginning. I am happy but also a bit sad, you know, it’s not good that they are closing. But maybe they will open a new one?”
Yes, there are plans in the works to open an even bigger club. Do you have a favourite memory or set from Guv?
“I remember one night, one of the first nights I spun at Guv, I played right before Eric Morillo, maybe eight years ago, there was a problem with the speaker on the stage, he was like, ‘Hey, fix it,’ that was a funny memory. Also I remember some really good gigs, I remember JFK from MSTRKRFT.”
Yeah, he’s Canadian.
“Yeah and Deadmau5! Both at the same time, they came and said hello, it was six years ago, and everyone was going crazy because Joel wasn’t wearing his mouse helmet and we were mixing together, JFK was using some effects and it was really good. After the gig – it was a Saturday night at Guv – the next day JFK and I have a gig in London, Ontario, on the Sunday and we went by bus, so the next day I went down to the reception of the hotel, hop on the bus and I see JFK! I’m like, ‘Hey it’s you!’ And JFK said, “Yeah I am coming to your set!” So the club owner paid for one DJ but got two! And at that time MSTRKRFT was really big so everyone loved it. At that time I called him Master Bugger and he called me Mr. Benny Banana, we joked around all the time, it was really funny, that is definitely one of my favourite memories.”
That’s hilarious! So Mr. Benny Banana, you’ve been in the scene for so long, DJs come and go but you have stayed relevant for so many years. What’s your secret?
“There’s no secret. I think we were lucky; the story goes like this. We are two guys, me and my cousin. He is not a ghost producer, he is my producer, not a ghost. It’s no secret, we always work together, and we were lucky because when we arrived on the scene we had a proper sound, it was strange at first because we did some experimenting with the compressor, you know? Before the side-chain, everyone used side-chain, we never used side-chain, it’s another trick, but we never used it, we experimented with the compressor, and my cousin, Alle, came to me with this bassline, and I was like, ‘Wow,’ we have something here, we did ‘Satisfaction’ and at first we tried to process the voice but it was very difficult. When we had a good combination between distortion and voice, it was really something. I remember when I did one of my first festivals the sound engineer was like, ‘Hey, everything is wrong, the distortion is too much.’ But everything was level in the booth, it was just my sound. Once we had that good combination of distortion and voice processing we could do more remixes. When we did pop remixes at first the record labels would say it was too hard but now everything has changed. Now we have a good balance, we try to make new songs and everything. Working with Chris Brown was like this; we sent him the beat, and then Jean Baptiste, a great songwriter from LA – he wrote for Rihanna, Britney Spears and other artists – he sent us the chorus, but it was just that. Everyone was saying we need more then that, but it was fine. The first time I played it in a club it was brand new and no one knew it. The first part played and by the time the second part played everyone was singing the words so I knew it was perfect. I remember saying we don’t need any more vocals, the chorus was fine. It was a great combination.”
Do you have any advice for up-and-coming DJs/Producers?
“Now it’s a little bit strange, there is a lot of good music, good producers, a lot of very good young producers, because they use their use their computers like it’s Playstation, they are very good, very talented. But, I think you need to put that young experience with computers with some old experience, like DJing. Because if you don’t do this, all the music is the same, drop, kick, effect, you need a little bit of heart in the music, this is the way Alle and I continue to work together, I am the DJ he is the musician and it works. He finds some tricks with a new effect and I say, ‘Yes that will work.’ So it is very important to have DJ mentality along with musician mentality. This is not the rule because there is guys like (Deadmau5) that does everything alone, maybe he is a genius, I don’t know. The problem now is there is no record company, I remember when I was a child there was a lot of filters – distribution in record companies, you go to the record shop and the guy at the store would say, ‘Hey, check it this record, it’s good.’ Now there is no filter, there is a huge world on the Web where no one saying “Hey this is a ****** track!”, you know what I mean? And so we need more record companies, we need different point of views, rather the point of view of hands in the air, 1-2-3 jump, good kick with a good bass line.”
Are there any young, unique producers you enjoy?
