zap! bang! Magazine

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• SW4 interviews: Ben Sims

• Ben Sims

• 2011-08-12

• South West Four is just two weeks away, ready to bring another dance music bonanza to Clapham Common over the August Bank Holiday Weekend. On the Sunday the three deck master Ben Sims will show off his skills in the Drumcode arena alongside Adam Beyer, Slam and Alan Fitzpatrick. We caught up with Ben to find out what he’s been up to this summer.

  You seem to be very busy at present – what do you have upcoming?
  My debut album was released in July (Smoke And Mirrors on Drumcode), I’mvworking on music for my Hardgroove label which will see the light in September and I’ve done a few remixes that’ll be out soon. First off is a reworking of Funk D’Void’s classic “Jack Me Off”.

  You have several nicknames, our favourite; ‘the machine’, how did these come about?
  Mostly from comments people have said about me on the internet really, it’s always interesting to check the feedback from a gig on forums etc, It’s not always positive obviously but finding out that I’m rarely referred to as ‘just’ Ben Sims was a surprise! Probably the oddest is being called ‘Uncle Ben’ and having my face photoshopped onto packets of rice.

  How did you get into DJing at such a young age?
  It was the electro/breakdance era and everyone I knew was either a Graf writer or a rapper or a dancer. I was shit at all three so I started making compilation tapes of the records I’d been buying for friends, they went down well so I started doing ‘pause button’ mixes on my old girls hi-fi, then at 10 or 11 I got my first set of decks and my obsession got a bit more serious!

  Who were your influences at the time?
  Froggy (r.i.p) was without doubt my biggest inspiration back then, a legendary local soul/funk DJ who also dabbled in electro/hip hop for a while and mixed a few compilation albums in the early 80’s. He was the first UK DJ to use pitch controlled Technics in his sound system solely to mix records and had learnt how to beat mix from Larry Levan in NYC (so the story goes). Luckily he also had a daughter at my junior school and did a couple of our school discos. At one of them, after literally blowing us kids away with his skills he gave me a copy of ‘The Message’, there was
  no going back for me after that.

  How would you define your own sound? What makes it distinctive?
  I call it Hardgroove and have done since the mid 90’s, it’s really a fusion of everything I’ve ever been into, it’s essentially tough-edged house and funk-driven techno but you can hear elements of disco, hip hop and even reggae in there sometimes.

  I started doing ‘pause button’ mixes on my old girls hi-fi, then at 10 or 11 I got my first set of decks and my obsession got a bit more serious!

  You’ve run nine different record labels…What advice would you give to someone wanting to start their own label?
  I think you just have to put out music you believe in, whether it’s because it makes you dance or it works well in your sets or it sounds great at home. I’ve never really been too business-minded about running labels, I’ve just released the music that I enjoyed at that time or bits I’ve made myself that I think are ready to go public. Just keep it personal, Identity is very important, don’t copy other labels or get too trapped in what’s supposedly fashionable, there’s far too many ‘wannabe’ labels already.

  If you could produce music with any other artist who would it be?
  Difficult question and you’d probably get a different answer every day of the week, today I’d say ‘Robert Owens’. My life simply won’t be complete until I make something with THE voice of house music.

  Which venue you’ve played at has really stuck out in your career and why?
  It was a venue called ‘Sunny Isles’ in east London, I only ever played there twice but I can clearly remember spinning there in mid 91, between DJ Hype and Slipmatt, thinking I’d made it as a DJ, I totally hadn’t, that took many more years of hardwork and disappointments. I regularly drive past the place, it’s called something else now but it reminds me of how lucky I am and how far I’ve come.

  Which emerging DJ do you think will be taking the scene by storm in the next year?
  I’d certainly hope to see Alex Downey go on to bigger and better things. He has been on the scene for many years but it’s definitely about time he really broke through. There’s only a handful of DJ’s I’ve ever heard who are naturally gifted and Alex is one of them.

  How do you feel about the techno scene in London at the moment?
  It’s pretty healthy actually. Good vibes, great crowds and new faces. I love playing London anyway obviously but right now it’s one of the best places to spin and I’m happy to be get the chance to do it more often.

  How did your skillful brand of 3-deck wizardry come around? Did you teach yourself?
  Initially it wasn’t something I even did in clubs. I just liked having ‘toys’ to enhance my mix tapes and shows on pirate radio in the mid 90’s. So FX were added, kill switches and eventually a 3rd deck for faster mixing. I wasn’t planning on doing it publicly at all but once Jeff Mills and a few others laid down the gauntlet, it was hard to resist the temptation and it, over time, became a trade mark for me.

  You have to put out music you believe in, whether it’s because it makes you dance or it works well in your sets or it sounds great at home.

  

  Do you have any sort of routine before you play a set? (i.e. down a bottle of vodka)
  Not very rock n’ roll but I always sleep, even if it’s just for an hour, to get the travel out of my system and start afresh. Occasionally I sacrifice an animal or small child ;-)

  If you could be doing any other job other than DJing, what would it be?
  I’m pretty obsessive about movies and TV drama so something involved in that world would be cool but I’d still DJ anyway. I’ve never really seen it as a ‘job’ to be honest.

  What makes DJing in the UK different to other countries?
  There’s just something very special about DJ-ing at home, I don’t get the fanatical followings or the people chanting my name etc as I might do in other countries where I’m a guest but this is where I’m from and playing here grounds me.

  Which DJ would you most like to remix your work?
  Jah Shaka, I’d love to hear him dub out some Hardgroove shit.

  If you were to open up a new club, what would it be called?
  School, educate the kids n’ all that ;-)

  How do you feel about playing at SW4 this year?
  Really looking forward to it. I’ve played festivals all over the world but bizarrely none in London, so this’ll be a first for me!

  What have you heard about the festival?
  Just good vibes and that it’s THE place I should be spinning!

  If you were attending SW4 yourself, which act would you be most looking forward to seeing and why?
  Andy C, I’m a big fan of d&b and he’s one of the masters! It’s been quite a few years since I’ve heard him spin so I’m very happy he’s at SW4.

  What are your three festival essentials?
  Ear plugs, towel, hat!

  For the latest SW4 news and to book tickets go to www.southwestfour.com.

by Mike Barnard