Ben Gold discusses FutureCode, his newly released single, his favourite music festival to perform and many more.
Self taught and highly motivated Ben Gold first got his hands on disc jockey when he was 15 years old. He was signed to the biggest compilation of the moment βTrance Nationβ after just one year. The industry started to take notice with some of the largest selling European compilation like βDream Danceβ putting up his work to feature some of the most respected producers across the industry.
Ben Gold is here with AsiaLive365 to share the story behind his newest album namely, βSound Advice: Chapter 2β, which was released 3 weeks ago. Gold is also here to discuss his newest project with Omnia, FutureCode. Read Below for the interview.
ASL365: You shared the artwork and track list of your next album βSound Advice: Chapter Twoβ this week. There is a massive amount of collaborators on the list.Β So would you like to tell us a little bit more about these collaborations?Β
BG: For me βChapter Twoβ was a huge opportunity to work with other artists who Iβve wanted to collaborate with for a while. Obviously thereβs someone like Ruben De Ronde who Iβm well known for collaborating with but I also wanted to shine a light on some new producers who are upcoming and who have been really exciting to me over the past year or so.
ASL365: Is βSound Advice Chapter Twoβ a continuation of the Chapter One? Will you make this into a series with more chapters coming up?
BG: βChapter 1β of βSound Adviceβ was based around the concept of live instruments. Every record had a live instrument in it. For βChapter 2β Iβve gone back to the dance floor, with some incredible new talent featuring across the new tracks. Itβs definitely a continuation of the theme of the first album but a new chapter, if that makes sense? For me, Iβve always wanted to write an album but the thought of sitting down and creating one huge piece of work thatβs 15, 16, even 20 tracks long just wasnβt appealing. The Sound Advice series may well be a whole bunch of different chapters as I go, who knows, but itβs a format that works really well for me and really gives me creative freedom to produce and evolve and explore sound without being restricted to the idea that you βmustβ make βxβ amount of tracks for it to be an album.
ASL365: And also you dropped a new song today, βThe City Sleeps Tonightβ. What has this song meant to you personally?
BG: βThe City Sleeps Tonightβ is definitely one of the biggest tracks from the album and one of my favourites. We produced an incredible video to go with it, not just a βusualβ lyric or artwork video but a proper music video that we shot around real city locations. I was so happy with the end result, both in terms of the video and the track itself. Itβs had a huge reaction from fans, it got to #2 on the Beatport trance charts which was amazing.
ASL365: Weβve seen FutureCode performed at some big festivals like UNTOLD, A State Of Trance 900 and those shows were really amazing! What really inspired you and Omnia to come together and perform as FutureCode? Whatβs the difference between your solo shows and duo shows?
BG: Omnia and I played a back to back set at Electronic Family Festival in Europe which was so much fun, then the weekend after that we did the same thing at Untold Festival and had the same exact vibe. We decided if we did it again; to only play our own music, make our sets totally unique and completely different from anyone elseβs. Then we got booked to play b2b at ASOT 900 – which is huge – and it just made sense for us to come up with an entirely new concept, a major show, all new branding and logos, and so FutureCode was born.
ASL365: How would you like to define your sound and FutureCodeβs sound?
BG: For FutureCode we create new content all the time for the shows, whether itβs exclusive bootlegs, mash-ups, remixes or original singles, thereβs a huge amount of work that we put into making sure fans are getting something new and fresh everything single time we play together. Thereβs no other way you can experience a FutureCode set other than seeing us play together live and I think thatβs something really special. My personal sound is classic Ben Gold. On the harder side but with huge euphoric and vocal elements to it and of course always some big new exclusives from my own studio that I road test live before even thinking about releasing it.
ASL365: Have you ever thought about trying out some other genres under different aliases?
BG: Maybe I already have an alias in another genre? π Iβll just leave that one there as a challenge for your readers to have a dig around π
ASL365: Last year, you played your first 6-hour festival set at AIM Festival. What had you prepared for the performance? Was it a challenge to you to play such a long set?
BG: I love playing long sets. 6 hours is the limit, Iβve played 8 before but felt that was just a bit too long. 6 is perfect. AIM is a festival so I prepared slightly different than a 6 hour club set. There are certain records that are made for festivals that perhaps donβt work as well in a club, but the framework is the same; 3 x 2 hour sections, but with NO restrictions. You canβt be restricted when playing a set this long. I loved the challenge, and so did they, hence why I went back this year and played 4 hours (1 hour as FutureCode and 3 hours as Ben Gold)
ASL365: What are your favorite music festivals and clubs in the world that you have been to and why?
BG: AIM in Quebec is a fantastic festival, itβs definitely a festival for music lovers. The Government in Toronto used to be my favourite club show in the world, sadly the venue had been turned into condominiums. Toronto, Montreal, Buenos Aires and Mexico City are my favourite places to play, but every city has something unique which makes the experience different and exciting from the rest.
ASL365: Whatβs next for you? And what are your goals with the FutureCode project?
BG: I probably have the foundations for Sound Advice 3, tracks that didnβt make it on the first 2 chapters, mainly because they didnβt βfitβ but now itβs time to focus on FutureCode for a few months, before preparing Ben Gold singles for 2020. Busy busy
