In this revealing interview, we learn more about the enigma that is Ben Shawaer. Having taken to the Electronic Music scene with a powerful force, presenting a unique and distinct identity, the talented Producer continues to remain cloaked in mystery: allowing his music to appear at the forefront of his creativity, no one knows about the character behind Ben Shawaer’s hard-hitting tracks. So, today, we’re looking forward to sitting down with Ben Shawaer’s manager to dive further into his story, uncovering details about his musical journey and inspirations.
What was the first album he bought?
From what we could see at his place, it would be Blink 182’s ‘Take Off Your Pants and Jacket’ album released in 2001. That goes back 23 years!
Can you tell us who his major musical inspirations were when he was young?
Regarding the first question, I imagine that his first musical inspirations were Punk Rock, like Blink 182, Sum 41 or Good Charlotte but that doesn’t fit with something we saw whilst visiting him at home, but we’ll talk about that in the next question.
Do you know what Ben’s earliest musical memory is? What sparked his interest in music?
We assume he started showing interest in music production around the same time as the release of the Ejay Special Edition software (we saw the software box at his place). The publication date of this software is in 1997. With this information, we can assume that he first became interested in Electronic Music before turning to Californian Punk Rock.
When did Ben start producing music?
It’s hard to say but based on the answers to the previous questions, it must be in the late 90s.
Do you know what the first track Ben ever produced was like? What was it called; how did it sound?
It would have been a Dance track with the sample provided by the Ejay software at the time. I’ve put a link here if you want to listen to what this software would have sounded like back then.
Did Ben have someone teach him how to produce music? How did he learn?
From what we know, nobody taught him how to produce music like computer music. He first learned to play instruments like guitar and piano by himself, by ear. reproducing what he was hearing. He then quickly learned how to produce his own melodies and tracks. It was more than 20 years ago, so he didn’t learn from tutorials like we can now find on the internet.
Which of his career highlights to date do you think stand out most for Ben?
I think that a strong moment in the pursuit of his artistic project is his collaboration with professional singers. For a long time, he focused on producing purely instrumental Electronic Music, mainly due to not finding a voice. Nowadays, it’s easier to collaborate with people who are sometimes even on the other side of the world. You can even purchase royalty-free voices to work with. It really is a different era!
If Ben wasn’t pursuing music, what career path do you think he would have followed?
Currently, music is not a full-time job for him but I’m pretty sure he would make video games. Besides, I think he is still planning to do something like that in the future – it will certainly be linked to his musical project.
Did he build a production setup at home or did he begin his journey elsewhere?
He was already recording at home back then, but it must have been rudimentary, with an old Pentium MMX with less than 200 MB of RAM. However, I’m pretty sure he has recorded a track in a “real” recording studio with a professional engineer but was disappointed – it doesn’t mean the people in the studio weren’t good, but they just didn’t have the same musical taste. It’s really important to be aligned on that part when working with someone else.
What do you think Ben is hoping to achieve next in his musical journey?
He is going to keep working on improving the quality of his productions to be able to stick more and more with what he has in mind. Apart from that, he’s also thinking about what else needs to be done besides the music. Nowadays, we have less chance to be heard if we don’t create content apart from music. The next step is so to find a line to stick with in terms of content and then create!
Apart from that, he will continue to collaborate with other artists and train for live performances.
As we close out our interview with Ben Shawaer’s manager, we thank him for taking the time to sit with us and sharing a little more insight into the talent behind the enigma. So, with an exciting journey ahead, we look forward to following along with Ben Shawaer’s journey as he continues to develop his signature sound and production style.