JUST ADDED…
BENNY BENASSI
It’s exciting times at SW4 HQ as the brand new South West Four Weekender is now just ONE MONTH AWAY! With London’s premier dance event on the horizon, we have been hard at work preparing an event that stands up as one of the best in the country. We are certain you won’t be disappointed when South West Four hits the glorious green grass of Clapham Common this August. As we enter the home straight we’re working round the clock in making sure all the right preparations are made. As we strive to make SW4 2010 one of the stand out events on this summer’s festival calendar, we have added another name to our already mouth-watering line-up.
Benny Benassi is one of the world’s leading house and electro DJs and producers. His first release was with the track ‘I feel so fine’ by KMC feat. Dhany, which went to number 1 in the UK club charts in 2001. The following year, working under the Benny Benassi presents The Biz moniker, he produced ‘Satisfaction’ and in one fell swoop ravaged the dancefloors and dominated sales charts round the world. The album ‘Hypnotica’ followed and Benny produced more melodic dance music with charts across the planet giving a huge thumbs up. Benny has remixed artists such as Outkast, David Guetta, Moby, Goldfrapp, Paul Oakenfold and Faithless, to name but a few as well as winning numerous prizes and awards around the world, including a Grammy Award for his remix of Public Enemy’s ‘Bring The Noise.’ On top of all his own projects, Benny talent scouts for his own brand new label, ‘Pump-kin’, designed to create space for young DJs and producers of electronic club music.
Replacing Sharam due to a scheduling conflict, Benny will join Mark Knight, Joachim Garraud, Dirty South, Funkagenda and Dave Spoon in his Toolroom Knights arena. No stranger to the biggest events across the globe such as Ultra festival, Pukkelpop, Electric Daisy Carnival and Electric Zoo we are delighted to bring Benny to SW4 for his only UK festival date this summer.
See Benny Benassi interview below!
SATURDAY LINE-UP SO FAR…
KISS MAIN STAGE HOSTED BY MINISTRY OF SOUND CLUB: ARMIN VAN BUUREN (ONLY LONDON SHOW OF 2010) SASHA / ERICK MORILLO PETE TONG (RADIO 1) / LAIDBACK LUKE ALEX METRIC [LIVE] / CHRIS LAKE / TIMO GARCIA | |
DJ MAG ARENA HOSTED BY BEDROCK WORLDWIDE: JOHN DIGWEED JOSH WINK (CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF OVUM) MUTANT CLAN FEAT. TIMO MAAS & SANTOS (UK FESTIVAL EXCLUSIVE) CHRISTIAN SMITH / GUY J NICOLE MOUDABER + VERY SPECIAL GUEST JORIS VOORN [LIVE] | TIME OUT ARENA HOSTED BY THE GALLERY: PAUL OAKENFOLD SANDER VAN DOORN & MARCO V [BACK 2 BACK] (WORLD EXCLUSIVE) JUDGE JULES GARETH EMERY GIUSEPPE OTTAVIANI [LIVE] (UK FESTIVAL EXCLUSIVE) JEROME ISMA-AE |
TOOLROOM KNIGHTS ARENA: MARK KNIGHT BENNY BENASSI [JUST ADDED!] DIRTY SOUTH / FUNKAGENDA / DAVE SPOON CONNECTED ALL STARS + VERY SPECIAL GUEST JOACHIM GARRAUD | |
SUNDAY LINE-UP SO FAR…
KISS MAIN STAGE HOSTED BY SOUTHERN FRIED RECORDS: FATBOY SLIM (ONLY LONDON SHOW OF 2010) ZANE LOWE (RADIO 1) / STEVE AOKI / HERVÉ / UFFIE [LIVE] KISSY SELL OUT (RADIO 1) / JAYMO & ANDY GEORGE THOMAS GANDEY (CAGEDBABY) | |
DJ MAG ARENA HOSTED BY CARL COX & FRIENDS: CARL COX VITALIC – V MIRROR [LIVE] DUBFIRE ADAM BEYER LAYO & BUSHWACKA! M.A.N.D.Y. JON RUNDELL | TIME OUT ARENA HOSTED BY BOYS NOIZE RECORDS: (UK FESTIVAL EXCLUSIVE) BOYS NOIZE EROL ALKAN SWITCH / A-TRAK HOUSEMEISTER DJEDJOTRONIC SHADOW DANCER [LIVE] |
TOGETHER ARENA: SKREAM & BENGA ANDY C / MS DYNAMITE CASPA & ROD AZLAN / JACK BEATS PLASTICIAN / MARY ANNE HOBBS (RADIO 1) MIXHELL / SBTRKT / UNION DJS | |
BENNY BENASSI INTERVIEW
Benny, it’s a pleasure to welcome you to SW4. Are you looking forward to performing at the festival?
For sure…. it’s been ages since I played a London festival, can’t wait.
How would you describe the London club scene?
To be honest, I spend most of my time in U.S.A. these days. I’ve been playing parties at Ministry of Sound that have been really great. But I haven’t been to see other DJs in London clubs over the last couple of years, so I would be an impostor if I tried to answer.
What can we expect from Benny Benassi at SW4?
I’ll do my best to enchant you. I have a few surprises up my sleeve.
Last year you were also placed #26 in the DJMag Top 100 DJ Poll which is obviously a massive achievement for any DJ. How does it make you feel that so many people like your music?
I am a very lucky person.
What is your top 3 favourite tunes of all time?
I have my favourite 3 records right now which are different from my favourite 3 records yesterday… and so on. Right now I’m really enjoying the new Felix da Housecat track.
Also, do you have a tune that hasn’t left your records bag for a while?
Felix – Thee Anthem
Going back to the beginning of your music career, how did it all start for you?
As a kid I was really into Eighties electropop and disco…you know, Human League, Giorgio Moroder…I then started DJing in my local club. It was all vinyls back then, the golden age of twelve inches.
As House / Electro / Techno is ever changing, how would you describe your sound today to us?
A lot of critics say I’m electic. Actually I’m just confused.
We see you grew up in Reggio Emilia in Italy. What is the electronic music scene like there?
Amazing for such a small town, particularly on the production side. It’s the city that gave us Black Box and a host of pop-house hits like Whigfield, etc.
What can we expect from Benny Benassi in the next 12 months?
A new album and me touring California in a bicycle.
You have collaborated with and remixed a very wide range of artists. Do you have any exciting collaborations in the pipeline that we can look forward to?
A lot of exciting stuff on the album with great singers and writers you wouldn’t naturally expect to hear perform over the Benassi sound.
What has been your favourite gig in the last 12 months?
There have been many. I really enjoyed playing at Pacha in Ibiza with the Swedes. They put on a great party. Beatpatrol in Austria was awesome.
Do you have any surprises in store for us at SW4?
Yes.
What’s the craziest thing that has ever happened to you whilst on the decks?
Some are not fit for publishing, but one of my favourites is my manager falling asleep in the booth (in Canada) while I was playing. He was perched on a stool, actually leaning against a 5000 watt stack, snoring.