ALTHOUGH he began DJing in the late ‘80s, Benny Benassi’s solo breakthrough came in the first years of the 21st century, and since then, his mix of house and electro styles has seen his reputation as a DJ, producer and remixer establish him at the very top of his profession. Having recently applied his self-styled “pop music with electronic music underneath” approach to working with Madonna on her ‘MDNA’ album, Benny tells DJ Mag that you don’t need mega studio facilities to produce. “You need good ears and creativity to make good dance music. That’s the key,” he says. Summing up the past year by saying, “Every year gets better because I still
PAUL OAKENFOLD
AS you will find reading this Top 100 issue, many DJs now cite Las Vegas as the current or next dance music hotspot. Few people have done as much for the desert city’s cause in this respect as Paul Oakenfold. The dance music behemoth has been gigging there for years, playing venues like Rain at The Palms and, more recently, Hard Rock Café, who have inducted him into their Hall Of Fame for the second time this year. Of course, he hasn’t deserted his fans in the rest of the world either, and in 2012 has once again traversed the globe like a true DJ playboy, playing Russia, the UK, Mexico, Slovakia and just about anywhere else you care to name.
One of the highlights of his year has surely been touring with pop matriarch Madonna. As part of her ‘MDNA Tour’ this year, Oakenfold has been the warm-up DJ on a total of 19 dates all around the States. As such, he continues to be one of the driving forces behind the continued EDM explosion in the US where more and more pop and rock, hip-hop and metal fans are being turned on to the brightly
coloured electro, house and dubstep sounds by an increasing number of different sources.
At the same time as all this, the man Queen Elizabeth II of the UK has titled A Pioneer Of The Nation (no, really) has continued to broadcast his trance sounds around the world on his own Perfecto radio show (soon to hit its 100th edition), as well as A&R for his label of the same name.
Though productions of his own have been scant in 2012, fans need not be disheartened, because 2013 will see the release of his third studio album entitled ‘Pop Killer’. It will feature, amongst others, the vocal talents of breakthrough rap artist Azealia Banks. Sure to be a commercial affair according to word from the man himself, it will fuse melodic house beats with collaborations from many different stars in many different genres. KRISTAN J CARYL
Style: “House music.” Best known for: “Releasing ‘Satisfaction’ in 2002.” Tune of 2012: “’Perfect Storm’.” Breakthrough DJ/producer of 2012: “Pink Is Punk.”
get to do what I love doing,” Benny cites “playing the new Ibiza, which is Las Vegas” as a particular highlight of 2012. “All the genres of dance music are merging, house, electro, trance, dubstep... it’s all rolling into the same thing,” he reckons, and as to next year’s plans? “I would love to tell you but they are top-secret.” DAVID MCCARTHY
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If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be? “Travelling at light speed. It would make touring easier!” Should you play to the crowd or for yourself? “The crowd, always! I’m playing because of them and I’m lucky to be able to do that.” What does EDM mean to you? “It’s just another label, it’s all music!” Should celebrities be DJs? “That’s a tough one. If they can produce good music and love playing it, then I don’t see why not. Everyone should be able to do what they love.” Have you ever been thrown off the decks? “No.” Are you a DJ if you don’t beat match? “DJing is about playing music people want to hear — as long as you can do that, you can DJ.” Where’s the next dance mu- sic capital? “Who knows? It could be anywhere. Right now it’s the USA.”