Stereosonic is just around the corner with a massive lineup including Armin Van Buuren, LMFAO, Bloody Beetroots, and one of our favourite latin DJ's, the 'Godfather of Electro' Benny Benassi.

Novanation grabs 8 valuable minutes with the man ahead of his Australian gigs.....

1.  Your track “Satisfaction” was one of the first electro house tracks to hit the mainstream, paving the way for artists such as David Guetta and Afrojack. Why do you think “Satisfaction” was  so popular?

I don’t know! We all thought it would do well in the clubs but were as surprised as everyone else when it crossed over. Maybe the hot video shot by Ministry of Sound, UK, helped, too. It was the first of a series of “sexy” videos and is very funny still today. There are lots of spoofs of it on the Internet too.

2.      Your cousin Alle Benassi works with you on most of your songs, how do you like to work in the studio?

No, Alle works on ALL of the songs! He’s a musician and a producer and he’s the guy who finds the notes. Usually we start from an idea which might come from some music I’m listening to or an old record that inspires me or from a riff Alle thought up. Then Alle develops the idea musically and together we work on the structure and details, sometimes with a healthy argument or two! I bring my dj perception to the equation and really work on the structure, the atmosphere and the sounds. Alle is amazingly talented and turns the ideas into music. He is 50% of the Benny Benassi project.

3.      Your album “Electroman” has been a massive success, with your song “Beautiful People” (with chris brown) becoming a hit without being an official single. Have you enjoyed working with mainstream artists such as Chris Brown, T-Pain and Kelis?

Yes, it was great. Exciting and new for us. The real challenge was to see what our typical bass riffs would sound like with different vocal styles and how much we were really able to make songs. We contacted lots of different people and were honored to get some very enthusiastic reactions. Some things happened by chance. The Chris Brown record is the result of a series of coincidences and we still have never met Chris. By contrast, we have developed a great personal working relationship with Gary Go and really enjoy working and creating together.

4.      Do you want to break the American mainstream as big as David Guetta has?

That’s a funny question! If I say no, you won’t believe me ;) But the truth is that we don’t work with commercial results in mind. We do what we do as sincerely as possible and sometimes tracks go mainstream. When it happens, it’s amazingly gratifying and you make more money, do more touring, so it’s always welcome. But we’re incapable of going into the studio with the precise intention of making a record for radio and for the sales charts. It’s a side-effect, not a mission.

5.      Are you working on any new music at the moment?

We’re starting a few interesting projects experimenting with production for other artists. It’s a new challenge and very stimulating. Let’s see what happens! And we’re also beginning work on the next album but it’s still very early.

6.      Your music was recently featured in the iphone game “Tap Tap Revenge”. Do you want to work on music for more games in the future?

Again this is more of a side effect than a specific design. Today there are lots of new ways to exploit your music through the Internet and via the huge electronic games industry. It’s there and we’re interested.

7.      Your coming down to Australia for Stereosonic later in the year, are you looking forward to returning to Australia?

Yes, I really love playing in Australia anyway because there’s a great vibe with a lot of passion for music and not much posing. The way I like it. And I really enjoyed playing the Stereosonic tour last year because they’re great festivals but I also particularly enjoyed hanging out with other dj’s, it’s a rare opportunity to compare notes and spend some time with people you admire.

8. And finally congratulations on the success of "Cinema", did you know it was going to be a massive hit when you finished it or has it been a surprise?

Thank you! We thought it sounded great and hoped that it would get airplay because it’s such a good song. The lyrics are great! All credit to Gary. Very happy to see it doing well and I’m always surprised by how many people know the song. I would also like to thank Skrillex for his amazing remix, which also really contributed to the song’s success, particularly at the club level.

Benny Benassi is playing Stereosonic in November/December - Tickets on sale now!