“Yes! Zedd great musician, great producer, also Skrillex.” Yeah, his remix of Cinema was amazing. “This was a good combination, with a new generation, a new sound because dubstep was not big like that at the beginning. There was a great song in ‘Cinema’ and big drop from Skrillex, great combination. It was very big at the time.”
It won a Grammy so there’s no denying that!
“The record company said, ‘Hey Benny, we want to send the stems to Skrillex for the remix.’ At first I was like Skrillex? Then I listened to all his stuff. At first it was strange, all the dubstep. But when I received the track with Alle in the studio, for me it was better than the original. Then he made a radio edit, it was really good.”
What do you and Alle use in your studio?
“We do a lot of studio sessions in L.A. Alle is very good with Pro Tools, before it was Logic but now Pro Tools. I use a little bit of Logic and for preparing sets and edits I use Ableton live because it is very easy. We have lots of other machines and keyboards but our studio is not that big, just a small apartment. Sometimes we do vocals in the studio but usually the record companies send us the vocals and then we arrange it. Like for the Chris Brown track we got the vocals and put everything together. In our studio in Italy, we stay in a little in a village, it’s very nice.”
What are some of your hobbies outside of DJing?
“I love to be active, mountain biking, bike racing, running, I try to be healthy with food. I live with my girlfriend and I am a step-father also. We all try to stay healthy! We all exercise together and try to live a normal life.”
Do you have a favourite place to play when you are in Canada?
“To be honest I know Canada very well, I did a big bus tour seven or eight years ago starting in Vancouver and finishing in Toronto. I played all the cities, small cities like Regina, you cant imagine the energy level, I remember there was one club with 200 people on Monday night in the middle of nowhere but the energy was amazing. Everyone was so excited saying that they couldn’t believe Benny Benassi was there to play for them. I did that bus tour so I know Canada very well. But to be honest one of my favourite clubs is Guverment, it was one of the biggest clubs in the world, and it’s almost like a festival every time I play there. It reminds me of a big club in Italy before I was Benny Benassi, I was just a resident at this club, it had the same dimensions, very similar. I remember one time playing in the winter in Whistler playing for all the skiers and students it was a really good time, to be honest I love Canada. It is a very big place, everyone works hard, there are no problems, as far as I can see it is beautiful, you know? It has free health care – that is very important.”
Being the biggest DJ from Italy, who are some of your favourite homegrown DJs and producers?
“Bloody Beetroots is one, but they are more of a band now. But there are some new guys like Merk & Kremont, they do a lot of awesome remixes.”
They have the heaviest bass lines out there!
“Yes, also there is Promise Land – we were the only Italian DJs to play Tomorrowland. They are really good. There are two other guys called Vinai – their new track with TJR is blowing up!”
Yeah. “Make It Bounce,” love that song.
“Yes me too, also they have a new song with R3HAB.”
‘This Is How We Party.’
“Yes, very good. Coming in December we have a Benny Benassi and Friends in Italy. This year I am calling it Benny Benassi and Italian Friends because it is all Italian DJs. Crookers will be there. Nari & Milani are also big, they had the hit ‘Atom’ a few years ago. It is a good scene, not very big because right now there isn’t that much money in Italy, but it is very good.”
That’s great. There are a lot of awesome Italians in the scene. Do you have a routine before going on stage?
“No, just drink a lot of water and I always take a disco nap before. My record for disco nap is five minutes right before I opened up for Madonna. My manager went to smoke a cigarette outside and I took a nap. If I want, I can sleep right here, right now.”
You can sleep whenever you like?
“Yes, disco nap whenever I want.”
Tonight you’re on at 2:30. That must be tough.
“Yes, right after Tommy Trash, can’t wait! And Pete Tong will be there.”
Yes, Pete Tong is in the Koolhaus!
“With Umek. I love Umek, he is from Slovenia, so he is close to me.”
It’s a huge lineup tonight, yourself included!
“Okay, thank you for this.”
Thank you, you’re a legend!
(Manager) “Yeah he’s old!” (laughs)
“Yes this is true” (laughs)
Benny and I after the interview