The legendary Benny Benassi will be coming to the biggest winter festival in Finland, Electric Festival Helsinki, along with other superstars such as Tiesto, Dash Berlin, Paul Van Dyk, and Gareth Emery, on the 3rd & 4th of march. We had an awesome opportunity to interview the man behind the massive hit called ”Satisfaction”. Can’t wait to see Benny live!
http://www.electricfestival.fi/ | https://www.facebook.com/electricfestivalfin

Hey Benny Benassi! Tell us what is new, what are you working on at the moment?
We’re in writing mode, Alle and I. We’re experimenting with new songs and sounds. We’re also collaborating with other producers. 2017 will be all about collaboration!

You have over 30 years’ experience of working with electronic dance music. First we take a look back at day one. How did your career start?
My earliest inspirations were eighties electro-pop. I started my career as a house DJ in the 90’s, in a club near where I lived – Reggio Emilia, which is a small town in northern Italy, had an amazing output of Italian house productions, so there was already a scene present.
My cousin (and producer) Alle is a classically trained musician, so from Djing him and I decided to produce. Alle wrote the riff for Satisfaction, then we worked together in the studio finishing it off and adding the vocal lines.The rest is history!

You have seen how the electronic music has developed. What is your opinion about todays “EDM”? Any interesting new producers you would recommend to follow?
I think EDM is great, it’s just making dance music mainstream. There are so many incredible artists in the EDM community right now, it has grown and developed, it’s become bigger and better for everyone. People like songs. Songs sound good on the radio! So DJs and producers team up with singers, songsters, rappers… It makes sense and it’s good for all of us. Plus with things opening up, there are a lot more young talented artists coming through, which also leads to great new music.You should look out for Pink Is Punk and Bottai in Italy!

You have released 6 full length albums, the final one “Danceaholic” last summer. The process of making an album has a big difference to the current trend of releasing single after another. Would you say you are a man of tradition or why is this important to you?
The album is a mixture of tracks that were already released and brand new material, so it’s a kind of a bridge between the last four or five years and where I’m going!

Your biggest hit “Satisfaction” is still a massive hit! How “Satisfaction” has affected your music?
“Satisfaction” was so important for me, so I am so proud of it. I still can’t believe it’s still going! When we made it, we thought it would do well in the clubs, yes, but we never imagined… It changed my career and my life, I’ve been able to travel around the world playing records, it’s a privilege. With Alle, we keep it simple, we try to stay true to the music we like and every ten years or so we make a record that crosses over; but it’s not planned in advance, I don’t think you can.

Many of the fans have noticed your lookalike with Robert Downey Jr. who plays the superhero Iron Man. What kind superhero would “Benny Benassi” character be like?
That’s so funny – it’s true, a lot of people think i look like ironman 😉 I’ve never thought of myself as a superhero, I would exclude the obvious ones like batman or superman…. Is kung fu panda a superhero?

I would exclude the obvious ones like batman or superman…. Is kung fu panda a superhero?

You have had gigs in Finland before. What was special about Finland and the Finnish listeners?
I haven’t been to finland often so I’m excited about the festival. It’s an amazing place, the atmosphere is special and unique and so is the mentality people have in finland, really great, open-minded and fun.

What kinds of expectations do you have about the upcoming gig at Electric Festival in Helsinki?
I hope you all have as much fun as I’m planning on having!

What can we wait from you during 2017?
More surprises!

LINKS:
http://www.bennybenassi.com/
https://soundcloud.com/benny-benassi/
https://twitter.com/bennybenassi
https://www.instagram.com/bennybenassi/

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