Benji B is a
BritishGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
DJ and
radioRadio is the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
presenter. He presents a weekly radio show called
Deviation on
BBC 1XtraBBC 1Xtra is a digital radio station in the United Kingdom from the BBC specialising in new black music, sometimes referred to as urban music. Launched at 18:00 on16 August 2002, it had been codenamed Network X during the consulation period and is the sister station to BBC Radio 1...
.
Benji B started in music by learning the
saxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bored transposing musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1841...
from the age of seven, playing at various clubs around London by 16. Around the same time he started a radio programme with collaborator
Gilles PetersonGilles Peterson , is a DJ, record collector and record label owner from London, UK. Through his labels Acid Jazz, Talkin' Loud, and latterly Brownswood Recordings, he has been associated with the careers of well-known artists of the 1990s such as Erykah Badu and Tony Rich plus Jamiroquai...
called
Worldwide, and produced the live show for
Kiss FMKiss 100 is a radio station broadcasting to London on 100.0 MHz FM specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and dance music. It also broadcasts on digital radio in other parts of the UK on DAB and nationally on Freeview, Sky Digital and Tiscali TV...
for two years. He was then employed by Somethin’ Else productions, where he set up an international syndication for the programme, broadcast at first in Finland and France, eventually providing the two hour weekly show to seventeen countries worldwide.
Benji continued to work with
Gilles PetersonGilles Peterson , is a DJ, record collector and record label owner from London, UK. Through his labels Acid Jazz, Talkin' Loud, and latterly Brownswood Recordings, he has been associated with the careers of well-known artists of the 1990s such as Erykah Badu and Tony Rich plus Jamiroquai...
when the show moved from
Kiss FMKiss 100 is a radio station broadcasting to London on 100.0 MHz FM specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and dance music. It also broadcasts on digital radio in other parts of the UK on DAB and nationally on Freeview, Sky Digital and Tiscali TV...
to
BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the BBC which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock or interviews. It is aimed...
, and Benji became the youngest ever producer to be making shows for the national station.
Benji B is a
BritishGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
DJ and
radioRadio is the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
presenter. He presents a weekly radio show called
Deviation on
BBC 1XtraBBC 1Xtra is a digital radio station in the United Kingdom from the BBC specialising in new black music, sometimes referred to as urban music. Launched at 18:00 on16 August 2002, it had been codenamed Network X during the consulation period and is the sister station to BBC Radio 1...
.
Biography
Benji B started in music by learning the
saxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bored transposing musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1841...
from the age of seven, playing at various clubs around London by 16. Around the same time he started a radio programme with collaborator
Gilles PetersonGilles Peterson , is a DJ, record collector and record label owner from London, UK. Through his labels Acid Jazz, Talkin' Loud, and latterly Brownswood Recordings, he has been associated with the careers of well-known artists of the 1990s such as Erykah Badu and Tony Rich plus Jamiroquai...
called
Worldwide, and produced the live show for
Kiss FMKiss 100 is a radio station broadcasting to London on 100.0 MHz FM specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and dance music. It also broadcasts on digital radio in other parts of the UK on DAB and nationally on Freeview, Sky Digital and Tiscali TV...
for two years. He was then employed by Somethin’ Else productions, where he set up an international syndication for the programme, broadcast at first in Finland and France, eventually providing the two hour weekly show to seventeen countries worldwide.
Benji continued to work with
Gilles PetersonGilles Peterson , is a DJ, record collector and record label owner from London, UK. Through his labels Acid Jazz, Talkin' Loud, and latterly Brownswood Recordings, he has been associated with the careers of well-known artists of the 1990s such as Erykah Badu and Tony Rich plus Jamiroquai...
when the show moved from
Kiss FMKiss 100 is a radio station broadcasting to London on 100.0 MHz FM specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and dance music. It also broadcasts on digital radio in other parts of the UK on DAB and nationally on Freeview, Sky Digital and Tiscali TV...
to
BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the BBC which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock or interviews. It is aimed...
, and Benji became the youngest ever producer to be making shows for the national station. The show won the Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in 1999.
When the BBC's digital new black music radio station
BBC 1XtraBBC 1Xtra is a digital radio station in the United Kingdom from the BBC specialising in new black music, sometimes referred to as urban music. Launched at 18:00 on16 August 2002, it had been codenamed Network X during the consulation period and is the sister station to BBC Radio 1...
launched in August 2002, Benji was asked to present his own show, which is broadcast every Sunday from midnight for two hours . His radio shows and DJ sets blend tunes from various genres of underground
soul musicSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
–
broken beatBroken beat is a type of Afro-diasporic electronic music which can be characterized by syncopated rhythm typically in 4/4 metre, with staggered or punctuated snare beats and/or hand claps....
s, hip-hop,
houseHouse is a style of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American and Latino American communities, first in Chicago, then in New York City, New Jersey, Detroit and Miami...
,
UK garageUK garage is an umbrella term that refers to several different varieties of modern electronic dance music generally connected to the evolution of house in the United Kingdom from early/mid-1990s....
,
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
, soul or Detroit techno. The show moved to a new broadcast slot on Sunday nights/Monday mornings 12-2am in April 2009.
Benji B was also a player and teacher of the
gamelanA gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
for 10 years at the
South Bank CentreSouthbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, UK, on the South Bank of the River Thames between County Hall and Waterloo Bridge. It comprises three main buildings , and is Europe’s largest centre for the arts. Until early 2007, it was the South Bank Centre...
in London.
External links