Artist: Planet BEN

[mars]

Artist: Planet BEN (Ben Wierzoch)

Date: 05-27-00

Place: Mexico City

By: Pit-UFO

 

Q: What was your turning point to become a musician?

A: I’m coming from a very musical family, there’s were my roots are …. I was in school at 14 and a friend of mine had a birthday, he had a mixer there and two turn tables without pitch, without nothing. He was playing trying his best to mix I saw that and ask him, why don’t you let me try? I think that was the beginning of that. Since then I was infected.

 

Q: What is psychedelic trance music?

A: It's difficult to me to say something because what’s the definition of psychedelic trance. Everybody thinks something different about it. Can be wrong, can be right whatever it means its subjective.

 

Q: Is pure psychedelic trance dead?

A: In my own terms is really dead. If we take the psytrance definition we are in a crossover with trance and techno, its very open. More kind of funky. I like it more the deeper

 

Q: Why do you use psychedelic trance as your music vehicle?

A: I think it's my experience, my personal definition of the music, what I like. The result of. negative and positives Influences.

 

Q: Favourite Planet BEN track?

A: I don’t think I have a personal favourite it’s difficult to say "Pulse" I like very much. There’s a new track coming on Flying Rhino called Schliefer (means sender). One of my best works.

 

Q: Any new albums coming soon?

A: I have to finish a couple of tracks but probably on October my new album is going to be released on Flying Rhino.

With Organic Noise (Side project with Jan Mueller) the album is coming out soon. Is going too be a compilation of old releases and some new tracks along with another 12". Then Jan an I are going to be working very close to finish a new album, all new stuff. We are already working on that but first I have to finish the Planet BEN. album.

 

Q: You have a lot of work to do, does inspiration sometimes gets lost?

A: Sometimes, the quietness inside, personally. At the moment I’m very busy djing , and playing a lot, so its hard to find it . But soon I have to slow down and get into music.

 

Q: Do you just lock yourself in the studio and begin doing music?

A: Yeah, to be productive. Making music its an emotional thing and its not logical so you just can’t press a button and suddenly the music…its not possible… you have to be inspired to be productive.

 

Q: You have worked with very big names. Anyone with whom you like to work?

A: It’s a question of time. With Gabriel Le Mar it would be quite interesting. Between this and next year ill will be working in a project with Gus Till and them with James Monroe, probably an album.

 

Q: Tell us your all time favourite albums?

A: The First Eat Static album, for sure X-Dream albums…so beautiful work. Slinky Wizard and a lot of Richie Hawtin (Plastikman), and Emmanuel Top stuff.

 

Q: Do you like Hallucinogen, Astral Projection, Infected Mushroom music?

A: Not my cup of tea.

 

Q: Besides been a musician and a Dj What else do you like to do?

A: Cooking.

 

Q: What do you think about Free MP3 sites like Napster?

A: Pirates, criminals... Is a schematic thinks how it works. If you are an artist for sure you have to look forward so you can do further music, and you can keep doing this only if you sell copies of your records. In the psychedelic trance scene you don’t sell that much copies. So if somebody its going to buy one CD and 10 of his friends make a copy of that … this is not the sense on the whole thing. It destroys the whole structure and makes a very big damage for the artists and for the labels as well. So in my opinion to all that: is big shit. I know it’s not really cheap to buy records, and to buy CD´s, but that’s not the idea.

 

Q: But to find records is very difficult and expensive how can we help?

A: It’s not that difficult to get this music anymore. It’s not a problem of distribution is a question of how the people in the stores are connected with the distributors. For sure you have limited copies of the records, and sometimes they are not pressed anymore. It’s a question of people asking for what they want. Two years ago companies sold twice more CD´s now labels are not selling more records because of CD toasters and mp3. For sure they want to sell more.

 

Q: Nowadays there are a lot of newcomers; do you think most of them have any standard quality?

A: I think there are a lot of fillers. I’m sure there are people that like that but for me I don’t like that too much. I can handle anymore of this melodic 3 finger tone trance, there are a lot of musician that for years are standing in the same step and nothing has been changed, so they stay there for 6 years, its always the same, nothing innovative or creative anymore. It’s sad in a way. They just repeat the formula, this bass drum, this hi hat, this and this editing its like mathematics and kind of recited way of thinking. But this is how thinks are working at this time. It’s just to copy. In the scene there are only a few authentic originals and a lot of people just trying to copy that.

 

Q: Who are these innovators?

A: Original and authentic musicians, the originals Simon, MWNN, Jan & Marcus, The Return to the Source, Mark Allen, Tsuyoshi, Nick Taylor… most stuff came from them.

 

Q: Tell us about Flying Rhino as a label?

A: In the moment they are doing very, very well. They do quality at the moment. It’s the best label. Not only because I release on this label, it’s my feeling. Other labels I’m sorry, but they don’t have that quality in dance music.

 

Q: If Planet BEN existed in some galaxy, what would it look like?

A: God what a question. With very nice temperature, not too hot not in too cold. Is difficult to say, Yellow, green, Red, and white. Something in the middle, something in the middle …