This week I was lucky enough to get to throw some questions at one of my all time heroes, Ben Sims. It goes a little something like this...


TL: Ben Sims, from solid roots in hip hop, disco and funk into one of the UK's foremost exponents of what we now know and love as techno. How exactly did your tastes and style evolve into what is now internationally recognised to those in the know as the Ben Sims sound?

BS: My sound incorporates elements of everything I've ever been into. I've collected records for over 25 now and I fuse the various styles of music I love into my own, whether it be sampling or just inspiration, the music I grew up with plays a big part in my productions and my DJing.

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TL: Do you think your arrival at techno was in any way inevitable, or could things have unfolded differently if it weren't for certain factors?

BS: To be honest it could have been quite different, just before I started to break through as a techno DJ and began releasing records I'd begun to get a lot of work playing funk, electro and hip hop again. There was a bit of a breakdance revival in the UK, particularly in London, and things were really picking up. I was spinning at very popular nights with DJs that went on to become big names in the UK and I had to decide which way to go. That time techno won, next time I might choose something else. My main desire is to keep on playing, and I enjoy playing many styles.

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TL: In the past couple of years techno has been transformed and somewhat bastardized by an explosion of so-called minimal, something that has seen numerous figureheads of techno completely and utterly change their style. You, along with a few others, have remained distanced from this craze - Was this a conscious decision?

BS: No, not really. I'm not a huge fan of the music so it wasn't ever gonna be an option but regardless of that, for me one of the most important things about being a DJ or producer is that you have your own sound, style, identity, and you can't keep that if you just jump on every fad or craze. Yeah, embrace new music or other styles, keep yourself interested. Fuse new elements into what you do but changing over night because everyone else has, well that's just sad..

I've been known to drop the occasional minimal cut and have supported what I consider the more interesting bits on my radio show but of the hundreds of minimal tracks that are available every week, I'd say 1% is saying something, the rest are just empty, soulless and do nothing for me at all. It should be music stripped to its essential basics of funk, groove and rhythm, like Robert Hood etc. Unfortunately most of it is just lots of reverb, delays and not much else.

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TL: You host a regular net radio show (like all movers and shakers do..) and in doing so have access to a lot of up and coming material and talent - in your opinion, who's making waves at the moment, and who do you see really establishing themselves in the scene over the next few years?

BS: There are plenty of promising artists that have only been around a few years or have recently come from nowhere who I'd say watch out for. It's difficult to predict who'll break through as unfortunately it's not just down to talent or good records, especially now. I'd recommend checking out some of these names:

Quince
Kazu Kimura
Norman Chung
The Third Man
Etiku Dancer
Tor Lowkrantz

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TL: Above and beyond your immense solo output, you're also known for various live collaborations, including Roku and Frequency 7. How did these projects come about?

BS: Roku (Six in Japanese) was an accident really. Mark and I were playing a gig in Amsterdam and the promoter got a bit excited and billed us as playing together on 6 decks, even though we'd never discussed it or agreed to do it. On the night it was obvious the crowd were waiting to see it so we just thought fuck it and gave it a go, and it worked. Over the next couple of years we travelled around and played at some great parties (including The Orbit-Leeds, Liquid Room-Tokyo, Fabrik-Madrid, Retrovert-London, Monegros festival, Fraga-Family Toledo and lots more). We had a lot of fun doing it but decided to put the project to sleep a while back now, we've played a couple of one offs in the past 12 months but it's very unlikely to be revived again now. There weren't so many DJ teams at the time so it felt like we were doing something fresh, now there are lots so it's not as interesting for us.

With Frequency 7 (Named after a track by 80s electronic outfit Visage), Tony and I definitely feel we're doing something special, technically and musically. We feed really well off each other and although our individual styles differ, when we play together we create a new sound and on many occasions play tracks that we wouldn't always get away with playing solo. Disco, drum n bass, acid house, broken beat and dubstep all make their way into the rapidly changing unpredictable mix up. It's a challenge that we both enjoy and hope to be doing for years to come.

The project came about after Tony played at one of my Retro-vert boat parties, I'd played the bit before his set and a bit after, it just flowed really well and Tony saw that we could achieve even more actually playing together. We had a couple of practice runs and secret shows in the UK, then took the show on the road. So far its been going very well and our next gig is at the legendary Florida 135 club in Spain later this month.

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TL: Looking to 2008, you have numerous other labels and imprints in full flow despite the end of the seminal Ingoma series. What can we expect from these in 2008?

BS: This year's been a bit weird for releasing music so I haven't focused on it much, just the last Ingoma release. The industry is on it's arse and that often saps enthusiasm for running a label (not to mention the loss of money involved when distribution companies keep dying all around you..) but I'm trying to stay positive and have some quality releases lined up for early 2008. First up is a sampler EP on Theory featuring unreleased tracks by fine artists taken from my forthcoming mix CD. That will be followed by another EP on Theory with the Essex Rascals (Paul Mac, Mark Broom, Tony Anderson and myself) all laying down a track each. After that I have planned releases for Symbolism plus some re-edits and remixes of lesser known Chicago gems from way back when that I've been dropping for over a year.

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TL: The word on the street is that the forthcoming mix you mention is out in January.. we've been looking forward to this for a while. Can you tell us any more?

BS: It's the follow up to my first ever proper mix CD in 2001, Escapism. Escapism Part 2 has been in discussion for quite a while so I'm just happy for it to be finally happening. It's an accurate representation of what I'm spinning now, from tough house to Detroit techno to hardgroove to Chicago jackers with a little bit of new school acid house.

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TL: As you pointed out, your sets feature a whole range of different styles - was it difficult choosing the tracks to feature on the mix, or was it a pretty straight forward decision?

BS: It's always a difficult process preparing mix CDs, I want them to represent what I'm playing in general, rather than just what's in my box at the time or what I just played at a big festival. I usually choose a bunch of tracks, maybe 50, then wait to see what gets cleared for licensing. Not everything does. Unfortunately you can't always get what you want. In fact, the first Escapism album was going to be called 'Too far Gone', named after a line in Adonis' classic 'No Way Back', but we couldn't clear it. Then I have a mix about for a few days, change some tracks and repeat the process at least once again. I take a lot of time doing them, but I enjoy it..


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Ben's Escapism part 2 mix album will be out in January - keep your fucking eyes peeled