The sound of Ben & Vincent combines both traditional influences and modern interpretations. His productions have an almost cinematic intensity, yet are warm and full of empathy. Instrumentation and groove harmonize in his tracks – creating timelessly beautiful output that makes it to renowned labels like WAYU. We had a chat with the exceptional talent and dived into his story.
Hi Ben & Vincent – For those that don’t know your story, please can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to be a musician.
I was born in Iran in the 80s as a son of very liberal parents. We had to leave the country and moved to Germany where i grew up. Because of my upbringing I have strong influences of both eastern and western art and cultures which translates in a lot of my music. My mother is an Assyrian and Iranian folk singer and I’ve always played piano myself.
We have always had a lot of close family friends that were artists, painters, writers and musicians, a lot of liberal minds that had to flee Iran post revolution, which inspired me to pursue a creative path myself. My mom for sure has also always been encouraging me to be creative at a young age already.
Who have been your biggest supporters in your career so far?
People close to me have been my biggest supporters. When starting a new path, especially within a creative field, there is naturally a lot of self doubt. I believe that that stays with you and even very established artists that have been around for a long time usually won’t loose a sense of self doubt, ever. So the biggest support close people can give is to just reassure an artist , spread positive energy and encourage.
What inspires you the most when making music? And how do you stay inspired?
I mostly get inspired by something I hear, which can be anything, maybe a piece of classical music, film music, jazz or traditional music from different cultures. If something I hear creates an interesting emotion this triggers my curiosity and I try to understand how a certain emotion or mood was created.
The magic can be in the harmonic or melodic content, can be in the sound design, a vocal or can be in the rhythms.
Whatever it is, it’s so interesting to dive into it, explore and learn from great music out there. I like to use that type of inspiration to create something completely new.
However I for sure don’t just stay inspired or try to be in a creative mood all the time. For me it is something that comes and goes and regular breaks from being creative have proven to be very important for my creative process.
How would you describe your sound in 3 words?
Groovy, Cinematic, Meaningful.
Why did you decide to get into organic house?
I come from a more traditional, organic side of music and got connected with electronic music later. Organic house gives me a great chance to combine both worlds.
What struggles / successes did you experience at the beginning of your career?
It is quite a challenge to cut through the noise especially when you are just getting started. There are so many producers out there, so much new music being produced all the time which makes it quite difficult to successfully position your own music.
You will have no name recognition in the beginning which makes signing music with labels quite difficult. There will be endless unfinished or crappy tunes, rejections, being ignored by labels, people that dislike your music.
It needs a lot of perseverance, trusting yourself and patience to continuously build your name step by step.
If you had to use a phrase to sum up your philosophy of life, what would it be?
Don’t hope to get lucky, make your own luck.
What is coming up next in the world of Ben & Vincent?
I am fortunate enough to release music with some amazing labels this year. I have planned to release with Cosmic Awakenings, Bercana and Desert Hut. Additionally I will be releasing some new tunes through my own label and play a few gigs throughout the year.
Discover more about Ben & Vincent
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