Stream the mix below from Mixcloud or head on over to Gimme 5 for download and iTunes links.
Tracklist:
Kym Mazelle – Big Baby [Rafmat mix] (White)
Ms. Dynamite – What’s Mickey Talking About (Unreleased)
LB Dub Corp – It’s What You Feel (Ostgut Ton)
Joy Orbison – Kissmequik (Unreleased)
Logos – Kowloon (Unreleased)
Blawan – Bohla (Unreleased)
EQD – Equalised#003 (Hard Wax)
Steve Poindexter – Work That Muthafucker (Muzique)
Funkystepz – Bubbly (Unreleased)
Randomer – Brunk (Unreleased)
? – Sicko Cell (Unreleased)
Pearson Sound – Blue Eyes (Hessle Audio)
Slyerpaul – Crazier (Dubs 4 Klubs)
Emptyset – Red Sun [Peverelist mix] (Unreleased)
M Dubs – Body Killin’ (White)
Boddika – 2727 (Unreleased)
T++ – Anyi (Honest Jon’s)
Becoming Real – Like Me feat. Trim (NotEven)
Interview via Gimme 5
Ben UFO at Myspace / Mixcloud / Twitter /RA
G5: When and why you gone into deejaying? What’s your musical background?
Ben UFO: I was buying vinyl and listening to music on my dads old turntable before I started DJing. I didn’t feel the urge to mix until I’d built up a sizeable collection, mostly because at that point I don’t think I understood much about the way dance music worked, and the purposes for which most of it gets made. I didn’t understand that a good DJ does more than just put records in order, that they can transform a record into something that much more powerful just by mixing, and understanding the importance of context.
G5: Nowadays the deejay and producer occupation are linked tightly. You probably got a lot of questions like this but have you ever tried to produce some music?
Ben UFO: I’ve never tried producing properly. It’s something I’d like to try at some point but at the moment I feel so overwhelmed by the amount of music around that I I can’t imagine where I’d find the time, and what I’d have to contribute. It’s more difficult finding ways to get your work acknowledged if you don’t produce, but I feel that it’s valuable to retain a separation between production and DJing as art forms.
G5: So you formed up your record label in Leeds and now you live in London. Is there anything very special about the underground music scenes in these two cities? What are the major differences?
Ben UFO: The main difference is just size. In London there are so many more people – whatever you might be into you can guarantee that you’ll find others that share your taste. This has positive sides and negative – it means that it’s more difficult to build something from the ground up, as there’s so much competition and so little to distinguish a lot of promoters, DJs and producers from each other, but it also means that if you have something unique to contribute then there’s an infrastructure in place to work with.
G5: The releases from your latest signings are just immense! Is there something more from Blawan, Elgato or Joe coming out soon? Do you have a couple of up-and-coming producers you keep deep inside your pockets right now?
Ben UFO: I’m glad you like them! I’m certainly hoping to release more music by those guys, and hopefully we can keep surprising people with new and interesting producers. We started the label to give a platform to new artists and I’d like to continue that into the future.
G5: James Blake is standing out of the crowd today. You have a very strong back catalogue and ‘The Bells Sketch’ EP is one of its gems so should we wait for some more of his stuff coming out on Hessle Audio in the nearest future?
Ben UFO: I hope so, but as you say the level of interest around him at the moment means he has a lot of options! He’ll be releasing an album in the new year – it’s not on Hessle Audio, but it’s fantastic.
G5: Lots of funky, uk house and even juke stuff came to the scene this year and it seems like your label crew isn’t very influenced by any hype or trends. Can we call it a Hessle Audio strategy if there’s one? Or you just have your own way.
Ben UFO: There are a lot of interesting sounds coming out at the moment, you’re right. I feel more inclined to represent those sounds when I DJ than I do with Hessle Audio. With the label, we’re more comfortable following our own path. We’re influenced by what we hear of course, but hopefully we’re building something of our own as well.
G5: Ok then do you feel yourself as an important part of underground UK scene?
Ben UFO: That’s a difficult question to answer. When you’re so involved with something your view of it becomes distorted. I certainly hope we are!
G5: These days almost all of the deejays use MP3 and Serato-like software. Is it really important for you to release vinyl records in our age of digital media?
Ben UFO: I use Serato to play unreleased music, but playing vinyl is very important to me. I’m involved as a DJ with Ramadanman’s night ‘Acetate’ in Leeds, a vinyl only night which has already had DJs like Loefah, Floating Points, Joy Orbison, Appleblim and Ramadanman himself. No MP3s or CDs are allowed, and the music is run through Ramadanman’s beautiful old Urei rotary mixer – it gives producers a chance to play sets of music that they love from any era, without any pressure to crowd please or play upfront dubs all night long. I feel very attached to music as a physical format – building a collection isn’t so important to me, but the ability to see a record tracking a groove and to physically interact with the music is something that digital DJing will never be able to emulate.
G5: By the way, Ramadanman had been to Moscow last year. Did he told you something about things happening there or can you just say some words according to Russian producers and scene?
Ben UFO: I don’t know much about the scene in Russia unfortunately, but I’d love to see it for myself one day.
G5: Some silly questions ahead. Why UFO? Do you like science fiction or something like X-Files stuff?
Ben UFO: It was just an accident really, an internet handle that became a nickname. I do enjoy UFO trivia though, and seeing how many conspiracy theorists are following me on twitter is a constant source of amusement and joy.
G5: Thank you very much for answering our questions. Some farewell words?
Ben UFO: Hope you enjoy the mix, thanks for inviting me to contribute and for your open minds!
All loved up on Ben Ufo now? Us too. Which is why it’s brilliant that Man Make Music have him headlining this Saturday night alongside Elgato and George Fitzgerald for what’s set to be an epic event. It’s going down at the Star of Bethnal Green and is free before 10pm, £5 after.
via Man Make Music
For our last jaunt to the Star of 2010 we’re taking no risks and bringing back a selection of those DJs we’ve had down on previous occasions who comprehensively blew the roof off.
Long time Man Make Music favorite and Hessle Audio boss BEN UFO tops the bill. Ben’s flagship Rinse FM show has been consistently drawing new audiences and Hessle’s popularity has reached an all time high cementing Ben’s reputation as one of the visionaries of the London bass scene. So perhaps it’s fitting then that the second man on the bill is ELGATO who has just released his debut double-sided 12″ “Tonight”/”Blue” on Hessle to rapturous reviews. GEORGE FITZGERALD and ANOTHER AMIT are going back to back and will be playing the best of their box at the wrong speed for all the slomo freaks out there, and to top it all off, MURKULES and WHITE TYSON will be playing their trademark blend of flavor.
Garage in all its many incarnations, old, new and slow, will be the running theme of the night. Free entry for the early ones, party goes til 4am and cheese platters are served until 10pm. Basically, don’t miss.
