Benny Pitcher talks to us about his new Rebirth EP
Benny Pitcher July 2023
Benny: Good afternoon, and thanks for giving me such a great opportunity to tell Paper, your audience and the readers of Zone Magazine about me as an artist, my work, and the music production processes I employ in the recording studio.
Paper: Hi Benny, many thanks for chatting with us at Paper and dropping such an ace release with your Rebirth release. Lots of energy in both tracks which sound very
familiar in their style yet also really unique. Were there any specific influences you had in mind when making the tracks?
Benny: Yep, with you, I have already released three tracks, “Transatlantic Motion”; inside Wild Army Vol.6 and the EP “Rebirth”, including “Lips Like Roses”; and “So Good”. As you may have noticed, all these musical compositions are filled with soulful sound and vibe with an admixture of electronics. I love combining them together. These tracks were created in the spring, so the expectation of summer was one of the factors.
Paper: Is there a process you have when producing, or does it change from track to track?
Benny: At first, I often start going through jazz seventh chords (due to my musical presentation), which, in my opinion, give an intellectual sound, the general atmosphere of the track. When I cook a musical dish, speaking in the language of cooking, I often start with a chord sequence, going over it on the synthesizer according to the mood. And then I hang bass, drum lines, and additional nuances (trumpet, horn, brass, funk guitar). But there are cases when a vocal sample is taken as a starting point when writing a track. That’s exactly what happened in “Rebirth”.
Paper: Do you follow a specific workflow in the studio, and what is your set-up? Any specific go-to plug-ins or instruments?
Benny: My home studio is located in a country house with a view of the garden, and there, looking out the window, I work with sound images, all processing of which takes place in FL Studio. There are favourite VSTi, including Nexus, Sylenth, Omnisphere, Monopoly, Alchemy and others; VST: Valhalla, Hdelay, OTT, Izotope Ozone, all of Waves and more. And also I often practice playing the piano.
Paper: Away from the hectic world of dance music, what other artists or genres do you like to listen to?
Benny: I grew up listening to music of different genres and absorbed all these trends. Broken rhythms from Chemical Brothers, fabulous atmosphere and journey to another dimension together Underworld, magnificent harmonies and lyrics from George Michael, Jamiroquai and Simply Red, a clear groove from House music, as well as sampling from Daft Punk pioneers, all this allowed me to realize and mix all my feelings and emotions into my eclectic style. There are interesting solutions and techniques in every musical genre. I have quite a large collection of music in various genres, from where I have drawn and am drawing inspiration. I’ve been listening to Darius, Disclosure, Black Coffee, SG Lewis, Lovebirds and many others.
Paper: Lastly, do you have a favourite studio snack you will always tuck into when working on music?
Benny: (Laughs). Of course, milk and oatmeal cookies.
Check out the Rebirth EP by Benny Pitcher out now on Paper: HERE.
