BEN ASHTON - DECEMBER 2012
Since arriving in Sydney with little more than a backpack, a record box, and high hopes in the spring of 2011, Ben Ashton has quickly established himself as one of his adopted city’s busiest DJs. His list of supports in 2012 alone reads like a who’s who of the deep (and sometimes dark) tech house sound he favours – think Radio Slave, Subb-an, Margaret Dygas, Nick Curly, Francois K, Yousef, Prosumer, Thomas Schumacher, and warming up for Huxley at his own Bad Apple night for starters – though it’s his ability to control a diverse range of dancefloors that has seen him become Sydney’s newest warm-up specialist.
When he arrived in Australia, though, the Cambridge, UK expat had no grand plans to make such an impressive mark on the local scene – he was just another traveller making the traditional two year pilgrimage Down Under. With fellow Brit Jack Fuller by his side, Ben eventually set up shop in Sydney and discovered an opening for the underground sound of Europe that has pride of place in his crate. Ben and Jack linked up with local selectors Antoine Vice and Tim Reeves-Smith (aka Whitecat) and the Bad Apple club night was born. Kicking off at Kings Cross hotspot Hugo’s before moving into the more intimate confines of GoodGod Small Club, it’s now alternating monthly between the quite literally ‘underground’ rooms of One22 and The Cave at Chinese Laundry in Sydney’s CBD.
Bad Apple has since hosted a branded room when Ibiza party Circoloco came to town, and it’s not the only night that Ben has a hand in running. See also Just Wax, the semi-regular vinyl only event that sees guest selectors throwing down everything from George Benson to French disco to classic hip hop, and 150 Only, a restricted capacity affair which launched with Berlin-based minimal-tech DJ Margaret Dygas in the headline slot. And when not running those events, he’s in-demand from a range of local crews, with S*A*S*H, Musik Matters, Switch, the Finely Tuned event umbrella (Agwa Yacht Club/Circoloco/Lost Disco), and Secret Society just some of the parties he regularly spins at. When tackling warm-up duties for Margaret Dygas, or the countless other internationals he’s set the scene for in Sydney, Ben’s philosophy is to bring the style and approach of the headliner into his own sets without aping them outright. Ben describes his sound as “very deep and groovy and driving”, mixing the music of labels like W Records, Atlantic, ONE, Desolat and Robsoul into his own dancefloor-focused brew. At a larger party like Circo Loco, he’ll favour a bouncier take on the house music sound – and he’s not afraid to throw a classic curveball in there, not matter what the venue.
That taste for the classics began in 1997, when as a 16-year-old Ben purchased his first set of turntables and tormented his parental home with the jungle and drum’n’bass sounds he’d become obsessed with through the DJ sets of Grooverider and Micky Finn. This progressed onto UK Garage and then onto Chicago house, his skills as a selector seeing him regularly play around Cambridge, London, and across the pond for a series of gigs through the European mainland.
For now, though, Ben will be calling Australia home indefinitely. His first musical creations are almost ready for release from his home studio, his weekly Sydney and monthly Melbourne gig commitments show no signs of slowing, and the UK’s loss is most definitely Australia’s gain.
Bookings: ben.ashton81@gmail.com
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/benashton
150 Only Promo Mix – November 2012: http://soundcloud.com/benashton/150-only
Bad Apple 001 Podcast – August 2012: http://soundcloud.com/bad-apple-aus/bad-apple-podcast-001-ben-ashton
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