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| Photo by Daniela Kunert | |
THE WITTEN EFFECT
No Boom Boom Boomers in Sight
Benjamin Theves’s love of music was awakened the same way it is for most kids, during a break dance contest to Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” when he was eight. 15 years later he’s about to seriously blow up with his first official release, the not electro, not techno, not house, dance floor bomb that is Texas. The fact that he’s a cute German guy will probably help too. Cute and German always goes a long way. He’s been involved in semi-major stuff since he was about 15, without releasing anything himself, but he’s still living in his parents’ town Witten in western Germany. With horses, sheep and a growing saving’s account Benjamin is planning to leave home and move to Cologne or Berlin really soon.
Vice: What are your parents like?
Benjamin: My parents both are kind of head people; everything has to be thought out. I’ve always been the opposite. I’m an impulsive person and I make decisions depending on the mood I’m in. My father is a dental technician and my mother used to work in the local tax office. They would like to see me getting a normal job with regular income, because safety is very important to them. It’s a pity that they don’t have a connection to art or music generally, they don’t even have a real music collection. But at least they didn’t throw me out on the street when I decided to quit studying social psychology and philosophy, just to do music. I am grateful for that.
Wow, they don’t sound like boomers at all. So would your parents ever get down to your music?
They like my deeper stuff with melodies, but not my dance floor designated tracks. It’s only “Boom Boom” for them, ha ha. And they would like me to keep the music down more. But I’m considerate and use headphones when it’s late and they’re asleep. When Texas was played on Radio One my father shouted, “Damn, turn down that noise!” Then he heard that it was my name Pete Tong said and he goes, “Oh, this was from you? You on the radio!? Ooh!” But it’s not always easy to make clear to them what I love so much about music and art and why I am doing this. So we have a few conflicts.
Why Texas, are you into Texans?
Ha ha, I will leave that open…
TOBIAS DUNÉR-AXELSSON
Benjamin’s debut album Texas is out now on Kitsuné Maison.
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